There’s been plenty of talk about James Gunn’s recent comments about DCU games, especially since he brought up Rocksteady and NetherRealm Studios. While it will be nice to see games that tie-in to that wider cinematic universe, some of us just want to see Injustice 3 get the greenlight.
During a DC Studios presentation (via IGN), Gunn and Peter Safran brought up how they’ve been talking with devs from these studios on what they can eventually come up. Gunn did tease that something is in the works but we won’t see it for a couple of years. Because of that, they ended up hyping future Fortnite collaborations since everyone expects those.
However, bringing up NetherRealm and DC in the same sentence should immediately result in talks about Injustice 3. After all, the studio saw great success with these games and it would be a shame if they didn’t make another one of these. Managing to blend in great stories with an accessible fighting system, it’s sad that this franchise’s future remains uncertain.
For those unfamiliar, the Injustice titles are DC fighting games that use the Mortal Kombat combat system, outside of Fatalities. In this universe Joker drove Superman insane by killing Lois Lane, leading to the iconic hero becoming a fascist leader of Earth. Naturally, Batman has sided against his former friend and this leads to plenty of 2D fights with 3D visuals.
While the first game is a typical “Good Justice League vs Bad Justice League” story, the second game heats things up. Aside from ditching the good Justice League, Batman and Superman have to reluctantly team up to defeat Brainiac. This led to a very tense story with two wildly different endings, depending on which side you choose.
Both Injustice games were smart enough to follow Mortal Kombat’s lead and have plenty of single-player content. The first game had a ton of Arcade Mode and Survival Mode variations that enhance replayability. Meanwhile, the second game has a Multiverse where players can level up their chosen characters and get some gear, which are technically the new outfits.
Admittedly, if we are going to get an Injustice 3, I hope they ditch the annoying armor system that was in Injustice 2. On paper, going through the game’s various crisis-filled Earths for new cosmetics is fun. However, the RNG is a little too strong and it can be difficult to complete the game’s armor sets. Furthermore, certain moves are restricted to gear parts, making each of the characters feel incomplete.
Unfortunately, we don’t know if NetherRealm has the choice to change that since Warner Bros. has been all about live-service elements lately. Even after the colossal failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the company insists on charging players more for the $70 games they buy. Don’t be surprised if Injustice 3 ends up with even more forced cosmetics and in-game purchases.