DC Universe Online (DCUO) creates a free to play MMO universe where players can take control of their own super hero character and also serves as one of the few MMO titles to be available on console platforms. Drawing heavily on the fictional characters of the DC Comics universe fans of the DC lore will find a world particularly suited to their tastes. First released in 2011 for Windows and PlayStation 3 the MMO game was later expanded to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
The opening sequence of DC Universe Online shows players a dark future where war has torn the world apart as the greatest heroes and villains have battled endlessly across Metropolis. Narrated by Lex Luthor who himself makes an appearance in his heavy mechanised armour he is surrounded by other well known super villains like Joker, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Black Adam. Facing off against this super villain group is the army of super heroes led by Batman who commands Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Green Arrow into the battle.
While Lex wins the battle he discovers the ongoing conflict was a trap to weaken the ranks of both super heroes and villains to allow Brainiac to take control of the entire Earth for themselves. Opting to travel back in time to warn both hero and villain alike from this future Lex takes a different approach to preparing the world for this eventual invasion by releasing exobytes to empower ordinary humans. The result is a varied adventure regardless of which side players select from the player creation screen following this opening cutscene.
This character creation offers a wealth of choice in DC Universe Online beyond this key choice of side with players also selecting their gender, body type, powerset, weapon style, morality, personality, mentor and costume. For players that want to recreate themselves after a particular DC character you’ll also be able to select an inspired by option that automatically sets the above based on a current hero or villain within the lore.
In traditional MMO fashion players can expect to find options to create a damage focused character or one that specialises in supporting others through tanking, healing or controlling the battlefield. All of these choices also fit perfectly into the DC Universe with powers spreading across fire, gadgets, ice, mental, nature, sorcery, atomic, celestial, earth, electricity, light, munitions, quantum, rage and water which each having dozens of skills within each that have different levels, resource costs and cooldowns to manage in the active focused combat.
This combat is action focused with players having to chain together attacks for combos and activating certain powers at the right time to counter their enemies. Combat is of course closely tied to your exploration of the game world be it in the open combat encounters or specific quest encounters you’ll find a similar level of combat challenge across the world locations across Gotham, Metropolis and the respective group headquarters. This design for the the game world of DC Universe Online is mostly made up of large public areas where heroes and villains can roam with a few territory controlled locations thrown in which also act as safe houses for your character of that faction. This shared game world creates a great solo PvE foundation as it gives the game world a feeling of activity and buzz as other unique heroes or villains pass the player.
Summary:
- Play in a game world filled with your favourite heroes and villains and player created characters on both sides.
- Explore popular places including Gotham City and the Metropolis area as you quest and interact with NPCs.
- Action focused combat that is faster paced than other MMORPGs as you blend basic attacks, power attacks and skills into powerful combos.
- One of the few MMORPGs available for console (Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch)
- Story driven content across free to play and paid content that draws from DC lore and creates its own.
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Review Platform: PC