Slightly better than GCPD lockdown story-wise, and it has my favorite Batman villain Two-Face. The only problem is that it's 15 minutes long.

I spent five bucks on this.

https://www.backloggd.com/u/This_IS_Also_Bll/list/arkham-dlc-ranked/

As I played through the final DLC episode for Arkham knight, I could not help but feel Rocksteady was giving their best “we’ll give it 60%” type of effort. Much like the NightWing episode before it. You have a decent time on your hands here. Though ultimately one only hard core Bat fans would enjoy.

Robins sole predator segment is one of the coolest in the series, right off the bat you’ll have your detective mode disabled, and you’ll need to memorize the massive map before hunting down the guard with a jammer, who is several floors deep. For the first time in the entirety of Knight, the Fear Multi takedown actually feels like just another tool rather than an overpowered insta win aimed at the lowest common denominator. This map is filled to the brim with guards and you’ll want to thin the herd as quickly as possible to get your bearings and search for the guard with the signal jammer.

Once both problems are dealt with, you’ll find out you have a few glass ceilings for gels, but your much more risky, yet viable option is to place remote mines on guards you just took down to detonate later. The balcony heavy design of the map encourages you to risk semi exposing yourself in order to set up these quick and thrilling mine placements. It’s the highlight of the DLC and I can see some people going back to replay this section.

If you managed to save a fear takedown, the next section will be one of the most rewarding puzzles in the franchise. Where after blowing up a mini gun mook with a gel, you then need to disable the right turret, fire of your fear take down when the other turrets are at the apex of their vision cones, and then quickly disable the other two sentry guns. It’s a nice puzzle a good break the previous episodes usual cheaper predator and free flow only segments.

There’s a set piece after where you need to use Robin’s riot shield to move towards a sniper in a hallway, and it’s as boring and uninspired as it sounds. You then are thrown into a free flow segment where you are provided plenty of baseball bats to blow through defences before jobbing Two Face with a QTE in a cut scene. It’s rare for me to play a game where 50% of the game play is mediocre, but this is one of them.

It’s a massive missed opportunity to not have some puzzles or mechanics centred around Tim Drake’s detective skills. In the comics Tim is a better detective than Bruce Wayne. I’m disappointed yet not surprised this aspect of the character wasn’t explored, as the season pass is more concerned with providing a little more of the same every few months to keep a customer engaged, rather than take the opportunity to actually try new ideas with well established fleshed out characters from the medium it’s adapting.

For the final time, you have yet another bland story to move the game play along. Robin needs to stop Twoface, and he does. His insecurities about living up to Batman’s legacy are told in throwaway lines that can be interrupted by thug dialogue, which is funny all things considered, but it really feels that the “we are tired of this IP” feeling that permeated Knight is at full circle here.

There’s of course no new music either, I’m at the point where I forget if these games even have an OST to be honest. The bland orchestral stuff will just be mush in your mind for better or worse. It was never a strong point for the series and this final episode makes no effort to improve on it.


The strong visuals are on full display here. Sparks fly and shine in the mesmerizing god rays. The museums busted structures and maggot infested trashcans give the feeling of a city yet again on the decline, and the mid day setting really makes the fantastic texture work pop,

The Robin Episode is worth playing if you enjoy good level and puzzle design. There are two excellent examples here. But the (thank fully short) second half is a clear message that Rocksteady just did not care anymore and wanted to move on to other things, I can’t really fault them, as Asylum was only their second game, yet it’s monstrous success trapped them in Bat Hell for five years. You’ll get one last pretty stealth game with decent combat in this episode, and while it’s 15 minute playtime makes sure it never overstays it’s welcome, it’s only worth it for hardcore Batman fans.

6/10