For me, this is the lesser of the two story expansions for Dragon Age II (I’m not counting The Exiled Prince DLC). A big part of how much one enjoys this is going to come down to how they feel about Felicia Day’s performance as Tallis. Tallis is a bit too cloying and aloof for my liking - she’s full of smarmy wisecracks and showy acrobatics, but lacks the elements that would make her feel like a multidimensional character rather than a collection of haughty poses. The game also rather transparently expects your character to pursue a fling with her, so if you don’t, there are a few moments of jokey flirtation that end up feeling weirdly dissonant.

I will give the developers credit for using the DLC as an opportunity to experiment with unconventional gameplay mechanics. I never thought I’d see stealth sequences in a Dragon Age game. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t really work, but I appreciate the effort to think outside the box. More successful is the party sequence, which feels a bit like a miniaturized dry run for the verbal tête-à-têtes of the ‘Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts’ mission from Dragon Age: Inquisition (easily the best part of that game).

Everything else here - from the dungeon crawling to the bosses - is simply more Dragon Age II, with all the positives and negatives that go along with it. If that’s what you’re looking for, then this expansion delivers the goods.