Vessels of excitement are ready! The LEGO Batman hype is blowing off steam, and the gaming community is going to witness it when the official LEGO DC Games account practically bombarded its followers with a post that could only be described as a Batcave surveillance feed giving us a barely visible look at an incoming new world that is certainly going to be very vast and worth the exploration.
Or should I say? It’s almost too good to be true.
The tweet titled ‘Cauldron Surveillance Feed’ shows the entire city of Gotham under surveillance and gathering information from three of the city’s most mentioning spots, each with its own threat level. The first one is a BUS DEPOT which has been assigned a LOW-threat level indicating that it is calm and possibly a good starting point. Then come the MEDIUM-threat-level CAR WASH described as ‘a suspicious business in a rainy city,’ which is the vibe of Gotham all right. Still, the place attracting the most interest is MALONE INC with a HIGH-threat level because that’s where the Red Hood Gang is. The order to go? ‘Deploy immediately.’ As in, right now. If only I could.
Really, very clever and original way to hype it up. It’s nothing like the old ‘here are some screenshots’ type post. It is an in-character, immersive tiny story beat that makes the player feel like he is already in-game, looking at Batman’s computer screens. The wait for this game is even more torturous, but in the best possible way.
The gamers? They are having a ball in the replies, and it’s a delight to observe. The community’s elation is overflowing. A user, YGS5, who is among the most ardent supporters, has straight out declared, ‘I cant fucking wait to pre-order this fire game. Gotta platinum batman 2 and 3 before tho.’ The vibe there is just another world. Such dedication is evident. Another user, Shade, expressed the same sentiment and posted, ‘I can’t wait to explore that LEGO version of Gotham’ along with a hype-packed GIF. The mere announcement of a huge and explorative LEGO Gotham City is enough to entice a large number of players.
Still, do not rush to the conclusion so quickly; it is more interesting than it seems. The replies not only radiate thrill but also carry theories and demands. One of the biggest theories is from user nekooutcast who spotted the timer at the top of the video in the original tweet. They questioned, ‘Does anyone else think that the timer at the top of the video might be counting down to the game awards?’ Now THAT is something to think about. What if the game awards unveil a release date or a new trailer? It will not only be a perfectly logical scenario but also a great moment for this anticipated game.
The request for pre-orders has already begun. Austinomino’s reply perfectly sums up the situation: ‘PLEASE LET PRE ORDERS BE AVAILABLE AT GAME AWARDS PLEASE I WANT TO GIVE UP MY MONEY.’ The urgency is pretty much apparent, and to be honest, I am also. You would rather have your gaming console collecting dust than have a game that looks this good and not want the fastest possible delivery of your wallet to the screen. NateNosek jokingly (or maybe hopefully?) asked if ‘Deploy immediately’ means they are getting early access. But, we can all dream, right?
On the other hand, it is not all fun and games. There is a very clear and constant demand from a part of the gaming community that is hard to miss. Many Turkish players are quite noisy and, to say the least, very passionate in their appeals to have Turkish subtitles included in the game. Turkish users like Mert, Efe Müdüroğlu, and Sefa CANKAL have been repeating in their posts such phrases as ‘We want Turkish Subtitles’ or ‘Please add Turkish language support.’ Sefa CANKAL’s emotional note mentions their passion for LEGO Batman games and the Batman Arkham series. It definitely makes everyone aware of the importance of localization in making games accessible to the global audience, and one can only hope the developers are cognizant of the requests.
Fun notifications from players are also accompanying the wish list. For example, user theeBESTIEEE suggested that mountaintops be marked with dots showing where the main characters are and that they be interactive and slowly moving around. That would be an incredible little feature, making the city quite vibrant. And SlasherReport put it straight with the question, ‘Computer Batcave access?!’ It’s a given; it will be a major center; it wouldn’t be a Batman game without the Batcave.
What does all this add up to? The next LEGO Batman game hype is up to scratch. The developers are the ones who led the race in anticipation with these in-universe teases, and the community not only responds on PlayStation but also on Xbox.
