Skip to main content

‘Lego DC Super-Villains’ turns the tables, lets you wreak havoc

Official LEGO® DC Super-Villains Announce Trailer

Warner Bros. and TT Games have been examining DC Comics heroes — particularly Batman — in their games for years, but it looks like we’ll be getting to know the baddies a little better this time. Lego DC Super-Villains is on the way, and it promises to be a dark and twisted take on everyone’s favorite plastic children’s toys.

A teaser video posted on YouTube shows a Superman statue in Metropolis — apparently the same one seen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — defaced with spray paint to look like the Joker. We hear the dastardly villain laugh as several clockwork teeth run across the ground, and the tagline, “chaos is coming” is shown on-screen.

The actor behind the Joker is likely Christopher Corey Smith, who previously voiced the character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. It’s slightly confusing to keep track of the voice actors in the Lego Batman series, as Troy Baker — who voices Batman in the games — previously voiced the Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins. Some characters are paired with their actors from the Arkham games, including Tara Strong as Harley Quinn, and the late Adam West even played himself in Beyond Gotham.

“Set in an expansive open-world experience within the DC Universe, the Justice League has disappeared, leaving Earth’s protection to their counterparts from a parallel universe, who have proclaimed themselves as the ‘Justice Syndicate,'” Warner Bros. said alongside the full announcement trailer.

You won’t really be playing a villain in Lego DC Super-Villains, however, as the Joker, Harley Quinn, Deathstroke, and many more baddies must work together to uncover the truth about the Justice Syndicate. You appear to be a former prisoner who breaks out of jail as the city goes into chaos, and you’re capable of customizing your character with new powers as you progress. A second player can join in at any time for boss fights, as well.

Your bag of tricks includes the ability to use the Scarecrow’s famous “fear toxin” to scare residents of Gotham City. Other “menacing pranks and tactics” will also be at your disposal, and if Lego DC Super-Villains is anything like previous Lego games, you’ll have the option to play as other villains like Gorilla Grodd and Reverse-Flash.

What’s most interesting is what the announcement could mean for other rumored games. Lego DC Super-Villains previously popped up on Walmart Canada in a listing that also included the then-unannounced Rage 2. The same leak included a new Splinter Cell, Just Cause 4, Borderlands 3, Gears of War 5, and several others, along with previously revealed games. We’d still take the leak with a grain of salt at this point, but it does have us excited for E3 in June.

Lego DC Super-Villains is out October 16 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A “deluxe edition” containing the season pass and early access to a “TV Series DLC Character Pack” is available to pre-order now.

Updated on May 30: Added full trailer and gameplay details.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Counter-Strike 2 is now available on Steam for free after surprise launch
A team groups up in Counter-Strike 2.

With little more than a slight tease beforehand, Valve just launched Counter-Strike 2 on Steam.
Counter-Strike 2 - Launch Trailer
Counter-Strike is Valve's long-running competitive multiplayer shooter series. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has stayed near the top of Steam's player count charts ever since it launched in 2012. After over a decade of dominance, Valve first announced Counter-Strike 2 as a free, sequel-level upgrade to Global Offensive earlier this year. After some slight teases earlier in the month, Valve finally decided to surprise launch the game on September 27.
Counter-Strike 2 builds upon Global Offensive in Valve's newer Source 2 game engine. Outside of the obvious visual upgrades that change brings, Counter-Strike 2 adds to its predecessor with a new CS Rating system, overhauled maps, and tweaks to core mechanics like smoke grenades and the tick rate at which the first-person shooter operates. Valve also promises that the game features "upgraded Community Workshop tools," so we should get some entertaining Counter-Strike 2 mods.

Valve intends for players to smoothly transition from Global Offensive to Counter-Strike 2 as the game has simply updated to make the transition, and all items players obtained in the former work in the latter. Hopefully, this approach works out better for Valve than it did for Blizzard with Overwatch 2 last year. 
Counter-Strike 2 is available now on PC via Steam. It's a free-to-play game, although players can buy a Prime Status Upgrade for $15 that grants buyers the titular moniker. Having Prime Status grants exclusive items, item drops, and weapon cases and makes the game more likely to matchmake you with other Prime Status Counter-Strike 2 players.

Read more
PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is stepping down, with successor yet to be named
Playstation CEO and president, Jim Ryan, stands in front of a blue wall with Playstation button symbols illuminated.

Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan is retiring after 30 years. The PlayStation boss will formally leave his role in March 2024 with a successor yet to be named.

Jim Ryan has been working with PlayStation since 1994 when he joined Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. Since then, he's become the key figurehead for the PlayStation brand, similar to Phil Spencer's role within Xbox. His most recent success has come from the launch of the PlayStation 5, which has already surpassed a 40 million unit milestone. Today, Sony announced that Ryan plans to retire from the role.

Read more
Dragon’s Dogma 2 delivers exactly what you’re expecting: more Dragon’s Dogma
A dragon roars in Dragon's Dogma 2.

One year ago, I knew next to nothing about Dragon’s Dogma. If I was aware of it when it launched in 2012, I’d long since forgotten about it amid a decade’s worth of games. Who could blame me? Capcom didn’t exactly turn the fantasy-action RPG into one of its go-to IPs despite some impressive sales figures.

Dragon's Dogma 2 - 9 Minute Gameplay Deep Dive | Tokyo Game Show 2023

Read more