The story of the DLC has potential. But the gameplay is very weak fetch quests. The shields are fun, but overall it does not feel like a true DLC. DLCs for other games like Phantom Liberty or Blood and Wine may be 5x the price of this DLC, but much better, not just 5x.
This game is an absolute masterpiece. Everything in it feels so lovingly crafted with wild attention to detail. Everything about it, the world, writing, characters and gameplay are top tier. It is one of the best running, best looking games I ever had the pleasure to play. It is not light on your system, but oh boy is it ever worth it. One of if not the prettiest, most realistic games i have ever seen. Think museum village but digital. The gameplay is a lot of standard RPG stuff. But even small tasks are gamified, you have to learn along Henry and everything feels tactile in a deeply satisfying way. The characters have made a great leap from the first game. Both from a technical standpoint but also in acting. Writing once again is really good. Then there is the OST. Deeply inspired by the first game, and while I miss a few tracks, it once again helps a lot with getting more immersed into the world. Writing and quests are the only area which is good, but not outstanding. The overarching story is decent, but it is not quite top tier imo. And while the individual fates in the side quests are very nicely shown, the actual quests tend to be a bit too same-same at times, with a lot of travel time. Ultimately, this game trades a tiny bit of classic RPG polish and pays it back in unparalelled immersion. Especially with the "Legacy of the Forge" DLC adding the possibility to essentially just roleplay as a blacksmith open ended, it gets even deeper. Not quite a 10/10, expecially with some systems being a bit more niche. But for me it is a 95/100. Ultimately, every great game has some shortcomings, so this is as good as it gets anyways.
