Harley Quinn is the most unique playstyle of all the characters in the Arkham series. Instead of sneaking around and taking down enemies from the shadows, she had no silent takedowns and instead can only take people down in ways that will alert every other enemy in the vicinity. On top of that, she has a special ability that puts her into a rage state, able to take out an enemy with the press of a button (for three or four enemies). Both of these together makes Harley a much more blitz approach to stealth, which can be a welcome change of pace.
It kind of stinks, though, that she's only really able to put this to the test in a DLC that takes no more than 20 minutes if you really take your time/struggle, otherwise only really being able to use her in maps that were clearly not made with her in mind. Her combat is also the most shallow of the lot. Her three gadgets are more or less clones of Batman's freeze grenade, explosive gel, and smoke pellets, and none of those are notably great in combat, so you're really just left with the bare necessities.
The story DLC is... not much to write home about. Harley goes to Blüdhaven to break Poison Ivy out of prison so she can join them in Scarecrow's plans to bring Gotham and Batman down, all the while she has Penguin in her ear. There's a lot of witty dialogue with Harley playing dumb (or... I think playing dumb? It's hard to tell with Arkham Harley) to Penguin, Penguin trying to get her to work with him or just insulting her, and Harley making various cop jokes, but it's none too special, really. The DLC ends with a fight against Nightwing which is actually pretty good and caps off the story well. I think it's hilarious that Harley canonically kicks Nightwing's ass.
Shame that they didn't even try to show Blüdhaven off at all. Not that it surprises me, especially with such a short story, but it all takes place within the police department, nary a glimpse of the city beyond. Oh well, it's kind of just Gotham 2 from what I know, so it's no big deal.
Overall, Harley is an appreciated addition to the Arkham cast when it comes to stealth, but lacking in combat, and it very much feels like she was not intended to be played outside of this very short story originally.
It kind of stinks, though, that she's only really able to put this to the test in a DLC that takes no more than 20 minutes if you really take your time/struggle, otherwise only really being able to use her in maps that were clearly not made with her in mind. Her combat is also the most shallow of the lot. Her three gadgets are more or less clones of Batman's freeze grenade, explosive gel, and smoke pellets, and none of those are notably great in combat, so you're really just left with the bare necessities.
The story DLC is... not much to write home about. Harley goes to Blüdhaven to break Poison Ivy out of prison so she can join them in Scarecrow's plans to bring Gotham and Batman down, all the while she has Penguin in her ear. There's a lot of witty dialogue with Harley playing dumb (or... I think playing dumb? It's hard to tell with Arkham Harley) to Penguin, Penguin trying to get her to work with him or just insulting her, and Harley making various cop jokes, but it's none too special, really. The DLC ends with a fight against Nightwing which is actually pretty good and caps off the story well. I think it's hilarious that Harley canonically kicks Nightwing's ass.
Shame that they didn't even try to show Blüdhaven off at all. Not that it surprises me, especially with such a short story, but it all takes place within the police department, nary a glimpse of the city beyond. Oh well, it's kind of just Gotham 2 from what I know, so it's no big deal.
Overall, Harley is an appreciated addition to the Arkham cast when it comes to stealth, but lacking in combat, and it very much feels like she was not intended to be played outside of this very short story originally.