Ricky Church reviews Batman: Arkham Knight – A Flip of a Coin DLC…
The other half of Gotham’s Dynamic Duo is the star of his own Batman: Arkham Knight DLC as Robin takes on Two-Face in ‘A Flip of a Coin’. Unfortunately, and unlike the just released ‘Catwoman’s Revenge’, Robin’s DLC adventure just doesn’t reach the potential it offers and is way too short to truly enjoy it. Spoilers for Arkham Knight’s main story follows, so if you have not played it check back once you’ve finished.
In the wake of Batman’s supposed death, Batman’s allies struggle to uphold his reputation and crusade to protect Gotham City. Much of this responsibility naturally falls on Robin and many people seem to doubt his ability to achieve what Batman was able to. However, this story beat doesn’t live up to its own potential. A few passing remarks about Tim’s ability is said, but players won’t get a sense of how this burden is really affecting him or how he’s handling Bruce’s death. The story really brushes over the emotional turmoil he must be going through.
If ‘A Flip of a Coin’ had been longer Robin’s emotional state of mind could have been explored more, but as it is the campaign is roughly 15 – 20 minutes long, maybe even shorter for Arkham veterans. There’s nothing really innovative for the gameplay either. Whereas Batgirl and Catwoman’s DLC forced players to confront physical encounters differently, there’s nothing especially challenging about Robin’s gameplay. It has a fairly standard stealth portion and the physical fights aren’t anything new.
Overall ‘A Flip of a Coin’ is rather disappointing since playing as the Boy Wonder has proven fun in the past. The lack of emotional exploration for Robin’s character is a missed opportunity as well. In addition to the campaign the DLC includes two new AR challenge maps, but ultimately this doesn’t make ‘A Flip of a Coin’ worthy buying. I feel like a broken record for saying this again, but as with Arkham Knight’s previous DLC, unless you already have the Season Pass I’d suggest waiting for the inevitable bundle to pick this particular DLC up.
Rating: 4/10
Ricky Church
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=ROisAvdW5SY
Originally published November 26, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
