LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight released May 22, 2026, the fourth game in the LEGO Batman line. It is not a sequel so much as its own LEGO telling of the Batman story, aiming to honor the character across eras, series, and movies. The Caped Crusader’s cowl still catches a few snags that keep this from being the ultimate experience it was aiming for.

You play Bruce Wayne across stages of his life as Batman, all stemming from the night after seeing the Grey Ghost in theaters with his parents: a walk down Crime Alley leaves him an orphan. Grown, he seeks justice, trains under Ra’s al Ghul in the League of Shadows, then discovers Ra’s plans to destroy Gotham for its corruption. After a boss fight and chase, he escapes an exploding building, returns home, finds the well he fell into as a kid, and finds the spark to become Batman. From there the game is escapades against Gotham’s cascade of villains, with unlikely allies along the way.

Gameplay mashes classic LEGO adventure (fight, puzzle, collectibles) with Rocksteady Arkham DNA. Levels map Gotham districts inspired by movies, TV, and games. Take out goons with stealth takedowns or bare-knuckle brawls through heaps of enemies.

I have a soft spot for LEGO games. Not the greatest games ever made, but a staple of gaming culture and a wonderful kids’ entry point: witty, imaginative, action-adventure puzzles with the toys they already play with. This one does that job well. It is fun. Lighthearted but punchy LEGO charm. I do not remember laughing out loud so much as thinking, oh, that is fun.

There is a lot of heart and love for Batman here. References, cameos, homages, and nods sit in every corner: levels, suits, vehicles, Gotham as hub. The Arkham Asylum level is practically a remake of the Batman: Arkham Asylum intro. Rocksteady is credited as co-developer, and you feel it, especially in combat. Fights are fun and flashy, a lite version of Arkham, missing mainly those punch SFX. Gotham is full of things to do. Random crime alerts sell a crime-ridden city. Riddler and Cluemaster puzzles and WayneTech caches for upgrades spread across the map. More opens as the story progresses, which works for narrative and play. Relatively early you unlock the glider, which makes travel easy and fun, including grappling into a glide.

The voice cast mostly lands. This Robin nails it: plucky Boy Wonder energy like Burt Ward’s ’60s show, with a cadence that reminded me of Casey Kasem’s Shaggy. The rest of the actors do fine work. The exception is a problem, because it is Batman.

This Batman is not good. The vocal performance is not believable. Early on you play Bruce becoming Batman, sounding new and naive, and I thought each chapter might swap VAs as time jumped. No. Bruce and Batman are Shai Matheson the whole way, stuck in Triple-A speak. If you know the “Triple-A Mario” meme, you know the register: “Huh, something’s up.” “This’ll be useful.” “Erm, this looks like a place to build something.” It reads as a person performing, not a character living in the game. That breaks disbelief, and it is not Batman. The World’s Greatest Detective has a specific vibe: prepared, backup plans for backup plans, reserved confidence, fear to predators and empathy for the suffering. When he says “Because I’m Batman,” you should believe him. The issue is not “not Kevin Conroy” or “not Troy Baker.” Preference is personal. Matheson teeters between Triple-A speak and a Christian Bale impression. Not Batman. In his defense, he did not write the lines. Hard to get the full character when the game Flanderizes everyone to an overly childish degree.

Before the “it’s a kids’ game” defense: Bruce’s motivation is his parents’ murder. That is what propels him to accept Ra’s training. That moment makes Batman Batman. This game softens or skips a lot of what makes these people who they are. Chapter three: circus, Flying Graysons, Two-Face shows up. You team with young acrobat Dick Grayson, save the day, and Dick offers to be a sidekick while accidentally throwing a batarang. It ricochets, cuts the ropes holding his parents, and the camera goes slow-mo on Dick’s face as they plummet… into a hot dog stand. They are fine. Dick quips he is probably fired. Batman takes him under his wing. In the real story, Dick’s parents are murdered; Bruce adopts him partly to stop another orphan from becoming him. Death is fundamental to that bond. Here it reads like the game needed Robin for legacy and more gameplay mechanics. Same pattern for most villains: missing what made them villains. Softening for kids is the excuse. I push back. Batman: The Animated Series, The Batman, Justice League Unlimited were kids’ shows that respected that kids are not stupid. They go into heavy concepts, softened, still given respect.

Older LEGO games had you play Batman as a LEGO. Here you play a LEGO as Batman. LEGO Batman 2 felt like a LEGO adventure from Justice League Unlimited: a little more comic, characters almost interchangeable with the cartoon. Even as a minifig, Batman was still Batman. Here they border on parody. Nothing wrong with that on its own, but it sits at odds with a game sold as honoring Batman’s legacy. The LEGO Batman Movie with Will Arnett is the better comparison: exaggerated, parody-adjacent, but with a firmer grip on who these people are. You could LEGO-fy more of the real stories without abandoning the toybox.

The Arkham-lite combat is still a positive. Being a LEGO game, you also get LEGO jank: weird-angle interactions that take a second, co-op AI that wanders when you do not want it to. It crashed once on me, which is not bad, and I have not heard of game-breaking or achievement-blocking bugs. At this price, there should be no issues. Retail is $70. Plenty of content. Still not worth the ask.

This is a great kids’ game. If I were a parent wanting to play with a younger kid, this would be a strong pick and a fine entry into Batman and the rogue’s gallery: run a mission inspired by a specific movie, then show them the movie. Cool experience. Issues aside, a fun time. At $40 or less, worth it if you like this style. Seven out of 10.