Summary
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice Leaguehas had its share of controversy due to its always online, live service approach. Many players simply wanted another phenomenal singleplayer offering from Rocksteady that resembled theBatman: Arkhamgames, while others have developed a distaste for all things live service and want nothing to do with the genre. However, if players are willing to give it a chance, they will find that Rocksteady has some solid plans in place for itsSuicide Squadproject. Alongside plenty of free content that will be added over the course of a year following the game’s debut,Kill The Justice Leaguewill feature the Social Squad mechanic, and it is something that could benefit fellow looter shooterBorderlands.
Admittedly, fans have no idea whenBorderlands 4will release. While job listings at Gearbox Software suggest that it is in development alongside aTiny Tina’s Wonderlandssequel, fans are still waiting for an official announcement that confirms its existence. Still, when it does arrive, it will likely maintain all the core traits of aBorderlandsgame - humor, a cel-shaded art style, plenty of guns, four-player co-op, and Vault Hunters that can be upgraded. These final few points are exactly why the Social Squad mechanic would be ideal for the nextBorderlandsproject, as such a feature would help players who are limited on time but want to keep their characters strong.
Essentially, the Social Squad mechanic inSuicide Squad: Kill The Justice Leaguewill make solo play, or playing with just two or three players, more interesting. The feature allows players to fill the empty slots in their group with their friends’ characters, and even those from high up on the game’s leaderboards who are not on the host’s friends list can be added. While this has raised concerns about this feature being exploitable and being used to make the game too easy, as players could just use copies ofSuicide Squadplayers with overpowered gunsand builds, the benefits to the system are clear.
If the feature does turn out to be overpowered,Rocksteadycould simply change its mind and restrict character downloads to players’ friends instead of letting them pull the data from the bestSuicide Squadplayers in the world. Similarly, if Gearbox were to borrow the mechanic, it could watch the reception to it inSuicide Squadand adjust its version accordingly, making for an ideal system on day one.
In live service games that emphasize loot, it can be hard to keep up if players are trying to juggle other games or real life responsibilities at the same time.The Social Squadis an ideal workaround to this problem, as players can make progress even when offline so long as their friends recruit their character to assist them in their own missions. While gamers will likely not get as many rewards as they would if they were actually playing, this is still a great way to let them keep getting loot when they are busy, ensuring that they are not left behind when their friends move on to high-level content or if more difficult missions are added post-launch.
Borderlands 4 Could Benefit Greatly From Its Own Social Squad
Borderlands 3’s mailbox was a good gesture that showed thatGearbox Softwarewas aware of this situation, as it allowed players to send their friends weapons while they were offline that they could then pick up whenever they signed back in. As such, a Social Squad-like mechanic could be a natural fit forBorderlands 4, letting players add AI-controlled copies of their friends’ Vault Hunters when they are out exploring Pandora and other planets. While this feature should be optional so that players can still play completely solo if they wish, it would undoubtedly be beneficial, as just like inSuicide Squad: Kill The Justice Leagueplayers would be able to gain loot and character progress even when offline. Alongside guns, shields, and class mods being stashed for when they sign back in, players could get experience to increase their levels, assuming they have not already hit the level cap.
