It seems like there will always be a place for 1989’s Batman on any screen. A strange marriage of B horror films and comic book weirdness, Tim Burton’s take on the Caped Crusader cast a looming shadow over the character impossible for his fans to forget – including those at Rocksteady Studios. In that high regard, Batman: Arkham Knight‘s Batmobile DLC bundle shares all the same nostalgia, if not the same ambition. Fast, furious, and all too small, Rocksteady’s blast from the past burns time and rubber, but sadly little else barreling down memory lane.
Available as a part of Arkham Knight‘s $39.99 season pass or as standalone DLC of $1.99, the bundle doesn’t offer much in the way of content. Its two main attractions are the racetracks designed after its 1989 basis as well as 1992’s Batman Returns. The former sees you racing through a recreation of the Joker’s street parade and the latter has you speeding through the frozen corridors of the Penguin’s underground lair while behind the wheel of the films’ sleeker and considerably leaner Batmobile.
The courses are well-realized with regards to their inspirations, neither losing their mystique. The Penguin’s manor stands forebodingly in the pale moonlight while the Joker’s parade floats boast all the creepy charms of its grand marshal minus his actual presence. There are giant rubber duckies to dodge and there are suicide-bomber penguins squawking about on the ice. Yet no piece of DLC, not even for two bucks, should be able to boast all that and still seem empty for it.
If you’ve beaten the Riddler’s races, then you’ll know what to do here. You alternate road spikes with the press of a button just as easily as you can race up walls. Both courses offer one-lap and three-lap races, neither of which is hard unless you’re up for the teeth-grinding challenge of earning a three-star rank. The races’ time challenges don’t last for more than three minutes max and you’ll likely figure them out in less than twenty minutes of trial and error.
The Batmobile itself is a rather different beast than its modern siblings. As the rectangular brick on wheels that it was in the Burton films, Batman’s ride handles more delicately, though no less destructive. Its lighter frame lends itself to gentler turns and without a more maneuverable tank mode, backing up is exasperating. Rest assured, this Batmobile’s just as fast, maybe faster than Batman’s present-day ride and its unlimited acceleration affords you a blistering sense of speed only made better by Danny Elfman’s omnipresent score.
The Batmobile bundle further comes with some playthings for Arkham Knight’s open-world, including the Batman suit as worn by Michael Keaton in the original 1989 film, which you can wear simply for the hell of it – though what a hell Michael Keaton brings down. Due to its more limited combat capabilities, the 1989 Batmobile is usable in Gotham after you defeat all of the Arkham Knight’s free-roaming tanks. On a shorter track, it’s rather clunky and it’s not recommended for navigating the city’s tighter corners.
Arkham Knight‘s Batmobile bundle should prove no incentive for season pass holders and is marginally entertaining on its own. For all its devotion to its source material, the amount of roadwork here is criminally undersold even at its incredibly low asking price. You get what you paid for and at a buck a track, it’s exactly what you could expect for less than your average cheeseburger. Neither will last long, but between the two, this won’t give you heartburn, at the very least.
