Traveller's TalesRocksteady’s Batman games had an enormous impact on the industry, with the trilogy (and WB Montreal’s spinoff, Arkham Origins) creating the blueprint for modern licensed games that don’t feel like quick cash-ins. Even a decade after the series’ final game, its influence lives on in beloved titles like Insomniac’s Spider-Man games and Respawn’s Jedi titles.Batman’s storied gaming history is what makes Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight feel so good. The title is a reference to the many interpretations of Batman across film, TV, and comics that appear in this unified adventure, but it also applies to how the game plays. Based on the hour that I got to play during New York Comic Con, it's clear that veteran studio Traveller’s Tales is creating a loving send-off for open-world Batman games, giving the caped crusader a charming final run through the familiar formula he helped create.Legacy of the Dark Knight is an open-world Lego game set in Gotham City. For long-time Lego game fans, this isn’t a revolutionary shift. 2012’s Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes was the first time Traveller’s Tales gave players an open world to run around in, and the idea carried over into several other Lego games.But much like 2022’s Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Legacy of the Dark Knight is focused on deepening the core mechanics. The button-mashing flurry of punches from past Lego Batman games has been replaced with proper, Arkham-style free-flow combat. Batman can now use his grappling hook and cape to zip across this moody, brickified version of Gotham. There are stealth mechanics that see Batman sneaking through air ducts and perching on gargoyles to stay out of sight. The Batmobile can be summoned at will, and missions even feature detective and forensics work ripped straight from Rocksteady’s games. Legacy feels like a simplified, family-friendly sequel to the M-rated Arkham Knight. The Lego aesthetic is a big change, but the 2015 game’s incredible sense of atmosphere is still here. There are Riddler trophies to collect, meaning there’s just as much to do outside the main story. Legacy even improves on Arkham Knight’s barren open world by adding pedestrians, helping things feel more alive than in any Batman game before it.Best of all, Legacy of the Dark Knight keeps Lego’s co-op tradition. I was able to switch on the fly to Commissioner Gordon (adorably modeled after Jeffrey Wright’s version of the character in 2022’s The Batman). Gordon has a grappling hook and glider of his own, meaning open-world traversal was never hindered by his lack of vigilante experience. However, his specific set of skills came in handy during story missions.Lego Gotham is just as moody here as it was in Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Knight. | Traveller's TalesArmed with a goo blaster and a non-lethal firearm, Gordon can clog up pipes to extinguish fires and cover up hazards. Batman, meanwhile, uses his Batarangs and Batclaw to pull objects out of walls and hit distant targets. These simple environmental puzzles add variety to level design, a welcome leftover of the 20-year-old Lego formula. I can’t wait to see how other sidekicks, preferably from the extended Bat-Family, are incorporated.The 40-minute mission I played offered a good look at how Legacy Of The Dark Knight fuses threads from across Batman’s continuity into an original story. Gordon and I chased down the Red Hood, fighting his goons along the way. I investigated a series of teddy bears emitting a mysterious chemical compound that were hidden within enemy hideouts, and then I fought the top guy himself. The mission culminates in Red Hood falling into a vat of chemicals while quoting Jack Nicholson’s Joker from the 1989 film. In the aftermath, we see a white hand rise from the green goo, setting up the Clown Prince’s terrifying (and likely hilarious) Gotham debut.Trailers have already revealed that Legacy’s Joker will be based on Heath Ledger’s award-winning version of the character. But in the hour I got to play, the game was already pulling in aspects of Matt Reeves’ film, Tim Burton’s macabre take, and deep cut comic book continuity like Joker’s ties to the Red Hood. Legacy is a celebration of Batman, and knowing there’s so much more to pull from, I couldn’t be more excited to see how it pays homage to everything from the divisive Joel Schumacher films to the many cartoons.In an hour, Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight went from a game I was interested in to one of my most anticipated 2026 releases. While it’s not doing anything revolutionary, it doesn’t have to. It’s a new version of a proven formula we all love, and it’s wrapped in a joyous presentation full of riotous jokes and clever references to comics’ most enduring hero. That’s more than enough to make me excited for this unexpected spiritual sequel.Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC in 2026.