Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first hour earns your attention by putting Robin in the lead and making Batman’s disappearance the immediate problem. After spending the main game as Batman, the change gives this short campaign a fresh enough opening, even if you already know Robin from the Robin Bundle Pack’s challenge missions. His grappling zip kick, shuriken throws, and bo staff all make for a brisk, aggressive toolset.

Robin’s staff shield is the standout wrinkle because it gives him a distinctly defensive option alongside the familiar brawling and traversal. If you liked learning his challenge-map moves, you will be comfortable immediately; if you did not, this expansion does not spend long trying to win you over. It expects you to get on with the investigation and keeps moving.

The campaign later jumps back two days to Batman’s side of the story, then alternates between the two characters until the ending. That structure works well for a two-hour add-on: it supplies forward motion and lets the mystery unfold from both angles. The trade-off is that this is tightly scripted, linear material. There is no open-city wandering, no detours into side quests, and little room to make your own evening out of it.

Harley balloons are scattered about as collectibles, a modest reason to look around more carefully, but they do not change the essential shape of the experience. Think of Harley Quinn’s Revenge as a concise story mission rather than an expansion built to occupy you for days. The payoff is worth it if closure and another focused bout of Arkham action are what you wanted; it will feel slight if your favorite part of Arkham City was getting lost in its wider map.

Graphics

The action returns to the Joker’s former base, now under Harley Quinn’s control, with Robin and Batman sharing the spotlight across the campaign’s alternating viewpoints. Harley balloons add a simple visual target while you search the linear areas, giving completion-minded players something bright and unmistakable to hunt down.

Story

This is a proper aftermath chapter, not a disconnected combat extra. Harley has claimed the Joker’s old operation and gang, Batman vanishes while looking into her plans, and Robin begins the expansion trying to find him. That setup gives the DLC an immediate stake and a useful sense that Arkham City’s events have not simply stopped because the credits rolled.

The flashback is the right storytelling choice. Robin’s present-day search is answered by Batman’s investigation from two days earlier, and the repeated switches stop either thread from lingering too long. In such a short campaign, that economy matters more than elaborate plotting; you are always being pointed toward the conclusion.

Harley’s role is strongest as the force keeping the post-game crisis alive. The premise naturally places her at the center of the Joker’s former territory without asking the expansion to build an entirely separate conflict. Fans invested in the immediate fallout of Arkham City will get the most from this chapter, while anyone who only wanted a large new Batman adventure may find its narrative ambitions understandably small.

Overall Experience

Harley Quinn’s Revenge is a solid, sharply contained epilogue. It understands that its value is in answering “what happened next?” with a campaign rather than another costume or challenge pack, and the Robin opening helps it feel like more than a routine Batman encore.

Its biggest strength and limitation are the same: it is over quickly. The linear route keeps the pacing tidy, but you never get the roomy exploration or side-story texture that made Arkham City easy to inhabit for long stretches. That can make the expansion feel more like an extended final chapter than a substantial second act.

Go in when you are ready for a focused two-hour return to Arkham, especially if Robin’s challenge-map appearance left you wanting to use his moves in a story context. Skip the expectation of a new open-world playground. As a compact piece of closure with a worthwhile character switch and a clean narrative hook, it lands well enough, even if it does not reach the scale or freedom of the game it follows.

Retro Replay Score

7.2/10