The 4 best LEGO games you have to play before LEGO Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight

The announcement of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight came from Gamescom 2025 and received a positive reception from gamers around the world. Many people enjoy playing games in the LEGO series, which adapts various popular franchises into fun adventure games, with a strong aspect of collecting tied to it. The combination of one of DC Comics' most iconic superheroes and the playful fun of LEGO has been a winning combination for many years, and a new LEGO Batman game will continue that momentum going forward. But there have been many LEGO titles that came before and laid the foundation for what LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will ultimately be.

Anyone who has been playing LEGO games since the beginning knows very well how much the franchise has changed over the years. Multiple big releases based on popular franchises opened up the possibility of bigger titles and more fan service in each successive LEGO release. And now that the next entry for LEGO Batman is on the horizon, there's plenty of time to play previous LEGO games to see how we got here. These are four of the best LEGO games you have to play before LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight finally releases on consoles.

LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes

The best of the Batman

The sequel to the original LEGO Batman game was a big step-up. Not only did players have more characters to use during gameplay, but there was a whole sandbox version of Gotham City to roam around and explore. This was one of the first LEGO titles to give players an open world they could spend a lot of time in. It was made even sweeter by having them hop into the Batmobile and drive around the city, or any number of other vehicles they had access to from Batman's arsenal of vehicles. While fans loved the first game, this sequel took things to another level and heavily influenced future LEGO game releases in big ways.

LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes also opened up the Pandora's box of the DC universe in LEGO video games. It wasn't just Batman and his rogues' gallery that were the highlight of the show, but now elements of the entire DC Universe could be injected into the fun. Characters like Superman and other Justice League heroes can appear in fun ways, as well as obscure characters from Batman's history and other DC stories. For a long time, LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes was seen as the best LEGO game on the market. Other LEGO titles that came later borrowed aspects, such as the open world, for their own universes, which only made things better for players who were embarking on the fun ride.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

A galaxy to explore

One of the major games that took what LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes did and ran with it was the most recent LEGO Star Wars game. Only, instead of a city to roam, now fans had an entire galaxy far, far away to fly through and comb through for secrets. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is arguably the best LEGO game to date, and not just because of its multiple locations and immense scope. This game not only covered all nine episodes of the Star Wars movies, but also adapted them with a comedic lens that included voice acting and more to its presentation. It went above and beyond previous LEGO Star Wars titles, and shot into space with how many references and Easter eggs that were included everywhere.

It's most likely that LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is going to take a lot of inspiration from LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and that's a great thing. The planets that you can land on and explore are massive, including more intricate details and places to discover hidden collectibles and unlockables. For any Star Wars fan, this LEGO game was one of the best, which includes deep references and homages to the series that inspired it. Almost every aspect of the entire Star Wars saga is represented in a fun way, giving fans, quite literally, the galaxy and everything within it.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes

The other team of heroes

As much as people love LEGO Batman and all the DC Comics goodness that comes with it, plenty of others love the Marvel Universe just as much. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is everything that makes the DC Comics-based games so fun, but with the style and flair of Marvel Comics. Unlike the LEGO Batman titles at the time of their release, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes brought the entire Marvel Universe into the mix from the start. More heroes and villains got to interact with each other, and fans could explore a version of New York City that was filled with tons of great details from the comics.

This game also stood out as a change of pace from everything that was happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the time, opting to be more focused on parts of the Marvel Comics instead. This meant that heroes like Spider-Man and the X-Men could interact with The Avengers or The Fantastic Four without any of the red tape for the movie versions of those characters. Each playable hero had their own abilities and perks for getting around obstacles, including entering buildings that only they could access. If you loved what was being done with LEGO Batman, but wanted to see some more love for the Marvel Universe, this was the next best thing that LEGO could have available.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Going further with the DC Universe

With other LEGO games taking what LEGO Batman had done even further, it was only natural that the next LEGO Batman game would go even bigger. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham does exactly what the name implies: it goes far beyond the scope of Gotham City and takes players to other locations in the DC Universe. While there were still plenty of heroes and villains to control and encounter, the locations where the action takes place made this LEGO Batman game feel bigger and better than anything that came before. Even the plot of the game was far beyond what previous LEGO Batman titles had grasped, now that more characters from DC Comics were fair game to include in the mix.

The gameplay of LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is still much the same as previous LEGO titles, with a wider range of characters to play with with their own abilities. Some even had unique abilities to get around obstacles tied to alternate outfits they could change into, opening up more gameplay options for key characters that players controlled. This could get very interesting when visiting new locations that take place on other planets, such as the Green Lantern-inspired locations.

The presentation of LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham was also a big step up from its predecessors, including more voices for the ensemble of heroes and villains, as well as multiple looks for all the characters included in the game. Although LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will be bringing everything back to Earth to focus more on Gotham City, the game can still take many things that worked in LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham to give everyone a more dynamic and interesting version of Batman's city.

The LEGO Dark Knight strikes again

Fans of the LEGO series are highly anticipating the release of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. On its first impression, people are very excited to dive into an experience that seems very inspired by the Batman Arkham Trilogy and the cinematic history of Batman. But more importantly, fans of LEGO games know how much fun these games can be and how interesting they've become over the years. If you're ready for another adventure with LEGO Batman soon, then playing any of these four LEGO games will make sure you are set to go when the LEGO Dark Knight finally strikes again in 2026.