Review: DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos (Nintendo Switch)

DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos is an action and adventure game developed by PHL Collective and published by Outright Games. You play Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman protecting the people of Happy Harbor. I enjoyed many aspects of this game, but there were some less desirable bits. So, let’s get into the review.

The story revolves around the people of Happy Harbor. Mr. Mxyzptlk (Mxy) tricks the citizens into making him their new mayor, then does what he can to make life annoying for the Justice League. One mission is to fix the plumbing in the sewers. Once completed, you realize it was a trick, and the Justice League flooded everyone’s homes.

Mxy is an antagonist, but the villain is Starro, a giant starfish. His minions are smaller starfish who attach themselves to people’s faces, mind-controlling them. Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Flash get captured so Starro can steal their powers and take over the world.

For a superhero game, the story is on par. An evil villain wants to take over the world, and it’s up to the Justice League to stop them. To execute the story, you play through the game as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, solving various missions. But, to put it mildly, the missions got repetitive over time. Also, I believe some missions were “filler” to stretch out the game. 

For example, one mission was to protect a child’s sandcastle on the beach from Mxy’s minions. (His minions were also sea creatures and fish people, but not starfish.) This task felt out of place and made me feel like there wasn’t enough plot. The game is broken up into four chapters, and each chapter is broken up into a mission. Chapter one has seven tasks, chapter two has six missions, and chapters three and four have five. These missions don’t take long at all, and since each chapter got shorter, it made the ending feel rushed.

The gameplay in DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos is solid. You can swap between Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman at any time using the D-pad on the left Joy-Con. They each have their own health bar and special moves. For instance, Superman has laser eyes, Batman summons bats, and Wonder Woman can make it rain fire arrows. However, they each have more moves they can learn. These moves can also be upgraded through money and materials you find throughout the world.

When I fought bad guys, I mostly mashed the Y-button to throw punches and kicks, using the heroes’ special and ultimate moves whenever they recharged. For a beat-’em-up, it was enjoyable. However, when many enemies were on the screen, the frame rate would sometimes drop. The game also glitched on me twice, and I needed to reset the game. For example, I got stuck on a boat. Every button worked except the B-button, which would’ve allowed me to disembark. Once I reset the game, it worked, but it was still frustrating.

Aside from playing as the three main superheroes, Cyborg was always on standby. As you rescue Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Flash, they also become on standby. You can set one of them as “support” and bring them into battle with you as an NPC for a minute or so. That was certainly a nice touch to feel like the whole team worked together.

In addition, there are side missions. Admittedly, I didn’t do these side quests. The main game was already repetitive enough that I didn’t feel up to the extra tasks. The game doesn’t have achievements, but comic books are hidden. You can exchange the cosmic books for costume changes for the three main characters, which was a fun nod to the DC superheroes.

However, what bummed me out the most was the lack of multiplayer. The game is advertised as multiplayer, and I was disappointed when I realized multiplayer isn’t part of the main story. Instead, there’s a separate mode called Instant Action. I tested it with my sister, assuming we’d beat enemies together, battle each other, or play a handful of mini-games as the Justice League.

Unfortunately, none of that was the case. Instant Action mode allows you and one local friend to explore Happy Harbor together, swapping as the three main characters. There are enemies that you can beat up together. However, the story didn’t continue, and we had no smaller missions to complete together. It felt like a pointless mode that was only added to tease us about what could have been.

Finally, DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos has five difficulty modes: Story, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Heroic. I played the game on Normal mode, figuring that was a nice balance. However, I did try the Story mode as curiosity got to me. Story difficulty allows your special moves to recharge faster, and you don’t take any damage. So, if you have a young child or sibling at home, they can easily play through the game.

The story difficulty is one reason this game should be geared more toward a younger audience. The graphics are vivid, with 3D character sprites. The menus and skill trees are easy to navigate and understand. The game is fully voice-acted, whether the characters banter during battle or discuss the mission during a story scene. Before every boss battle, there’s an animated cutscene. The voice actors sounded great, which was my favorite part of the game.

I enjoyed my time with DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos. I’m a huge fan of the Justice League, and it was fun revisiting these characters differently. Despite some glitches and the repetitive gameplay, the fights were fun and challenging in their own right. In addition, the voice actors were spot-on with the characters, and the script was comical.

Do I see myself playing through the game again? No, probably not. Aside from the side missions, there isn’t much replayability. However, I think this is a game my seven-year-old nephew would enjoy. Since the Story difficulty exists, I believe my four-year-old nephew would probably have a good time with it.