Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Mixed reactions"

This expansion offers a well-built arena for epic levels, although a bit linear, it focuses on more advanced puzzles and tougher enemies without the all-out battle scale of Hordes of the Underdark. Due to epic levels, xp gained is in the thousands, making quest solving look more rewarding than the official campaign, which is very well-distributed along the course of the game, gaining a level in a few hours.

In Mask of the Betrayer, one definitive improvement is that influence with companions finally has a direct use, which is to unlock feats, rendering interaction more engaging and rewarding. Also, crafting items finally's not a pain in the crack like in the OC, where here you just narrow down to a mobile Enchanter's Satchel and essences, which are a common and crucial part of the gameplay mechanics here.

Talking about gameplay mechanics, I think most people who played this expansion will grumble about the spirit-eater feature, which is like a countdown to death unless you do something (mostly bad) to undo the effects. In other words, it's annoying. Other than that, one smaller gripe would be the texty approach this game presents itself. Mask of the Betrayer has a biblical story which is very text-heavy, in fact, most interactions here are very texty, which drags the pace a lot. Moreover, despite having lots of text, some instructions are still vague for puzzle-solving, which is quite dreadful without official guides to help you sometimes.

Nevertheless, it's still a rewarding 20-30 hours journey if you love the series and D&D gameplay, which not a lot of games offer nowadays.

KingLim