Batgirl: A Matter Of Family First Screenshot And Details

Via Entertainment Weekly, we’ve got our first look at the new Batman: Arkham Knight DLC – Batgirl: A Matter Of Family.

Batgirl’s story will take place before Batman: Arkham Asylum and will follow Batgirl as she teams up with Robin to try and find her father, Commissioner Gordon, who has been kidnapped by none other than the Joker. The game will take place in a brand new location called Seagate Amusement Park that has been built on top of an oil rig. And in classic villainous fashion, the Joker has rigged the entire place to blow.

To help differentiate Batgirl’s play style to that of the Dark Knight, developer WB Games Montreal have added in hacking abilities as one of the core mechanics.

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 – Justin Vasques, Producer, WB Games Montreal

But there will still be plenty of fighting, and players will also be able to utilise the Dual Play system used in Arkham Knight, allowing them to switch characters instantaneously. And player’s will need this extra fighting power to take on the Joker and Harley Quinn at the games climax.

In the previous Arkham games we never saw Barbara Gordon as Batgirl due to her being paralysed and in a wheelchair. Instead she calls herself Oracle, aiding Batman with information and her hacking abilities. In the graphic novel The Killing Joke, it is actually the Joker that paralyses Barbara before kidnapping her father. It will be interesting to see how this is handled in the game, and how much it will differ from the novel.

In addition to the main quest there will be the standard array of side objectives including collectibles and Easter Eggs. Batgirl: A Matter Of Family will be released on July 14 for Arkham Knight DLC-Season Pass holders, and will be sold separately on July 21 for $6.99.