Recent reviews by Blue

Pros:
- I actually enjoyed the linear nature of the DLC, it kept things moving at a good pace. The mandatory camping was a bit weird, since you can technically camp at any time. The DLC had no problem stopping the group mid-travel if important lines needed to be delivered, so there was no need to force camping.
- Getting to make a few mercenaries was kind of neat, but it had its problems, especially when I get to the cons.
- It was interesting to see a different perspective. Your original character and their nation are still going on in the background while you manage things in Varnhold. This was definitely the main selling point of the DLC.

Cons:
- The "optimal" time to play this DLC is after chapter 3 in the base game. That means once your main character (and barony) finds its footing, you're then starting a whole new character. It's a bit jarring. You could just make them a carbon-copy of your build, I suppose, but that wouldn't make sense in the story.
- The pre-made mercenaries you get aren't terribly great. Maegar is a dual dagger rogue and Cephas is a wizard, so your MC and any mercs you hire / create need to be frontliners and protect them which takes some of the fun out of designing a party I mentioned earlier. If MC, Maegar, OR Cephas die it's game over, and I noticed enemy AI specifically targets and deathblows them before even downing the rest of the party. Your experience might be different, but this happened to me several times.
- On the topic of the enemies, the AI is smart and will try to win by targeting weaker party members (ie Maegar and Cephas) or forcing a game over. I like a challenging experience as much as the next man, but...
- The game balance is nonexistent. Your party is level 6 up against groups of level 13 opponents. Attack bonuses, saves, and AC on enemies is quite difficult for such a low-level party to overcome. Don't even try this on anything above normal unless you thought Elden Ring was way too easy. And it's not even a matter of skill most of the time, when you just need rolls to land with good RNG, so you save-scum over and over until you get the perfect run.
- The plot is lackluster and the ending unsatisfying considering what you had to do to get there. It's a six-hour DLC that felt like 30 hours. The final dungeon is infuriating with how hard it is to navigate and zero in-game clues on where to go next. I got lost for almost an hour because after defeating the final boss, the game does not tell you where to go to leave the dungeon. You literally have to go to some totally random spot that I wouldn't have guessed if not for a walkthrough.
- The characters are not great. You don't get much time with them and so everything feels rushed. Cephas and Maegar are two sides of the same coin and you have options to side with either of them in various situations, but it doesn't amount to anything. Maegar will thirst like crazy over a female MC, with no sense of build-up. Technically they have known each other for years, but a 6-hour DLC isn't long enough to develop that relationship.

You might notice my list of cons is considerably longer than pros. That was not by accident. I did not like this DLC at all, and will never play it again. I do not recommend it.

Things I liked about this game:
Giant laser robots
Intense, high-stakes, turn-based action reminiscent of XCOM
Developing attachment to pilots, again, reminiscent of XCOM (who better to imitate, right)
Challenging, but not overwhelming strategic choices
Giant laser robots

Things I didn't like about this game:
I found the story a bit weak, had trouble caring about the "story" characters (it could be I'm just a sociopath, but hey)
You are limited by the number of mechs and not overall tonnage, thus making it ALWAYS preferable to bring all heavy mechs than waste any slots on smaller ones. This makes heavy mechs just plain better than smaller ones, making them obsolete in time.
It's not always clear which mechs are better, as there are so many. This could be seen as a plus, but leads to confusion when a heavier mech can't fit as many weapons or armor, apparently because it moves faster(?). Mechs all look visually similar, adding to the confusion.
You may, as I did, get tired of popping mech after mech using the same formula. The first time you down a dozen mechs with four is exhilirating, but that feeling can turn to monotony. Unlike in XCOM, you don't fight exotic aliens with varied abilities - just mechs and vehicles that draw from the same pool of weapons and abilities you have. Do that for 30+ missions and it all starts to feel a bit samey.
I don't like the ship. Sorry, I just don't.

As you can tell by that last one, my list of dislikes is a bit nitpicky and down to personal preference. Even if all of these issues haven't been fixed already, it's still a worthwhile experience for fans of giant mechs and/or XCOM.

I'm just doing this for a Steam badge. It is a really great game though.

If you like Fantasy games or games with a surprising amount of tactical depth, this is the game for you. If you like talking to animals, making sarcastic comments, and hoarding inordinate amounts of cheese and severed body parts in your inventory like every normal RPG player out there (I hope) then this is far and away the game for you.

Challenging puzzles and philosophical and moral dilemmas, oh my!

If you're into that stuff, you'll like this game, maybe even love it. If all this introspection sounds terrifying, just remember: these guys made Serious Sam. It clearly hasn't had any negative effects on them.

In conclusion, this game features one of a very few stories that depicts artificial intelligence in a manner that is, well, intelligent.