Traveller’s Tales last Lego-themed title, and last title overall, was released four years ago. I was a big fan of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, though I’ve realized, after its release, that the game didn’t receive widespread praise from everyone, as I was expecting. That led to TT Games revisiting their formula for Lego titles. Was it stale? Was nonsensical collectionism and collectathon-based platforming the future of the franchise, or was it time for a revamp? Their initial announcement of Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight showcased their new vision for Lego games to come, and at first, I wasn’t very excited for it.

I was wondering if the Lego games would lose their appeal after the announcement that you’d only be able to play as a handful of characters, and that the focus would shift from OCD levels of collecting stuff to a more narrative and explore-driven approach. Welp, my doubts were swept away after playing a Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight demo at Gamescom Latam 2026. From what I could tell from that demo, this is not just a new Lego Batman game… it’s a brand new Arkham game.

A brand new Gotham to explore just like we used to in Arkham City.

Y’know, the whole open world approach that made Arkham City, Origins and Knight (at least on PC) so beloved. A big Gotham City map available for you to either glide, use your grappling hook, do a combination of the two, or even drive around in a plethora of Batmobiles, taken straight from the movies. In this demo, the Batmobile in question was the muscle car seen in Robert Pattinson’s The Batman (my favorite Caped Crusader movie, mind you). Upon climbing some rooftops, I was even able to find some Riddler challenges, further cementing the notion that yes, this is the kind of game we were hoping Rocksteady would still be making.

My further confirmation of its Arkham-ness came the moment I entered a brawl fight against a group of goons in an alleyway. In previous Lego games, combat was, well, there. But that was basically it: you mashed buttons, didn’t pay too much attention to what was going on. In Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, the combat IS Arkham‘s. That whole “gang of enemies surrounds you, you automatically face one of them, and use punching combos, finishers, parrying and dodges to get rid of them one by one” schtick that led to many games copying such formula, from Mad Max to Spider-Man. Well, it’s here. It felt fresh, as it’s goofier than the original, but still very familiar.

Use your hook, your cape, or a multitude of vehicles to explore the city.

Unfortunately, the demo didn’t throw me into a story-based section in order to understand if the mission structure is more akin to an old-school Lego game, or more akin to Arkham itself. It was a sandbox that let me wreak havoc on a few goons and take advantage of all my exploration tools. I wasn’t able to hear any voice acting from people other than Batman, Gordon, and the Riddler. I’ll still have to wait until launch before witnessing the upcoming perfection that will be Matt Berry cast as Bane.

I still have questions regarding Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight‘s progression system, story and main campaign, but some of my more skeptical doubts, such as controls and what would Traveller’s Tales offer in exchange for the older titles’ focus on collectability have been answered. More than just a new Lego game, this is shaping up to become the new Arkham game we’ve been clamoring for years. With the game not far away from its release date, this is now one of my most anticipated games in an otherwise currently lukewarm 2026.

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is slated for an May 22nd release on PS5, Xbox Series S/X and PC. It will be released for Switch 2 later during the year.