Around the time of launching this DLC, they removed the original, non-enhanced versions of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and Icewind Dale 1 from the catalog (now included in the "enhanced" editions). Obviously to boost sales of the "Enhanced" Editions and the Siege of Dragonspear DLC.
This is almost as bad as shutting down Star Wars Galaxies when launching SWTOR.
The Infinity engine is possibly one of the robust engines that exist - as evidenced by the almost countless mods available for the various games that use it. Yet, more bugs than in most fan-mods.
Socio-politics - They're a can do in games. But not when you are clubbed over the head with it with all the subtlety of a two-by-four with a nail in it. Seriously, a good plot containing people of various genders, alignment and sexual preference can work very well. However the dialog reads closer to a lecture on what you should be thinking regarding gender politics than any actual human interaction. A far cry from the open-ended D&D principle where you could be anything from lawfull good to chaotic evil implemented in the original game and Tales of the sword coast.
Add the two together and it provided more aggravation than pleasure.
A wonderful extension to the story. BeamDog did a great job with the engine and at times it felt more like a modern RPG. The storytelling was top notch with a lot of lines voiced over. Played it on Linux and it never crashed once. I can recommend the DragonspearUI mod which changes the UI.
I quite enjoyed a second expansion to Baldur's Gate. The encounters were fun for me, the core of the story was alright. It sparked a feeling in me that I haven't felt since playing the infinity engine games in high school. It's a solid forgotten realms/infinity engine experience.
You will notice quite a few of the reviews aren't commenting on the gameplay, or the core story. Instead they are focusing on an optional character you are free to ignore. My critique of that character is that in Faerun - especially knowing there is a potion to change genders in BGII - you would never know she was trans unless it was a reveal through influence/conversation.
I encourage you to play the game. For a larger developer/publisher, the one star reviews would be drowned out largely by people who bought and played the game, while not irrationally fixating on one small part. Giving the game a one star review because of one or two barely significant political hot topics is bullying. The people that disagree with the direction gaming and society as a whole is going have a game popular enough, yet niche enough from a developer small enough that they can have a major negative impact on sales.
Game gets three stars. I'd give it four but the bugs it had at launch were very noticeable. Beamdog has always fixed them eventually, but they would have been better off holding off another month or having a larger beta.