In the familiar Lego video game style, you and another player can explore various stages, collecting Lego bricks and studs to unlock upgrades and outfits, fighting off enemies with melee combat and gadgets and overcoming puzzles with character-specific talents. It’s essentially a classic action-platformer, but with a heavy focus on comedy and cartoony action with Lego characters. The combat upgrade, which channels the Arkham-style free-flow fights, really plays to the Lego style as well. I especially liked that they’ve added the comedy of the Adam West-era of Batman to make the battles feel even wackier.
The first mission I played was a chapter focusing on Batman’s early days as a crime fighter — a retelling of the Iceberg Lounge scene from 2022’s The Batman, arguably the darkest Batman film. Surprisingly, seeing the Lego version of the Matt Reeves film worked because it leans into the inherent ridiculousness of a masked vigilante breaking into a club to fight off henchmen. Along with Batman, Commissioner Gordon joins the fight, which also offers some comical moments as the pair builds Lego safe-cracking machines to break through barriers and reach deeper levels of the lounge.
The stage felt very much like a classic Lego video game experience, but Legacy of the Dark Knight goes further, drawing on the Batman: Arkham games. This really comes into play between missions, allowing you to explore the open city in the Batmobile or by gliding through the sky. This was a particularly satisfying moment for me because it felt like a very laid-back take on Batman: Arkham’s sprawling gameplay, with more playful moments where the citizens of Gotham City stare and gawk as Batman and Robin run through the streets.
“Like us, our friends and colleagues at Rocksteady Studios have drawn upon some of that material in the past to make these really absorbing, thrilling environments,” said Smith. “We’ve also taken our own path in other ways, as players who have played… and loved the Arkham games. There’s some muscle memory that you want to reflect and build on, but we’re always trying to find a distinctive Lego way of making that gameplay accessible and friendly for the widest array of players.”
Combat and exploration still match the simplicity of the other Lego gamesand admittedly, many of the encounters and open-world sections weren’t as mechanically deep as those in other Batman games. Still, it’s an admirable attempt to elevate the always-easy gameplay of the Lego games.
The next mission focused on a very Lego version of The Flying Graysons’ circus scene from Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever. Admittedly, I have a soft spot for Batman Foreverand the balance of charm and wit in Legacy of the Dark Knight worked wonders in recreating this scene as a puzzle-platforming sequence that plays well with the original movie’s style.
In addition to exploring Gotham City and taking on various missions with allies, I was surprised to see that Legacy of the Dark Knight also includes a fully explorable and customizable Batcave. Between missions, you can head back to Batman’s base to purchase unlockables for your collections, add Lego decals and iconic Batman collectibles across the caveand even interact with different characters like the interdimensional Batman fan-boy, Bat-Mite.
Whether it’s Star Wars, Indiana Jones or DC Comics, TT Games has had a particular knack for reinterpreting classic characters and putting their stories into the Lego universe. So far, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight continues in that direction, along with the strongest attempt yet to expand the scope and activities of an open-world Lego game. It’s essentially Batman: Arkham Knight for all ages.
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will be released on May 22, 2026, for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with a Nintendo Switch 2 release at a later date.
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