DC Universe Online is a superhero-themed MMORPG that honestly ended up being a better game at its core than I had ever given it credit for. It has its shortcomings, but they didn’t hinder Mrs Stix nor I from enjoying this as we played through it.

Now they say that being a superhero isn’t for everyone… but they’re wrong. And I mean being a superhero means having super strength, speed, flight, invisibility, manipulation of elements… the options are limitless.

Now welcome back to another episode of “Is it worth playing” – where we sift through every MMORPG available right now in an attempt to find the best MMORPG in 2021. Today, we’re taking a look at what is arguably one of the only superhero MMORPGs left legally playable without private server: DC Universe Online.
And yes, you get to play with DC superheroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, along with supervillains like The Joker, Lex Luthor and… uhh, Harley Quinn?

DC Universe Online wasn’t what I expected it to be. I played this game back 4 years ago, and invested about an hour, hour and a half into it.
I toyed around with the gameplay for a little bit, saw the world, but ultimately closed out of it and never went back. And I’m not against saying that I’m disappointed in myself that I did, as the more I played of this game, the more fun I had.

DC Universe Online is like.. Grand Theft Auto. No, actually, it’s more like Saint’s Row than GTA in all honesty. It’s dark, it’s goofy, and it doesn’t really take itself all that seriously.
The world, much like both GTA and Saint’s Row is completely open. You’re given various different cities to navigate, to explore, to take and complete missions in. And you’re capable of doing all of this with your super powers of choice.
The game is highly narrative driven. There are side-quests – plenty of side-quests. But from what I experienced, we could mostly avoid them while leveling.
Sure, eventually, if we wanted to be able to utilize our characters to their fullest potential, we’d have to complete as much of the game as possible, but while leveling? We could take things at our own pace.

Leveling is about what you’d expect. You take missions from one of two factions: Either the heroes, or the villains. Depending on who you choose as your Mentor, you’ll have a slightly different story. But most of the quests remain much the same until they converge much further down the line.
You run missions around the city, mostly helping your faction best the other faction. This is all driven by a very strong narrative. One of the strongest I’ve seen in the MMO scene, actually. And the story being driven by voice acting from legends like Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill? Dude, how is this not one of the greatest games of the last generation?
Over the course of our.. 12 hours streaming DC Universe Online, we never did much other than pursue the narrative, though, unfortunately. Sure, it was plenty of fun seeing all of our favorite heroes and villains come to life, and to be a part of their story.
But running around the city for 15 to 20 hours repeating very similar quests left the experience feeling a little tedious at times.

Thankfully, exploring the city and completing missions was easy. On the one hand, you possess various super powers at your disposal. Mrs Stix chose flight, and I chose speed.
I could run up buildings, I could propel myself literal miles across the city after leaping from one of said buildings, and duels with my waifu were actually kinda funny.
While the basic super powers weren’t really much aid in combat, you had a plethora of abilities you could learn. Melee abilities, magical abilities, super abilities. You had the freedom to truly build your character however you want, which was admittedly a little overwhelming.
I opted to go for a dual-wielding badass that could move at the speed of light and heal themselves. It made encounters fairly easy, and allowed for me to defeat Mrs Stix in a duel to the death.

The game utilized a unique hybrid action combat system. You had the ability to use your normal abilities at will – so for me, that was my dual-blade slashes, and even energy beams, but when engaging enemies you’d lock on to a specific target.
Combat itself, especially given when this game came out, felt pretty good quality. I mean if you compare it to an Eastern MMO like Black Desert or Blade & Soul sure, it’s going to come up short.
But given this is a Western MMO, and other Western MMOs include games like New World or… uh, The Elder Scrolls Online? I guess? The game holds up well.

One thing that really sold me on this game is the freedom you have over your character.
Not just your abilities, as I noted earlier. Rather, your character’s appearance. Your skin color. Outfit. Super power. Fighting style. Weapon. Mentor. Faction allegiance. This is a depth that I have not seen done anywhere else, and I cannot stress how important it is in terms of providing players with a unique class identity.
It allows for us to become more enveloped in the game than ever before. The more we have to customize, the more we can relate and the more unique it feels to us.

✔️ Overall, DC Universe Online still looks surprisingly good.

✔️ It has some great quality combat with a lot of class customization.

✔️ It has a lot of customization overall, more than I’ve ever seen anywhere else.

✔️ The world – or cities, rather, are large and filled with life and players.

✔️ Seeing some of your favorite superheros and villains, and hearing the absolute god-tier voice acting is one of the best parts of this game.

❎ Yet even though it had an absolutely killer cast of characters, the game still felt – at times, repetitious and slow. Having us repeat the same “defeat x bad guys” or “loot x items” type missions repeatedly.

❎ The world, even though it was large and open, was largely copy-pasted and uninspired. Which might offend some people but I had to say it.

❎ And finally, the game, graphically, definitely shows its age. If this were remastered – overhauled entirely, not just with regards to some characters, this would be absolutely stunning.

Ultimately, DC Universe Online was an absolutely fantastic, enjoyable experience.
I can’t believe I never invested more time into the game in the past. Playing this for 12, 13 hours was some of the most fun I’ve had in an MMO recently. Again, yes, it definitely had some issues – issues that I think will definitely become much more irritating the further we push through the game.
But I mean no game is infallible.

DC Universe Online is a 3D superhero themed free to play MMORPG published by Daybreak Games. It is the only superhero themed MMORPG to fully utilize an action combat system – and simultaneously offers players some of the best graphics in action MMOs.

Set in the same world as DC Comics, you get to join Batman, Wonder Woman and other DC favorites as they do battle against The Joker, Lex Luthor and more.

DC Universe Online is a superhero themed free to play MMORPG set in the DC Comics universe.

It is the most populated superhero MMORPG online, has some of the best graphics for a superhero themed MMORPG, and has some of the highest quality voice acting in an MMORPG period.

I was a fan of comic books and their adaptations back before they were considered cool.
Back when you’d get picked on for reading them – back when people used to flush your head down the toilet.

Yeah.

Now, I know a lot of our audience is fairly young so a fair amount of you probably have no recollection of what it was like being uncool for simply liking Batman or Iron Man.

So nowdays, when liking grown men in skin tight spandex is considered all but a requirement to co-exist with your peers, I felt maybe I should do a review on one of the best superhero MMORPGs out there: DC Universe Online!

I would like to preface this by saying that I nerded out when I had the opportunity to see so many DC characters in an MMORPG, and wish, honestly, Marvel did something similar. I know they had Marvel Heroes, but.. it’s nothing like DC Universe.

The character creation in DC Universe Online is amazing. Although not as expansive as Champions Online, DC Universe Online offers players an absolutely astonishing amount of things to choose from to craft your character.
Jumping in, you’re given the ability to edit your build, then you have the option to customize your character from scratch or select a superhero or villain to take inspiration from.
After which, you’re able to choose your morality – Hero or Villain. I would’ve went hero merely to be able to get to play alongside Batman but seriously.. when you have the option to play opposite The Joker.. how can you not take that opportunity?
Then you’re given the option to choose your personality, mentor – such as Batman or The Joker.
Your super power – such as elemental magic, psychic powers, gadgets – like Batman and Iron Man, etc.
Then you can choose your movement type – Flight, Acrobatics such as jumping tall buildings with a single leap.. and Super Speed, like Barry Allen.
Finally, you’re then able to choose your weapon type – ranging from things like Bow and Arrow, Dual Pistols, Brawling, and a ton more.
There is a lot of actual character customization beyond what was listed as well, such as varying skin colors and textures, a ton of hairstyles, facial hair, masks, visors, helmets, hoods, jackets, wings, boots..
I mean, the sheer amount of ways you can customize your character is just ridiculous.

Gameplay in DC Universe Online is very fast, very fluid and very entertaining.
The combat is action oriented as opposed to tab-target, which Champions Online actually utilizes.
Your character moves very fluidly – there is no stiffness at all. Your character moves, especially when flying and running at superhuman speeds.. very, very accurately.
Your skills – the special effects – everything looks and plays so perfectly that it still one of the better looking free to play action MMORPGs out currently.

Combat is definitely not disappointing. You’re given access to various different super powers – so, for example, if you chose to take on the Fire element, you’re given the ability to shoot fire, light yourself on fire, etc.
Whereas if you choose psychic powers – you’d be given powers specific to your mind. Same with Ice, Gadgets, and the rest.
Your combat style is also dependant on your weapon choice – so fighting with dual swords will be very different to fighting with a bow or dual guns.
This makes the combat – along with skills you have at your disposal quite detrimental to your personal playstyle.
If you enjoy fighting with dual swords while running around at super speed on fire.. hell, go for it. You are capable of doing that shit! Seriously, it’s insane.
The special effects and skill animations aren’t bad either. They’re nothing like Blade and Soul or Final Fantasy XIV – but they’re pretty damn good considering.

While there are no specific “classes” in DC Universe Online, you are given the ability to essentially craft the class you want.
You want to be a fire mage that runs at super speeds shooting people with fireballs and running up close to cut them up with dual swords?
What about being able to move things with your mind.. and then take them out with your bow and arrow?
Would you prefer to fight up close and personal? What about flying right up to them with gargantuan wings and socking them right in the face?
Yeah, the ridiculous class combinations you are capable of coming up with in DC Universe Online is pretty incredible.
I recommend experimenting with it all if you have plans to try the game out. It’s fascinating.

DC Universe Online actually has a plot – and you’re in the middle of it.
Lex Luthor travels back in time with the help of Batman after the future is almost destroyed by Brainiac.
To stop the impending threat to our current timeline, Lex Luthor employs the help of present-day Lex, along with the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in an attempt to fend off our inevitable demise.
Interestingly, DC Universe Online is very story-centric, having “episodes” and “arcs” that the player plays through to progress through not only the story, but the actual game.
These stories have you meet iconic characters like Batman, The Joker, Bane, The Riddler, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, and.. so, so many more characters that it’s a nerds wet dream.
I was astonished to see such a large focus on the story – and was absolutely floored when I heard how damn good the voice acting was, featuring people like Kevin Conroy playing Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker.

Still the best looking superhero themed MMORPG, DC Universe Online may lack the visual appeal that Black Desert Online, Final Fantasy XIV or Guild Wars 2, but that doesn’t mean it’s inferior.
It has a very distinct – yet unique graphical style that is different to every other MMORPG out there.
Since the game isn’t fantasy-themed, nor is it scifi-themed, instead, being grounded in a comical variant of reality – the game manages to capture a slightly cartoony version of real life.
And it does it well. The game reminds me of Saints Row or Grand Theft Auto.. with comic book characters, goons and villains running around causing amok.

Since it is one of the few superhero MMORPGs left, you can be assured that there is still somewhat of a population – as fans of the genre don’t have much to choose between.
The game isn’t packed by any means, but everywhere Wiggy and I went in the city we saw players participating in events, running or flying around, or just chatting.
This is always a good thing – people finding things to do outside of leveling or grinding means that there is more to the game than the aforementioned activities.

The game world is instanced. Not like most games that give you access to a small zone, no. More like zones the size of a Grand Theft Auto game.
You get to move between large cities like Metropolis and Gotham City and explore each region appropriately, but each zone is blocked off by invisible barriers that cannot by passed by any means.
There are regions and areas beyond the cities we’re given access to that may very well be included in future updates, but as of right now.. nope.
That isn’t a problem though – having an instanced world. Not in the least.
The game world, along with the regions are all so large that at times you can easily forget that you’re in an instanced city.

DC Universe Online offers both PvE and PvP content that are separated into different “Phases”. PvE worlds do not possess the ability to engage players in PvP combat, but there are still areas where PvP can occur.
You are able to switch between individual “Phases” at the Watchtower and Hall of Doom.
Now, as for the actual PvE activities you’re able to experience in-game, you have: Iconic Battles – which are solo encounters that have you enter the lair of an established DC hero or villain.
Alert Zones – instances that are balanced around a small group of four people functioning more or less like dungeons. Additionally, there are Hard Alerts which are end-game 4 player instances of the same kind.
Duos – instances that are based around 2 person content, and finally: Raids – End-game content that is focused around large groups. More or less what you see in every MMORPG that has raids.

PvP in DC Universe Online takes the form of Legends PvP – where you fight other players using the avatar of an iconic DC Superhero or Villain.
Arena PvP – instances that serve as battlefields featuring 2v2, 4v4, 5v5, 8v8 group content, and Open World PvP between factions (such as Heroes vs. Villains)
There are quite a few PvP options in DC Universe Online and the lack of classes really makes it interesting to see what your opponents come up with.

If you’re into the superhero genre and you love fast paced action MMORPGs, then yes, definitely. It is very, very worth playing.
Being given the ability to play something that is so different to what is generally accepted as an MMORPG is a fantastic feeling.
Getting to experience DC Universe Online and play alongside all your favorite superheroes and villains is something you won’t soon regret, nor forget.

Operating System: Windows XP SP2 / 2000 / Vista / 7
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4800+
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 320 / ATI Radeon HD 6530D
RAM: 1 GB
Hard Disk Space: 30 GB

Operating System: Windows XP SP2 / Vista / 7 / 8
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6840 3.0 GHz / AMD Phenom II X2 550 or better
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 320 / ATI Radeon HD 6530D or better
RAM: 2 GB or better
Hard Disk Space: 30 GB