I really, really loved this. The puzzles are really tough, tougher than most found in the base game, but not in a bullshit way. Most puzzle games I've played, even the great ones, tend to ramp up difficulty by just adding more stuff. You start a puzzle, and there are so many moving parts that it feels as though the biggest challenge is just figuring out where to even start. But to my pleasant surprise, none of the ones present in Road to Gehenna were overwhelming like that. Most of them actually kept it pretty tame in terms of scale and the amount of tools you'd have at any given time. They just happened to be really well put together, exactly the kind of puzzle game I like.
I will say, and this is probably the one gripe I have with Road to Gehenna, that I wish they'd had a bit more variety. Like the base game, most all of the puzzles are about redirecting lasers and weighing down pressure plates. But where the base game managed to keep it pretty fresh throughout with some clever uses of other mechanics present in the game, I found that a lot of the puzzles in Road to Gehenna just felt samey (with some notable exceptions, of course). That said, they're still expertly crafted, I enjoyed solving all of them, and I could spend all day solving more. It's extremely satisfying to solve one and then just stroll through the area, admiring the web of lasers you've created and seeing how they all connect.
As far as the narrative goes, I think I enjoyed this as much as, if not more than the base game. This time around, instead of learning of the lives of people who lived in a previous civilization while having theological/existential discussions with one A.I., there are multiple A.I.'s to get to know. Each of them has a distinct personality, goals, hopes, and relationships with one another, as well as with you. As the game goes on, you learn more about them, have conversations with them, and see how they process the impact you're having on their world. The writers did a phenomenal job of fleshing each character out and making them feel real, and by the end of the game, I cared about and felt as though I personally knew each of them. And, like the base game, you can choose not to engage with the story at all if you prefer. On top of all of this, the amount content in this DLC is actually quite substantial. Not as long as the base game, but long enough that it could easily be a standalone title. If you enjoyed The Talos Principle, I'd say that it's basically essential that you play this.
I will say, and this is probably the one gripe I have with Road to Gehenna, that I wish they'd had a bit more variety. Like the base game, most all of the puzzles are about redirecting lasers and weighing down pressure plates. But where the base game managed to keep it pretty fresh throughout with some clever uses of other mechanics present in the game, I found that a lot of the puzzles in Road to Gehenna just felt samey (with some notable exceptions, of course). That said, they're still expertly crafted, I enjoyed solving all of them, and I could spend all day solving more. It's extremely satisfying to solve one and then just stroll through the area, admiring the web of lasers you've created and seeing how they all connect.
As far as the narrative goes, I think I enjoyed this as much as, if not more than the base game. This time around, instead of learning of the lives of people who lived in a previous civilization while having theological/existential discussions with one A.I., there are multiple A.I.'s to get to know. Each of them has a distinct personality, goals, hopes, and relationships with one another, as well as with you. As the game goes on, you learn more about them, have conversations with them, and see how they process the impact you're having on their world. The writers did a phenomenal job of fleshing each character out and making them feel real, and by the end of the game, I cared about and felt as though I personally knew each of them. And, like the base game, you can choose not to engage with the story at all if you prefer. On top of all of this, the amount content in this DLC is actually quite substantial. Not as long as the base game, but long enough that it could easily be a standalone title. If you enjoyed The Talos Principle, I'd say that it's basically essential that you play this.