Injustice 2 Review

From The Past: This article has been imported from one of my past blog sites, written in 2017.

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Developer: NetherRealm Studios. Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, XBOX One. Genre: Fighting Release Date: 11th May 2017.

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PLOT After a long fought battle, Batman and his team have ended Superman’s tyrannical regime, and now aim to mend the broken world. When threats new and old begin to surface, past differences must be put aside to defeat Earth’s greatest threat yet, Brainiac.

REVIEW

Back in 2004, I played Soulcalibur II, and it won me over to the fighting genre, whether that was using Ivy’s snake sword or performing unholy combos as the rubber-bodied Voldo. The problem was that from then on, no fighting game really drew me back, and I slowly drifted away from the genre. That was until Mortal Kombat was rebooted back in 2011, setting off an interested spark that continued to grow following the release of Injustice: Gods Among Us, and the rather excellent Mortal Kombat X. Although both were very fun games, neither title managed to fully hook me back to the genre, that was, until I picked up Injustice 2 where the thrill of pummelling opponents and love for learning and executing extended combos all came flooding back.

Injustice: Gods Among Us was a fun game, but it featured some very stiff movement that took a good few hours to really adjust to; in turn, it made the game feel slow and bulky when compared to its competitors. Although it did host a solid DC roster to play with, the overall game fell short at establishing itself as a must-play property. Fast forward to 2017, and NetherRealm Studios has dived back into the Injustice world, this time coming off the back of their excellent Mortal Kombat X. The biggest concern had been whether Injustice 2 would be a worthy follow up, thankfully it’s an innovative sequel that improves on the previous title in every way possible.

The game’s campaign is solid and continues down the dark path that Injustice: Gods Among Us laid out before it, complete with life-like cut scenes to transition you between the fighting action. Gone are the small button prompt scenes that acted as a prelude to certain combat encounters in the previous game; they weren’t fun and felt like mere distractions. Thankfully, they failed to make the cut this time around. Brainiac is also a tremendous villain for the franchise, and it's nice to see him utilised in a way that makes him feel like a heavyweight threat, rather than a goofy morning cartoon villain. In fact, that goes to every character adaptation; they all feel like faithful portrayals, but still gel nicely into the universe NetherRealm has crafted.

Injustice 2 is everything you could want in a fighting game and more. Gone are the days of bulky movement and sluggish combos; instead, we’re treated to the fluid combat similar to the recent Mortal Kombat X. It's been tampered with and the formula tweaked to perfection, making it much like DC’s heroes, the world’s finest. I know you might think that it’s pretty high praise, but Injustice 2 does everything to earn it. It’s perhaps the most robust fighter out there, packing in a shed load of content. The launch lineup included a 28-fighter roster, which will rocket to 38 when all the additional DLC fighters release.

The gameplay is as deep as you’d like it to be, whether that be learning simple abilities and short combos, or diving in head first to master combo chains and what characters best counter one another. Most of the diverse roster will handle differently from each other, acting accordingly to their strengths and weaknesses in their play styles. The likes of Deadshot will tend to favour range attacks and keeping the enemy at bay, bolstered by a move set to complement his zoning play style. This isn’t limited to move pools, as it extends to how you’ll see each character interact with the environment around them. For instance, the muscle-bound Bane may interact with objects in the arena by throwing them towards the opponent like a baseball. Whereas more nimble fighters like Catwoman may use it as a bounce pad to manoeuvre themselves away from danger or out of the arena’s corners. There are so many options to mess around with, and the fluid combat system is only enhanced by the variety each play style offers.

The games' (mostly) jaw-dropping super moves are still in play, giving you a quick breather whilst your fighter delivers a spectacular pummelling on your vulnerable opponent. Also marking their return are the excessive stage transitions, although this time they’ve been chopped down to faster routes, keeping matches flowing without large break-ups. The super metre’s back too, and this time with plenty of options to help you outplay the opposition. There’s the main option to save it up so you can unleash your hero's super, or use it to dodge roll away from tricky situations, or even meter burn your abilities and combos for added damage and effects. The clash system is still present, letting you wager your meter against the opponent in a few-second poker face that has the potential to restore health or deal instant damage. Smart meter management will be crucial for winning games, whether that’s using it to unleash a powerful offensive or storing it up for those tricky situations, will be up to how you want to play.

Injustice 2 features an endless amount of modes to sink your teeth into outside of the game's main story. There are AI battle scenarios where you’ll set up a team to defend and fight other players' pre-set teams, online matchmaking, offline versus, arcade mode with unlockable endings for every character, as well as the game's ever-changing multiverse. There is A LOT to do in Injustice 2, and nearly all of it is worth visiting. You may find the AI battle simulator to be the weakest of the plentiful options. The biggest winner is the multiverse, which is updated with events throughout the week, days and hours. Each one presents new challenges and unlockables, including credits, epic gear and much, much more. They create an endless supply of content that grants the best rewards, making it worth visiting the multiverse once a day. There are strong boss fights, character-specific events, and gameplay modifiers such as New Year's Eve fireworks shooting across the map or a tilted arena. If the strong gameplay is what hooks you in, the multiverse is what’ll keep you coming back, day after day, week after week.

The inclusion of loot boxes may have set off warning sirens for some gamers, especially after the backlash to the poor implementation of the products in certain games, making the word feel like an instant curse on any game that uses them. Yet Injustice 2 bucks that trend, having the crates built into the core game in the very best way possible, not gated behind endless pay walls, but fairly rewarded and easily obtained. There’s always going to be something you can do in Injustice 2 that will reward you for your efforts, whether that be levelling up your character, earning gear, loot boxes, credits and regen tokens, you’re never short of an in-game reward hitting you.

It’s a balancing act between gifting items too easily and earning them; luckily, the balance is struck wonderfully, locking you in that ‘one more game’ mindset so you can earn your favourite character’s epic gear. The unlocks don’t feel like useless junk either, in fact, there’s a tendency for the unlocked gear to favour your most played heroes, you’ll still unlock a handful of gear for your lesser played heroes, but it acts as an incentive to take that character’s fresh looks out for a spin.

On the topic of customisation, Injustice 2‘s gear system is phenomenal, and something I never knew I’d want in a fighting game. There are common, rare and epic items to uncover, all easily obtained in mother boxes (the game's loot boxes) or simply earned from completing events and levelling up your fighters. For example, an event currently running for the week is ‘Kitty Kitty’. If you manage to complete all ladders, you’ll be rewarded with a full epic gear kit for Catwoman. No excessive grinding, no unfairly overpowered enemies, just a challenge that puts your mastery of that character to the test.

The gear isn’t just cosmetic either, whilst there is a wide range of looks for a fighter, each piece will have its own stats that can buff your fighter’s strength, ability, defence and health. This will be integral for gaining traction in the multiverse. The unlocked gear will usually always be around your fighter's current level. Additionally, the inclusion of regen tokens means that no gear will ever outlive its usefulness, as you can regen any gear piece to match your current level, rerolling its stats in the process. Meaning that epic gear you unboxed at level 3 will be just as useful when you hit the level 20 benchmark.

NetherRealm didn’t stop there as there’s also the option of transforming gear, letting you maintain the appearance of an item whilst it takes over the stats of another. Meaning your favourite look can also become your strongest loadout.

All of this translates across to the online component where you can partake in ranked matches, player matches and King of the Hill (a winner stays on mode, where spectators vote on their predicted winner). In ranked and competitive versus mode, gear stats are removed, letting you keep the visual flair of your character without compromising the competitive nature of skill-based combat. Then again, if you want to try out your fighter's stat loadout and unlocked abilities, the regular player matches let you keep all your stats as you battle both your online opponents and their personalised gear sets.

Perfection is like a holy grail; it’s the unreachable goal, but we always try to come as close as we can. One of the game's hindrances is in its campaign and how it tends to cram in some unnecessary filler fights and ‘roster reminders’ that don’t serve the overall story, as well as a tendency to repeat the same enemy batch for a good 30% of the battles. Then again, this is a fighting game, and the story mode is never going to be the main draw; it's more nitpicking a fantastic package.

Injustice 2 has just set the benchmark for fighting games. Delivering fluid and deep combat that you can easily spend weeks enjoying. There’s a constant sense of achievement as new loot is repeatedly rewarded for almost every action in the game. Combine that with a generous roster of fighters and the constantly evolving multiverse events, and Injustice 2 looks set to stay around for a very long time.