Injustice 2 Legendary Edition

After the success of 2013’s Injustice: Gods Among Us, NetherRealm set to work on the follow-up, Injustice 2, which released in 2017. Considering the track record with NetherRealm’s releases since Mortal Kombat (2011), I waited until the complete Legendary Edition in 2018 so that I could play without also buying all the DLC. However, it was only during the COVID-19 pandemic that I finally found time to play it. I don’t regret finally getting around to it, but the implementation of GaaS mechanics holds it back more than it should.

Following the events of Injustice: Gods Among Us, Superman’s regime has fallen and Batman works to rebuild society. However, a new supervillain group called “The Society”, led by Gorilla Grodd, and a superpowered alien, Brianiac, threaten these plans. Brainiac’s power proves too much for Batman to the point he seriously considers releasing Superman from his special Red Sun prison to help drive him back.

The Story Mode for Injustice 2 is only a few hours long, but does quite a bit for building off the previous game. Brainiac is a welcome addition as the antagonist, as he has a genuinely threatening presence and Batman and Superman are able to, at least temporarily, put aside their differences against a common enemy. However, Batman hasn’t forgotten how much of a threat Superman is in this universe and takes every precaution he can to handle Superman inevitably slipping back onto his dark road paved with good intentions. The focus on only one Earth helped focus the story and I also liked how the individual characters had their own plot threads touched upon, including Green Lantern’s genuine attempt to redeem himself and Harley Quinn being haunted by her relationship with Joker during her own turn to heroics.

The threat of Brainiac temporarily
unites Batman and Superman.

Notably, the story does retcon some aspects of the story as written in the popular Injustice tie-in comic book series. The biggest difference I picked up on is how Robin (Damian Wayne) joins Superman’s side of the original conflict. Specifically, he now intentionally kills Victor Zsasz and willingly joins Superman as opposed to accidentally killing Nightwing and then joining Superman after his father abandons him.

One twist to this game’s Story Mode, however, is the introduction of multiple paths. At certain points in the story, you get to choose between two different characters to fight as, with different matchups and interactions to go with them. These choices add some amount of replay value, as completing every single fight is required to view both of the game’s endings, as well as obtain the best equipment for each of the characters involved (more on that later). Both endings for the story are interesting in their own ways, though it’s very clear which one is the Good Ending and which is the Bad Ending, since Batman is unambiguously presented as the good guy.

If there’s one big issue I have with the presentation, it’s the pacing. The story is written in a way that incorporates every character from the roster, which is, of course, standard practice for fighting games at this point. Although this does mean that characters get time to explore their own arcs, these arcs can feel rushed, with characters like Joker and Atrocitus showing up for only one scene before exiting the story entirely. I wish these plot threads had more room to breathe, but at the same time I don’t know how much longer the story could get before it would just get too bloated.

Atrocitus (left) and Dex-Starr (right) are part of Green Lantern's
character arc, but aren't there for very long. 

Visually, the game looks better than the original Injustice. The arenas are highly detailed and match the environments quite well, with much greater variety than the original, which heavily emphasized Batman-themed arenas. There’s also a sense of weight when characters move or land attacks, which gives the action more of an impact. I also like the character designs, as they strike a better balance between the classic costumes and the armor aesthetic introduced in Injustice, with the latter now coming off more naturally. However, some of the faces felt a little off to me for some reason, though I can’t quite put my finger on it. Additionally, the game has a very sleek UI, tying in with Batman’s Brother Eye computer from the story, and a cleaner version of the HUD from the previous entry.

Injustice 2 is visually improved from its predecessor.

Of course, the most important part of any fighting game is the gameplay, which Injustice 2 does well, for the most part, with some very responsive controls that help maintain the pacing of the fights. The gameplay remains largely the same from the original with some tweaks. Most noticeably, for me anyway, stage transition locations are now more clearly indicated to the player with an icon below the health meter and character powers now have cooldowns more clearly displayed onscreen. Environmental attacks can also be blocked or dodged more easily than in the original, though some remain unblockable. Additionally, there are now more opportunities to interact with the stage, with some differences in behavior depending on who interacts with them, and Wagers were renamed to Clashes.

Injustice 2 features a larger roster than the previous game, 28 characters instead of 24, with an additional 10 characters via DLC (included in the Legendary Edition, which I played). Returning characters have similar movesets to their original counterparts while new characters offer their own spins on gameplay. Characters are also still subtly separated into Power and Gadget types, which affect some interactions, but there’s enough variety to suit multiple playstyles. While checking out the roster, however, I did notice that ranged fighters like Darkseid or Deadshot seem to have an inherent advantage over others simply due to easily spamming quick projectiles. The game isn’t imbalanced in their favor, but it does dramatically alter the pacing.

Injustice 2 has a noticeably larger roster than the previous game.

With all of the DLC characters added, the roster size can feel a little overwhelming at times and even a little bloated. I attribute this to a combination of fitting everyone from the base game into the story and a desire on WB’s end to squeeze as much money as they could out of DLC fighters. Then there are “Premier Skins” that can change a character’s appearance, voice and even special moves, which can be fun to try out, especially characters like Bizarro (in place of Superman) or another Green Lantern, John Stewart (in place of Hal Jordan). I also found that playing a match between Sub Zero and Raiden, both DLC fighters, feels closer to playing a Mortal Kombat game, if a little watered down.

The biggest change to the gameplay, however, is the Gear system. Each character’s outfit and special moves can be customized through different Gear parts that that the player earns through normal gameplay, as well as through decoding Mother Boxes. Different Gear pieces can increase the character’s stats and even add specific gameplay alterations, like earning EXP from playing certain modes. There’s some balance to this system by requiring characters to be at a certain level before some Gear can be equipped, but a character’s Gear loadout can easily influence how well the player performs in a given matchup.

Injustice 2 also introduces a new mission-based gameplay mode called Multiverse. The setup for this mode is that the Brother Eye computer regularly scans the multiverse for trouble, which you can stop. Missions regularly rotate out after a few days or hours, with the idea that the player would regularly check in to see what they can do now, though there's also a fixed Legendary Multiverse the player can clear; Arcade ladders are also buried in this mode under the Battle Simulator option. The incentive to keep playing is the ability to earn powerful character parts, as well as high level Mother Boxes and premium currencies like Source Crystals. Since I main Batman, it was fun to play this mode for a bit to draw out more of his potential and make him an even stronger fighter to tackle harder missions.

Multiverse missions provide a lot of the replay value.

Unfortunately, the insistence on implementing “Games as a Service” (GaaS) mechanics into the game sucked whatever fun I may have had out of Multiverse mode and the Gear system. For those unaware, GaaS basically adds monetization practices from free mobile games into full-priced games to try and make more money off of players. The core of this is the Mother Box system, basically glorified loot boxes. You earn Mother Boxes by completing Story chapters and Multiverse missions or purchasing them with Credits, earned by doing anything in the game. Decoding a Mother Box gives the player Gear pieces of three different rarities, Normal, Rare and Epic, which wildly influence the stat boosts for their respective character.

There are, however, five different levels of Mother Boxes: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. Each level has a random chance of getting Epic Gear, but you obviously want higher levels to get a better shot. But that’s not all, since there are also Guild Mother Boxes, earned by participating in Guild Multiverse, which can also be purchased with Guild Credits, an obvious ploy to make you want to join a Guild. Otherwise, the separation is confusing.

Mother Boxes are just loot boxes by another name.

A third currency is Regen Tokens, which let you regenerate one piece of Gear by rerolling its stats. I haven’t used this feature, however, since I didn’t get enough excess Gear to justify it.

But then we have the fourth currency, Source Crystals. These are used to purchase alternate colors for characters, as well as Premier Skins like Bizarro, Bruce Wayne and Mr. Freeze. I wouldn’t have a problem with these if you didn’t have to grind them as hard as you do. Completing Story Mode and the Multiverse tutorial gave me just under the necessary amount to buy the Premier Skin I wanted, Bizarro, so one round of Multiverse put me over the top. To get everything else, however, would mean committing several more hours to the game. Naturally, Injustice 2 offers a faster way to earn them through microtransactions, meaning you can just buy Source Crystals outright with prices ranging from $0.99 for 2,000 to a whopping $99.99 for 325,000. Although this is mostly for cosmetic items, it’s still a predatory practice meant to exploit impatience.

If this isn't predatory, I don't know what is.

While researching for this review, I also discovered a bit of DLC that allows you to infinitely transform your Gear (transferring stats from one piece of Gear to another without altering its appearance) without spending Source Crystals for only $9.99. If appearance matters that much to you and you love grinding for Gear, then this is for you. However, this too feels predatory, considering you'd otherwise have to grind for or buy Source Crystals.

Ultimately, I feel that if the GaaS components weren’t there, then the game could give players Source Crystals solely based on how well they fought in each mode and what conditions they overcame. Maybe even reward players more based on Online play, as it’s more or less the backbone of Injustice 2. This would encourage players to improve their skills and get more Source Crystals, which they would then spend on the character skins to show off their commitment. Basically, the same system that made Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled fun and rewarding before it implemented microtransactions.

At least I can play as Bizarro now.

On the upside, the voice acting and sound design are both excellent. There are plenty of big names in the voice cast, including Kevin Conroy, Steve Blum and Phil LaMaar respectively playing Batman, Green Lantern and Aquaman/John Stewart with ease, plus Jeffrey Combs has an interesting take on Brainiac. I loved that characters had unique intro interactions for each matchup and that certain sounds came out of the DualShock 4 speaker, including a sound when the super meter builds up. My only real complaint is that there aren’t any subtitles during the intros, even when they’re turned on, and that even though the announcer voice is fitting, since the framing device is watching a fight through Brother Eye, it sounds unenthusiastic compared to other fighting games I’ve played.

If you were a fan of Injustice or have wanted to see your favorite DC characters fight each other, then Injustice 2 will certainly scratch that itch, especially the Legendary Edition. However, the GaaS mechanics hold it back from greatness and attempt to reward whaling over commitment or skill. It’s still a fun game and a solid fighter, with a fairly good story, but just know what you’re getting into.