Batman: Arkham Knight - Batgirl: A Matter of Family Reviews
As it stands, Batgirl fans are likely to be the ones most disappointed by this offering. If you decide not to fork over cash for the ability to step into Bab's impractically-heeled Batsuit, know that you aren't missing much. That said, if all you want is a few extra scuffles and challenges in a new space with a new face, this will scratch that itch. Just think long and hard about how much you're willing to pay for the privilege.
Don't blink, or you'll miss the Batgirl: A Matter of Family DLC. There's just not enough here to get excited about.
Warner Bros. is really employing an odd strategy with Batman: Arkham Knight's post-launch content and the relatively expensive $40 Season Pass. All that's been revealed so far beyond a bunch of throwaway content (skins, races) is a handful of bite-sized episodes such as this; it's a far cry from the competent Cold, Cold Heart add-on for Arkham Origins last year. While A Matter of Family may be worth it for hardcore Batgirl fans, WB will have to do a lot better than this to justify the cost of the pass.
A competent but completely unremarkable story mission that seems to exist more as an excuse to sell season passes, rather than through any creative justification of its own.
A Matter of Family lets players take control of Batgirl for the first time, but still feels very familiar. Though very short, the experience is still fun and it's hard to go wrong with more Arkham.
Batgirl: A Matter of Family delivers on the promise of giving players control over Batgirl. She is a great character that completely deserves her own DLC (or entire game for that matter), but this expansion fails to do her the proper justice.
A Matter of Family had a lot of potential, but a short runtime and rather routine gameplay keep it from standing above Batman: Arkham Knight's other short and middling DLC episodes.
A Matter of Family is an admirable attempt to bring a playable version of Batgirl into the Arkham fold but noticeable technical issues, severe narrative inconsistencies, and a main story that literally goes nowhere drag it down from the lofty heights of greatness.
What had the potential to be a great piece of DLC, is instead an all-too brief episode of missed opportunities and squandered potential starring a great heroine who deserves far better.
Arkham Knight’s price of admission to the season pass may be steep, but is A Matter of Family a good opener and a sign for its run? Not really. Suffering from a lack of narrative depth and actual noteworthy additions to the gameplay A Matter of Family really does feel like filler material, despite the excellent design of its areas which would seem to be suited for a much better run that it’s been given to work with. Next month’s Season of Infamy may be the turning point regarding many’s expectations for Arkham Knight’s season pass, but the glimpse we’ve gotten isn’t anything to be excited about.
Playing as Batgirl is not quite as interesting as I had hoped primarily due to a lazy hacking mechanic, but, A Matter of Family was still different, interesting, and fun enough to recommend to Arkham fans.
The super short story doesn't suffice for Batgirl. It felt rushed, insufficient and downright lazy. The only saving grace it has is its price point. $7 is a price that matches it length and for the brief time spent as Batgirl, it was time well spent.
Warner Brothers has promised three pieces of story content for the 'Arkham Knight' season pass. If this little fragment of a game is what players can expect, then the pricey $40 season pass is going to be a disappointment. 'A Matter of Family' releases on July 21st for non-season pass holders at $7, but I wouldn't recommend it.
A Matter of Family could of been so much more. They had the opportunity to bring Batgirl to life and delve deeper into her history as Batgirl before it was torn away by the Joker, instead they gave us a small set piece in the Arkham universe with her playable as the gimmick.