Batgirl? Playable for the first time in the Arkham franchise? I'm there. Where do I sign? Under the line that says £32.99[$40] for the Batman Arkham Knight season pass or £5.79[$6.99] as standalone DLC? Done. As the internet is so prone to saying, take my money. However, like Batgirl herself, this story doesn't have a happy ending.
Batgirl's Matter Of Family DLC is the first drop of story content in the promised six months of extra bits for Arkham Knight and I can't hide that I was ridiculously keen. All the signs were promising. The fact that it was outsourced with Rocksteady's engine to Arkham Origins developer Warner Brothers Montreal surely meant that we were talking a sizeable chunk of playtime. Add in the reassuring heft of the main game and I was sure that this wouldn't just be a half an hour side quest, that Batgirl's prequel would be the one we both need and deserve.
Well I was correct about one thing at least. It's not a half hour side quest. It's a forty minute one. I hate being right. This journey to Seagate Amusement Park is painfully, eye-wateringly short. Teaming up with Robin, Batgirl is on a mission to save her father - that's Commissioner Gordon to you - from the Joker but, despite some interesting environments to explore, it's just all over far too soon.
An enormous flaming ferris wheel spins psychotically in the sky, goons lurk inside an enormous metal shark, Harley and the Joker taunt from crackling speakers, an aquarium of fake sea monsters awaits but the content between them is a miniature Batman by numbers. Hacking by spinning analogue sticks, grappling between vantage points and beating up goons. None of these is bad on its own - and Batgirl's combat is enjoyably crunchy and fun - but condense it into five miniature sequences in an environment that promised so much and we've got problems, Batman.
While kicking a wise cracking goon in the face with someone a quarter of the size of the Dark Knight is of course happy making, Babs doesn't really have anything new. The previously touted 'unique hacking mechanic' is just Batman's remote hacking device and she uses his line launcher, batarangs and smoke pellets with ease. Add in Robin as a lurking sidekick with some not-awkward-at-all romance 'bants' and suddenly the first adventures of Oracle-to-be are distinctly average when there could be so much more.
There's nothing bad here. I monologued, took pictures, cackled at environmental takedowns but it's what's not here that hurts. This could have been an amusement park brimming with grim delights. There's balloons left to pop and some teeth left to hit with a batarang or two but the potential left untapped feels horribly wasteful.
But the question is should you play? It's not broken or bad. It would be easier if it was. While I'd really rather see a proper character development for Babs, the story is entertaining in a Saturday morning kids TV kind of way. Plus, you get to see Harley in her traditional red and black suit. But it's fifty minutes at a push. £5.79 for under an hour is a penny per minute ratio that you just don't want to calculate. This isn't that tightly scripted indie game to be played in one sitting that you buy on Steam. It's Batman and, frankly, there needs to be more.
This also raises important questions about future Arkham Knight content. The game is currently one of the most enjoyable, richest open worlds to date, can the future DLC - from Rocksteady from now on - be truly worth that £33 season pass? You can buy the game itself for that on Amazon. I'm as excited as the next girl about cruising Gotham in that Michael Keaton Batmobile come August but miniature story drops and skins like this one won't make it worth that initial investment. This shouldn't be the way the Batman dies. Not now.
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Louise Blain is a journalist and broadcaster specialising in gaming, technology, and entertainment. She is the presenter of BBC Radio 3’s monthly Sound of Gaming show and has a weekly consumer tech slot on BBC Radio Scotland. She can also be found on BBC Radio 4, BBC Five Live, Netflix UK's YouTube Channel, and on The Evolution of Horror podcast. As well as her work on GamesRadar, Louise writes for NME, T3, and TechRadar. When she’s not working, you can probably find her watching horror movies or playing an Assassin’s Creed game and getting distracted by Photo Mode.
The latest add-on DLC for Batman Arkham Knight— Batgirl: A Matter of Family has some major problems. There not only technical issues, but it also has a super short story. Let's back up and start from the beginning.
Batgirl: A Matter of Family starts prior to the events of Arkham Asylum, so this is a prequel story and should also be somewhat of a origin story for Batgirl since this is the first time in the franchise we get the chance to play as her. But it's not. At no point did we get a flashback of some sort or anything giving us some ground on how Barbara became Batgirl which ultimately turns out to be a disappointment. We instead get an one hour long DLC that feels rushed, insufficient and downright lazy. This isn't Rocksteady's doing, Batgirl: A Matter of Family was developed by WB Montréal, the guys who brought us Batmans prequel story– Batman Arkham Origins. While the gameplay is great for the most part, the main problem with this DLC is its length. The measly hour of story content does not suffice enough for Batgirl. She needs a much longer DLC and certainly deserves it. I am surprised, as this was completely developed by a separate studio, you would assume that the game could have at least have lasted 3-4 hours.
The whole premise of the game is to rescue the Police Commissioner, Jim Gordon, who happens to be Batgirl's father. The Joker and Harley Quinn captured the Commissioner alongside some of the GCPD which calls for Batgirl and Robin [Tim Drake] to swoop in and save the day. I think this was a missed opportunity for WB Montréal, as they should have had Jason Todd play Robin, as it fits the Arkham Universe storyline much better. Joker has taken Gordon and the GCPD to an abandoned amusement park which happens to be located on top of an oil rig. WB Montréal did do a good job nailing the new environment. Seagate Amusement Park is a creepy and fun place to explore even if it's a tiny area compared to Gotham City. Seeing the Joker's thugs again brings back fond memories and seeing the Joker back in the flesh brings back even more. Harley Quinn is also here and is in her original suit from Batman the Animated series and it's totally awesome. The Joker has somewhat of a good motive for why he lured Batgirl and Robin out and it fits the general theme Rocksteady was trying to get across through in Arkham Knight, but without spoiling the story I can’t go further into detail.
As for Batgirl, her new animations feel great, her hacking ability brings new gameplay to the table and her character model is amazing. The game plays out similar to how other Arkham games do, you get sidetracked to rescue hostages which either has you 1. Take out a bunch of bad guys before a timer ends, 2. A couple of easy predator sequences, or 3. Defuse a bomb before the it explodes. This isn’t nothing revolutionary for an Arkham game, we’ve seen this gameplay before and we get to see it again as Batgirl. The new feature Batgirl has that Batman doesn’t, is her new hacking ability. This will allow players to hack certain environments throughout the game which can have you turn off lights, move structures that are in your path or just blow up generators at a press of a button. This shows how smart Batgirl is with computers and foreshadows what inevitably has to happen to Barbara which will transition her from Batgirl to Oracle.
Batgirl's gameplay is great, the fighting feels tight and the new animations help make Batgirl her own person. There are some sweet new dual team takedowns that Batgirl and Robin can perform. The technical issues that I mentioned before come from the many times Batgirl's grappling hook didn’t want to work correctly, to times where Barbara seemingly literally took over the controller and started walking straight into a wall. This happened a couple of times and with the game only lasting only one hour long, this was quite the nuisance. Some parts of the game had me wondering if I went in the right direction, I knew I had to reach the top of the platform but Batgirls hook wasn’t registering.
For season pass holders this game should be a bust. For $40, the first add on story DLC length simply doesn’t match the price tag their asking for. Here's hoping that the next DLC, Season of Infamy, makes up for this disappointly short experience. Alternatively, for $7.00 it's easy to look over its length and technical issues, I just wished they gave Batgirl the care they do for Batman and this game could have been amazing.
Is the Batgirl DLC worth it?
The Batgirl DLC is really good. Most of the Arkham Episodes are pretty good for the price. They're short, but they're cheap and fun. $2 for a 20 minute episode.
How long is Batgirl DLC?
Despite all that, A Matter of Family could have been a fun distraction – a chance to reacquaint oneself with the combat of the Arkham series while controlling a new character. Instead it's a 1-hour romp through a self-contained amusement park that feels wholly unsatisfying.
What Batman games are rated M?
Which Batman game is rated M? Batman: Arkham Knight has received an M rating from the ESRB for containing naughty things like swearing and violence.
Is Arkham Knight ok for a 13 year old?
Age appropriateness: Batman: Arkham Knight is rated "Mature" by the Entertainment Software Rating Board [ESRB] due to its violence and intense content. However, maturity levels can vary among individuals, and some 14-year-olds may be able to handle and understand the game's themes and content responsibly.