LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (Wii U) Review

The story begins when the seven Lantern Corps are drawn to Brainiac by a mysterious force, which results in them being brainwashed into boarding his ship, submitting to his every command. Batman and Robin are then visited by Brainiac in the Bat Cave, where the mind control also affects Batman. This sets the course of the rest of the story, uniting the Justice League together to thwart Brainiac's plans and taking down other forces of evil along the way.

LEGO games by TT Games have always had an element of quirkiness to them and thankfully this instalment is no different, with there being plenty of humorous exchanges between Batman, Robin and other characters of the DC multiverse.

The tried-and-true formula of collecting studs and using different characters' abilities to progress through levels and find secret areas is also still present, and although it may feel stale to players who have experienced every LEGO title, it works just as well as it did when it was first conceived.

However, it would have been nice to spread the abilities out a bit, as it sometimes feels that Batman and Robin as a pair can do pretty much everything due to the variety of costumes they have at their disposal.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is oozing with delicious fan service that will satisfy any long-term follower of DC Comics. From a plethora of superheroes and supervillains to play as, there's also various locales which are easily recognisable from the biggest of fans.

Something that made the previous entry so enjoyable was the inclusion of a vast open world for players to explore, which is also something that's sadly lacking in this instalment. Traveller's Tales has instead gone back to the classic level-restricted design, resulting in a slightly less satisfying experience.

Overall, it feels like a step back for the series, but it still has the redeeming factors of the outlandish characters and humorous dialogue that often portrays the protagonists as an exaggerated version of themselves.