LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a celebration of Bat-movie history

WB Games and TT Games are assembling a fond retelling of Batman's cinematic adventures from across different eras.

TT Games has told anthology stories before. Today, being the day after Star Wars Day, I recall LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga telling the stories of all nine Star Wars movies. In 2026, the British developer will tell another beloved pop culture story, but in a different way. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will look to captivate Bat fans of all ages by retelling the Caped Crusader's cinematic story, but in a more open-world format. I was recently invited to a private media event in Burbank, California and got to check out TT Games' vision for Batman's next brick-building adventure.

Back in my Batman Day preview, I played through one of Batman's earliest cases. Long-time fans would recognize parts of it from the 1989 Tim Burton Batman movie. For this preview, I played through different eras of Batman's cinematic history, but ones that all came together in a single story.

It started with a trip to the Iceberg Lounge, where Batman and Jim Gordon arrived in search of crime boss Carmine Falcone. The scene was reminiscent of the scenes from 2022's The Batman, right down to Selina Kyle working as one of Falcone's employees. However, the tone was significantly lighter from the beginning, as Batman knocked on the door and was greeted by two bouncers who were insistent that the do-gooders had come to the door of a "fish store" (or "fish market," as one of the thugs put it). Things get even more whimsical later, as Batman and Gordon have to sneak past the nightclub patrons, who are all playing inside a giant ball pit that covers several rooms.

In terms of gameplay, as was the case with my last preview, combat was highly reminiscent of the Arkham series. Batman and Gordon would battle against dozens of foes at a time, using timed button presses to either counter incoming blows or avoid weapon shots. It shouldn't surprise too many readers that exploration also borrows from Rocksteady's old Bat-series, as Batman would use his grappling hook to walk across light fixtures on the ceiling to avoid detection. Depending on their co-op character, players may need to switch over and use their special ability to move forward. In this case, Gordon's foam gun could stop moving ceiling lights and allow Batman to use them as platforms.

While the Iceberg Lounge section is meant to evoke the spirit of The Batman, later story missions cover other eras of Batman's cinematic history. One of them covers Batman's trip to the circus to catch the Flying Graysons. It's meant to be a retelling of the scene from 1995's Batman Forever, but there's one key difference. For this story, Batman's date is Selina Kyle, whom he met and became familiar with over the course of the earlier Iceberg Lounge missions. Before walking in to attend the performance, Bruce Wayne is ambushed by Dr. Pamela Isley, who's seeking signatures for a petition to keep a nearby park (and "crime hot spot," as Bruce notes) open. That's meant to set up a later encounter that plays off of the events of 1996's Batman & Robin. While TT Games takes some liberties with storytelling, the latter half of this mission plays out in familiar fashion with Two-Face invading the scene and causing mayhem in an effort to flush out Batman.

Co-op partner Robin plays noticeably differently from Jim Gordon, as players can use his Bird-a-rang projectiles to hit multiple targets at once. While the obvious application is combat, this also serves a function in solving various puzzles. Players can trigger switches and open up new platforming opportunities to open the way forward. Robin's abilities also come in handy in the later battle against Poison Ivy and her plant behemoths that she brings to life.

All of this covers the linear story missions, but there's much more that TT Games has in store for Batman fans. Gotham City is an open-world playground filled with side missions, collectibles, and, of course, Riddler items hidden within devious puzzles. Some of the unlockables include hidden suits and playable characters, each collected in a massive Batcave. This incarnation of Batman's iconic lair is a vast playable area that contains its own collectibles, a full museum of unlockable outfits (for Batman and the rest of his friends), a garage for different vehicles (including Batmobiles from across the ages), and an incredible view, the kind that one can only get from... spelunking.

After taking a more extended look at LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, it's clear that this will not be a short tour through Gotham City. With a lengthy story to tell that covers four decades of Bat-cinematic history and a massive world to explore, there looks to be enough here to keep fans entertained for a long time. I feel like TT Games has only scratched the surface in terms of playable characters, as I've played around with different abilities for Jim Gordon, Robin, and also for Catwoman, who has one of her pets that can sneak around through vents and other small areas. I'm only imagining who else is waiting to play around with the Dark Knight and how they'll fit into this grand story that TT Games is ready to tell. As for how well the game will balance some of the more intense moments of Bat-lore while still maintaining the typical LEGO level of silliness remains to be seen.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is almost here. It's coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on Friday, May 22.

This preview is based on an early PC version played on-site at a closed media event in Burbank, CA. The final product is subject to change.

Shacknews staff does not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) in their content. Shacknews strictly prohibits the use of its content for AI training or to generate text, including text in the style or format used for this publication. Shacknews reserves all rights to this work.