We reckon we’ve figured out how it’s possible for Lego games to defy the expectations of licensed videogame tradition. It’s because the character models and environments are an absolute piece of piss to build. At a (almost entirely uneducated) guess we’d say there’s probably an average of about 50 polygons and five colours in each character, and no textures.

TT Games can probably knock those out in about a morning each. All the time saved on modelling can be put into the humour and all those great little touches and clever references to the source material. It’s an absolute sure-fire recipe for success every time. And this is why we’re confident that Lego Batman’s going to be brilliant, even though we still don’t know a huge amount about it.

We do know the character models, despite allegedly being knocked out in a morning, are already looking fantastic; our favourite being The Penguin who has specially extended Lego hands to represent his flippers. It kinda makes you laugh and go “Awwwww!” all at the same time.

The overall vibe of the game seems to be a deliberate contrast between the cartoonish looks of the early comics and the Sixties television show, and the dark, foreboding, dramatic atmosphere of the movies. In all honesty, it probably wouldn’t work if it wasn’t Lego. But it is Lego, so it’s ingenious and it’s perfect and we absolutely love it already.

It’s probably worth admitting at this point that although the Lego Star Wars games are good, they aren’t awesome in every way. Gameplay-wise they’re above average, but ultimately they’re very generic and shallow, and, therefore, we’re expecting a very similar story from Lego Batman. It will still be a thoroughly entertaining game and a great way to pass the time though, just don’t expect to flex your gaming muscles too much.