Over the years, Outright Games has expanded and enriched its video game offering with increasingly complex and elaborate titles. Since all the games it represents are aimed at a young audience, it’s not always the best option. But over the years, it became clear that they were working with developers to produce more in-depth titles. In this vein, the next great Outright title will arrive in a few weeks: DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos, developed by PHL Collective. I had the chance to play it before its release and see how it takes shape.
First of all, I will put an end to some prejudices. Yes, it is a game designed for the little ones, and it is true that it has an appearance that would make you think that it is a game for children, due to its designs and its childish cutscenes. But it’s not a title just for the little ones, in fact it has plenty of endearing spaces, elements and additions that show it’s a very engaging game for DC fans of all ages.
After playing around for a bit, I can say that DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos revolves around the defenders of Earth, who must now face the threat posed by a mischievous enemy known as Mister Mxyzptlk, a character resembling a sprite who represents the very embodiment of chaos. This enemy arrives in Happy Harbor (where the Justice League was originally founded) and begins to terrorize the townspeople and then blame the League for the trouble caused, all the while teaming up with Starro the Conqueror. Here the characters of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman come into action, from which you can choose to save the world, while other heroes like Cyborg have a supporting role.
The basic concept of the game and its narration are easy to follow and understand, since it is a game mainly intended for an audience between 7 and 10 years old, but PHL Collective created some dialogues and chose a cast of voice actors made up of real stars to take the story to another level. We’ve got Nolan North as Superman, Vanessa Marshall as Wonder Woman, and Dietrich Bader as Batman, a whole crew that does wonders to bring these three to life, with witty dialogue that’s direct. and does not hesitate to make fun of each character. For example, even without knowing the character, they make it very clear that Booster Gold is quite unbearable. All of this makes for a story that older audiences will struggle to laugh out loud at every dialogue. Bader’s sarcastic Batman is my favorite of them all.
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But the story isn’t the only thing that makes Cosmic Chaos so much fun. The combat system is much deeper than expected, with tons of skills to unlock, ranged attacks, and combos to master. Additionally, upgrades add additional effects to each skill and increase its effectiveness. Of course, the fact that you can instantly switch characters whenever you want lets you go from Wonder Woman’s quick punches to Superman’s heavy punches and Batman’s full artillery. Add to that the comical effects (like “Poof!” or “Whoop!”) and the fact that each hero has their own elemental attacks, with which you can easily pierce the shields of enemies of the same elemental type, as well as that you will be involved in a more complex and entertaining type of combat for all ages.
Enemy monsters and sea bosses also ensure entertaining battles, as each will attack in a different way and pose new threats. If you find them too easy or difficult to handle, you can always change the difficulty to suit your needs, as challenges and even achievements and trophies are not tied to game difficulty.
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The leveling system I mentioned earlier is a bit more complex than expected in a kid’s game. We have to choose a series of resources and items that can be used in different talent trees to improve skills. There are also other items to find and collect, such as comic book pages, which are essential to unlocking different hero costumes available in the game and each of them is inspired by DC comics. You’ll also find Justice Artifacts around the world that can change the way a character plays and reference a part of Justice League history. For DC fans wondering what inspired DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos, the developers told us that Fearless Batman #28 was a key comic for them in developing this game.
While playing the game, it became clear to me that there were aesthetic similarities to the work of Crystal Dynamics, and similarly the game world reminded me of Lego superhero games , where, like Cosmic Chaos, you can explore a living, bustling world filled with options, including side quests, loot, bosses, dungeons, enemy-infested sewers, and more. All of this will give you different ways to level up, get resources, progress through the story, and earn new items and rewards. Everything indicates that no one will be bored with this game.
While I’ve only been able to explore DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos a little so far, it’s clear to me that it’s more than just a kid’s game. The universe, the humor, the complexity, the DC references come together to create a very entertaining and promising action-adventure game for all ages. This title won’t be part of the DC Extended Universe or Gunn’s DCU (confirmed by PHL Collective), but the developer says they hope to bring more characters to the game in the future and continue this adorable and hilarious video game in the future. ‘coming . Still, ahead of post-launch, DC’s League Justice: Cosmic Chaos should be off to a strong start. For now, its release is scheduled for March 10 on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. I’m not kidding when I say we could be watching the best Justice League game of 2023. We’ll find out soon.