The Worst Bit Of The Arkhamverse

Beware spoilers ahead!

I know it is easy to poke fun at something like Batman: Arkham Origins for being the worst mainline Arkhamverse title. However, you don't know the half of it, for there is something much, much worse: Catwoman's Revenge.

Now, Catwoman's Revenge is a short story-focused DLC for the fourth and final game in the series, Batman: Arkham Knight. Knight was more or less a videogame masterpiece — a true spectacle that showed what could be achieved when a bunch of very talented individuals have access to Unreal Engine 3. Catwoman's Revenge, on the other hand, is not that… frankly, it's horrible.

This DLC is set post-game, sometime after Batman has “died”. Catwoman is out to, well, get her revenge on an incarcerated Riddler, who had previously kidnapped her during the events of Knight. Whilst Nigma is behind bars, Miss Kyle has plans to infiltrate his old hideout and empty his bank account, as a form of reparations. A sound enough premise overall, I should say.

However, the positivity pretty much stops there because the gameplay is naff. The first half of the DLC requires Catwoman to clear a room of heavily armed henchmen — something that she is downright poor at. I appreciate that the player does have the reins here, but her equipment is lacklustre and her takedowns are slow, so it's not a fun time in the slightest.

The second half, though, is where the tedium really begins because the Riddler robot onslaught is dumb. Catwoman, now trapped within Riddler’s robot factory, is forced to fight off several waves of clankers, as the floor begins to electrify and lasers rain from somewhere up above. Oh God, just recounting it here is making me rage a little.

So, the pain comes from the fact that if you play out the fight sequence how you are supposed to — using gadgets, counters, and combat takedowns — you will lose because the animations used to show those actions are too slow. It's that simple. The floor will fully electrify, and you'll die faster than you can say, “I'm dead again”. No, the way to get through this part is to mash the attack button and not stop. Do not even guide Catwoman with the directions, for that matter. Just spam basic attacks. Sure, it may still take a couple of attempts because Catwoman does have a tendency to fling herself into the electricity, but you will win promptly enough.

I will say, big thanks to u/Dear_Inevitabile3995 on reddit for the heads up because they saved me from a fate akin to hell. Why, Rocksteady, why was this even a thing? And if working this out happens to be a riddle of some kind, it really wasn't one of Nigma's best.

Ultimately, Catwoman is, first and foremost, a thief. She is not the face-breaking kung fu typhoon of either Batman or Robin, so just why her Arkham send-off involves gameplay suited to more capable heroes genuinely escapes me. Sadly, it was all just a wasted opportunity.

Well, that's my rant over. I have just played through the DLC for the very first time and found it so hand-devouringly frustrating that I just had to tell you all. If nothing else, this little article may prove a useful guide for anyone else unfortunate enough to tackle Riddler's robots.