izigame.me

September, 10th: B*stard's Wound DLC
I'm hesistant to recommend this DLC for various reasons. Not only is the content added so sparse to what is claimed to be new content in addition to a future expansion, but the Steam storefront description of this DLC is so vague it is concerning. As a result of these reasons as well as various others is a nagging sense that this was cut-content meant to be included from the start.
What the store-front really should say is this DLC adds the choose-your-own adventure title cards from Pillars of Eternity as well as modified companion/NPC interactions, some voiceovers included too, that flesh out the interaction of the game through player expression.
As someone who defends the story of Tyranny as a self-contained plot with a sensible scope of gameplay length for replayability and of expectations of where to end with tons of outcomes, I am concerned what future DLC has in store for Tyranny and I'm starting to doubt if the base-game was finished. The only reason I am recommending this content is because it's of Obsidian quality.

Important Disclaimer

Due to how many variables there are in Tyranny for repeated playthroughs, I should mention that I'm judging this content after playing 60 hours of completed runs and two 10 hours of failed POTD runs on an Anarchist path before the DLC, and I only played another 10 hours with this DLC included on the same pathway midway into Chapter 2. WIth my time with the DLC, I have found that you really have to squint to find what has been changed.
The reason behind this is because the new content, other than the choose-your-own adventure sequences, is so well-hidden by how much it fits with the base game that I would have to play the game with and without the DLC several times to see how much is added.
For example, I don't recall being able to ask and answer questions with Eb on the first meeting to gain her loyalty that you normally can unlock these questions once you recruit her. I only dwell on these small touches in vague examples because if they are new they do flesh out the pathways and the interactions with companions in a way that I can only say, "It makes more sense now."
All of this is to say, if the new content is located later in the game or on different pathways, I will have a hard time to judge how much this content is worth the asking price, and others might be able to get more out of it if they choose a different path or if they meticuously check for the smallest of edits. If these small, though important changes to the writing, truly do exist in abundance, then I think this rather a thin line for Obsidian between cut-content and set-up for future content.

What's the Difference?

I think an important distinction should be made between cut-content being added back in and having the set-up for future content. There are both examples in Tyranny, and I feel this DLC is the former category.
In Fallout New Vegas, the Courier from The Lonesome Road was hinted at in the base-game but also throughout the DLC content, which goes to show that his inclusion was always meant for the game but either they wanted to add him in later or they didn't have the time. It was so subtle of a mention that has little to no impact on the base-game that I think even if it was cut-content sold back to us it was a solid implementation because they added tons of extra stuff on top of what we didn't get from the start.
In Tyranny, there are various storylines for companions that remain incomplete or unresolved for future content. Somehow all the new content adds up to 3.5 GBs that you really have to squint to see what is changed. As far as I can tell, the only changes are there are more fleshed out incomplete storylines, a few items that are also hard to identify along with the feature from Pillars of Eternity that seems like an obvious inclusion at launch to learn more about the factions. Add to this shady appearance of new content that several vignettes are carbon-copies like the berries and how inconsequential they are to gameplay, and I have to wonder why it took so long to put them into the game.
The only logical conclusion I can come to with how seemless all these new ideas are to the base game is that this is a patch update that costs money for a new feature that was unfinished when developed, for revisions to the writing to address complaints by fans, and for a few new NPCs, companion responses and items.

They're Probably Going to Get Away with It

As shady as this move is for future content, I think this content is still worth getting in the future. What I think would have made up for an otherwise sparse addition to the game would be additional companions that also could flesh out the lore as well as add more choice and consequences to companion interactions to please everyone. (Seriously, why does Barik stay with you if you ditch the Disfavored or you kill Graven Ashe?)
To many people who were hoping for new game-changing features to add more replayability, I think the asking price will be harder to swallow than if you don't mind how little is added for improving the non-gameplay, though important, aspects of Tyranny. I would prefer in the future that Obsidian/Paradox be more upfront with their new content when this isn't an "expansion" to Tyranny as well as explain why the price is what it is if it's so minimal to see but significant to experience.