Hands‑On: Lego Batman Turns Gotham Into a Stealthy, Slow‑Mo Brick Brawler
I played a roughly 45-minute hands-on demo of Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight at Gamescom 2025, and the build showed a mix of open-world exploration, stealth-focused encounters, and Lego-style puzzles. The game is developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros.
- Quick summary of what this story covers: demo length and setting, combat and stealth mechanics, exploration and collectibles, playable characters and puzzles, and release platforms.
What the demo included
The demo dropped me into a rainy, open-world Gotham that the game presents in Lego form. It covers Batman’s story from beginning to end and combines action sequences with puzzles and light humor. During my session I used stealth, traversal tools, and combat options to progress through objectives and side activities.
Combat and stealth
Combat in the demo mixes melee, thrown weapons (Batarangs), and special finishing moves. In particular, the demo showed a slow-motion camera zoom for *finishing strikes*, and there is a roll-dodge option for defensive movement. Importantly, stealth is emphasized: if you don’t sneak, encounters can turn into frequent free-for-all brawls. Therefore, rooftops, vents, and silent takedowns are useful tools to avoid large fights.
Exploration and collectibles
Exploration uses grappling and gliding/paragliding, so traversal feels vertical and open. The city contains standard Lego collectibles like coins and also quirky items such as rubber ducklings. There are optional puzzles scattered across Gotham, and the demo highlighted collectible-driven mini-missions.
A simple mission example
One mission in the demo tasked me with finding three teddy bears. First, I located the approximate area using the in-game scan. Next, I shifted to a stealth approach, sneaking across rooftops to avoid detection. Then I dropped on an enemy from above, opened a truck containing a teddy, and solved a small puzzle that involved *mixing and matching shapes* to retrieve the item. Some encounters can be resolved with combat, but the demo clearly rewarded stealthy play.
Characters and puzzles
The full game will feature **seven playable characters**, including *Catwoman, Robin,* and *Nightwing*. In the demo, besides Batman, I also played as Jim Gordon. Swapping characters can be optional in combat, but it is required to *solve certain puzzles* that depend on specific abilities. Later in the demo, I visited Ace Chemicals, where red block-like enemies were converting teddy bears into green gas, and more puzzles and combat scenarios appeared.
Release details
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros. It is scheduled to launch sometime in **2026** for **Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X**.
