Arkham Knight's Batgirl DLC pits her and Robin against the Joker and Harley

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Batgirl: A Matter Of Family is the first chunk of DLC landing from Batman Arkham Knight's season pass and Warner Bros Montreal has revealed a little more information on what to expect from Barbara Gordon's adventures next week.

A whole new area for Batgirl to explore has been revealed as Seagate Amusement Park, a nautical theme park handily placed on top of an oil rig. Joker has set the whole place up as a massive death trap and Barbara must use her hacking skills to survive as she quests to save her father, Commissioner Gordon. “We wanted to recreate the feeling of being trapped in a bizarre and unique open environment playing a game of cat and mouse with the Joker,” design producer Justin Vazquez tells Entertainment Weekly.

Given the fact that Rocksteady's Gotham has a very distinct flavour, it'll be interesting to see what WB Montreal does with the same engine in this new environment. Plus, an exciting use of the dual takedown feature sees Batgirl and Robin teaming up to take on the Joker and Harley. “Seeing these four iconic characters together at the same time will be a real thrill,” confirms Vazquez. Also reported is the fact that Ms Quinn will have a costume change and be donning her Batman Animated Series outfit of red and black for the first time in the Arkham series.

While Batgirl doesn't have the brute strength of the Dark Knight or, y'know, a tank, she's handy in combat situations and teams this up with a new hacking ability. “Hacking is really what separates her from the other characters. It’s a gameplay mechanic with which the player can create situations for Batgirl to really shine,” explains Vazquez. “Our intention was that Batgirl should be less powerful than Batman, but that Batgirl plus hacking could give her opportunities do things that not even Batman can pull off.”

This sounds significantly chunkier than the Harley Quinn pre-order DLC and having a dedicated team at WB Montreal should make this far more of a unique experience. Batman Arkham Knight season pass holders can download this new story content on July 14th, while those who want to buy separately will have to wait a week longer. A Matter Of Family will be £5.79 on PS4 and Xbox One on July 21st.

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Louise Blain
Louise Blain

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.