Already the first Injustice game, where DC heroes fight like Mortal Kombat fighters, was good fun. Injustice 2 takes gameplay and graphics a step further.

I have been a Batman fan since my childhood, even though I grew up on a pretty strict Marvel only diet. Batman always had a dark, rather twisted side. I liked the grey-black costume, the bats, the mansion, the bad guys. After Frank Miller shoved Bats through a meat grinder and molded him into a wealthy sociopath, things got even darker. The Joker mirroring the batty weirdness went absolutely bonkers.

Stringing together cool moves, is key in Injustice 2.

DC have tried to profit from this make-over, but Superman is still the most boring super-hero ever to hit the pages. Green Lantern? – Not really. Green Arrow? – Sometimes.  Flash? – Meh. Aquaman? – Seriously?? Wonder Woman? – After she got gadotted, yes. So bringing in the makers of Mortal Kombat to conjure up the fighting game Injustice – Gods among Us was pure genious: The childish over the top violence of the original MK-series got toned down to comic compatibility and all things DC got spiced up.

Customizing comic characters in Injustice 2

Already the first Injustice sported pretty nice graphics and thanks to Netherrealms Studios experience and know-how a rock solid fighting system. Now with Injustice 2 the quality got upped a serious notch. Sometimes the animations in the intros to the fights were impressive. Fluid, well executed. The dark humor of the special moves hilarious without going the distance of Mortal Kombat X repetitive sensationalism. Most noteworthy is the fact, that the well known characters can be customized and their looks altered. That is quite a step considering how precious these comic franchises have become.

As with many fighting games sometimes the balance of powers seems slightly off looking at individual characters. But if a player knows all the combos and can trigger them by heart, fights can get quickly uneven. This is nothing new and is part of the whole fighting game concept, where stringing together lethal moves is key.

Injustice 2 is personally my favorite fighting game to be released this year and there have been quite a few like Tekken 7, Absolver, Puzzle Fighter etc.