DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace is pretty incredible. That’s not to say it’s an incredible game but instead its incredible how generic and bland this Panzer Dragoon/Star Fox clone manages to be. I’d almost thought that we were years past the movie tie-in game that only released for a quick buck, but here we are. DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace is devoid of heart, love, and anything that brings any form of joy. In fact, DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace manages to do the exact opposite of what it’s intended to do, it makes me not want to see the film which I was actually excited to check out.

DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace plays like a babies first SHMUP. You take on the role of either Ace or Krypto and play through stages and shoot down robots sent to stop you by Lex Luthor. You do this by using your laser eyes or your batarangs while flying and none of the actual real heroes from the film are here. That’s all there is to it. Fly and shoot and avoid enemy fire when you feel like it. I actually nodded off a number of times playing and when I awoke I was still fine.

You can die, but any death only sets you back a little ways. The game does try to mix things up by having an very basic RPG upgrade mechanic alongside special powers that you can choose before each stage. These serve to make the game a lot easier and the Wonder Woman powerup nearly breaks the game thanks to its invincibility. Just playing the game in a standard way will allow you to max out every single upgrade without even trying.

Another bit DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace has is its adoption game mode. You see, Lex Luthor is out to collect every single stray animal and place them in his self-funded Lex Zoo. You can rescue animals in each stage and then between stages you can play a mini-game where you make said animal happy and then pair them with someone looking to adopt a pet. This is a cute little section of the game but does nothing for the overall experience. You simply match people up and move on without any reward that I can see.

The issue with the core story of the game is that I’m sort of on Lex Luthor’s side. He’s out picking up stray animals who are probably dying and suffering on the streets and placing them in a zoo for people to come and check out. Sure, people are probably paying to get in to see the animals but it’s a much better life than being out on the street and three square meals a day. I don’t even think the game makes Lex look like the bad-guy all that much. He’s just tossed in jail for saving animals from the horrors of the street.

DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace is not a good game. It’s cheap, it’s devoid of life, features loose controls, it’s buggy, and there was no love placed into it on any level. The game is broken up into three areas, each with their own levels. This would be fine but every stage looks exactly the same making the experience extremally monotonous. There are only a number of enemies and a few bosses, with Lex being the last boss and the easiest. The worst thing is that DC League of Super-Pets was released as a physical game and it clearly isn’t good enough to warrant that. Please, please, please do not buy this game on disc or cart for $40.

If you have a kid who loves DC League of Super-Pets I’d still say stay away from this one at all costs lest you want them to fall out of love with it. Sure, the game features a fully voiced story, but it does nothing for the game and the voices are cheap copycats of The Rock and others. The game isn’t even fun as a “so bad it’s good” sort of experience as is not bad, just bland. There are so many awesome games canceled and yet DC League of Super-Pets manages to hit store shelves, and for the price you could get a handful of better games. Save your money and stay away from this one even when it goes on sale.

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J. Luis

J. Luis is the current Editor-In-Chief here at GAMbIT. With a background in investigative journalism his work encompasses the pop-culture spectrum here, but he also works in the political spectrum for other organizations.

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