LEGO® DC Super-Villains Deluxe Edition

Every once in a while, people who are on a diet enjoy a ‘cheat day’. This usually comes in the form of a meal that is super unhealthy and will generally make you feel miserable about an hour afterward. It’s usually born of nostalgia like a Happy Meal from McDonald's is for me. This unusual metaphor for “Lego DC Super-Villains” doesn’t fit well, but because I typically enjoy very violent, adult-oriented, emotionally driven games most of the time, the idea of a ‘cheat game’ about superheroes in a world made of LEGO seems quite nostalgic - and I quite enjoyed it. On its face, “Lego DC Super-Villains” is your typical Traveler’s Tales, LEGO-inspired game - the 15 levels are filled with secrets to find, the story is whimsical, and the gameplay is rather simplistic. However, two elements of the game seemed very amusing to me. One aspect that stood out was the voice acting - having the late Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill narrate their roles as Batman and Joker respectively was touching and added a bit of genuineness to the characters. The other is the customizable player character and its seemingly novel customization. In previous LEGO games, you can customize the look of your character, and… that’s about it. In this game, however, I found that not only can you customize their look, but also customize almost every element of their superpowers, down to the hand that a certain power emits from. Outside of those few unique elements, I really struggled to find anything else unique about this game; the gameplay mechanics and controls mirror other LEGO style games, the objectives of obtaining ‘True Villian’ status for maxing out coins in each level is the same, hunting for secrets felt the same, and many other elements were… the same. Although it was an entertaining story with a few interesting touches, “Lego DC Super Villians” is very much like any other LEGO-based game and isn’t aimed at a 39-year-old as its target audience. Instead, this game aims at the younger gamer to learn about in-game puzzles, enjoy repeatable romps through the different levels, and obtain 100% completion with my position as the advice-giving Dad, guiding the kids through some of the more difficult sections and giving a high-five when the level end screen shows that all of the object gives have been completed. In short, this isn’t a game for me, but it was quite enjoyable as a change-up to my regular gaming diet, and that’s ok. Now, I’m off to order a Happy Meal.