Justice League: Cosmic Chaos Preview: A DC Love Letter
Over the years, there have been a number of strong games featuring the heroes of the DC Universe, but they usually appeal specifically to older fans or younger ones, with little in the way of crossover. Outright Games and developer PHL Collective will attempt to appeal to DC fans of all-ages with their new action-RPG Justice League: Cosmic Chaos. Set to release on March 10th, the title will put players in the roles of the Justice League as they face off against Mr. Mxyzptlk and several other famous foes. ComicBook.com was able to attend a digital preview event for the game, and it could end up being a strong option for all DC fans.
Cosmic Chaos features three playable characters: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Rather than selecting between the three heroes, players freely swap between them at any point during the game. Each hero boasts powers and moves true to their appearances in other media. Wonder Woman has her Lasso of Truth, Batman has his Batarangs, and Superman his heat vision. The heroes will each be voiced by an actor reprising a previous role, adding some familiarity for DC fans. Nolan North returns as Superman, Diedrich Bader is back as Batman, and Vanessa Marshall is once again Wonder Woman. Aqua Teen Hunger Force's Dana Snyder will also voice Mxy in the game. Unfortunately, our preview event did not include audio, but we did get a glimpse at the banter through dialogue boxes, and the sense of humor seems quite strong.
Throughout the game, players will be able to upgrade all three of the heroes, and customize them to fit their specific play style; for example, Batman will have various Batarang types that can be unlocked. Each hero also has a corresponding elemental ability. Superman has been given the Fire element, Batman has been given the Ice element and Wonder Woman has the Electric element. These elemental abilities encourage players to swap between the heroes to match up against corresponding enemies to deal greater damage. Superman's Fire element makes sense given the character's heat vision, but the Ice and Electric choices for Batman and Wonder Woman seem a bit peculiar. It will be interesting to see if it feels more fitting in the game itself.
The ability to quickly swap between the game's heroes should make for some interesting combat. PHL Collective says that the goal was to combine the gameplay of the LEGO games with Diablo, but it was hard to really get a feel for the depth of the combat from a hands-off preview. The various minions of Mxy didn't seem to offer too much trouble for the game's heroes, but PHL Collective did note that Cosmic Chaos will have a number of different difficulty levels to choose from. I do wonder though if the team can strike a gameplay balance that will prove engrossing enough for older fans to stick with, while still feeling friendly to younger players.
While I have my questions about how engrossing the gameplay will be for longtime DC fans, Cosmic Chaos might still win them over thanks to its many references and callbacks to the DC Universe. Players will only control the DC Trinity in the game, but there will be various support characters as well, including Green Lantern, Cyborg, and Flash. During our preview, Booster Gold also popped by Justice League HQ with a task for the Trinity, and there were a number of references to characters like Captain Atom, Sgt. Rock, Black Canary, Snapper Carr, and Starro. Last but not least, players can find comic book pages throughout Happy Harbor, which can be used to unlock costumes for the playable heroes. The costumes are pulled from a number of famous DC Comics, and we got to see one design for Batman based on The Dark Knight Returns. In a cool detail, the game even showcases the cover for the comic in which each costume debuted.
Following the preview event, I'm feeling a lot more excited about Justice League: Cosmic Chaos than I was before. The game looks like a love letter to the DC Universe, and all of the various cameos and references make it feel like it could be something special. Outright Games has developed a reputation for publishing licensed all-ages games that have more depth than one might expect. It remains to be seen whether Justice League: Cosmic Chaos can follow that trend and deliver an appealing all-ages experience, but it certainly seems promising so far! DC fans can find out for themselves when the game releases next month on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
Are you looking forward to Justice League: Cosmic Chaos? Does this sound like it would appeal to you? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!