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Fantastic. Simply fantastic.
When putting down a review for Legacy of the Moonspell, I lamented that while it was by and large inoffensive, with very few exceptions, the things introduced in that first DLC were by and large underwhelming compared to the base game. Enough such that it was still a good, regret-free purchase if for no other reason than to support further development, but it lacked a lot of interest when compared to the base game.
Fortunately, I can safely say that Tides of the Forscari is the opposite. It does not just add onto the game, it adds all the RIGHT things onto the game.
Eight new weapons. Five new evolutions. One of which is the game's first combination of three weapons into one. With the exception of the mandatory "one weapon that doesn't evolve and isn't very good", ALL of the offerings this time are notably good. The Three Spells are both strong, and feel great to use together, and their combined form is one of the best weapons in the game for sure, easily worth the trouble to obtain and use. The sword is essentially a straight superior new Whip without the problem of only ever hitting things above you until its final form, with an extremely satisfying combo attack and a very wide reaching evolution. The Arrow, especially when combined with Arcana VII allowing it to bounce off the sides of the screen, is likely the single best elite killer in the game now outside of insta-kills or fully upgraded Sword of Victory, and it might even beat out Sword if you aren't on Sigma. Within just a few upgrades it already starts hitting in the hundreds, and only keeps getting better as time goes on. The Light Orb is a solid "AFK" weapon that consistently will kill anything that comes anywhere near your personal space. The Dark Orb starts out slow, but gradually evolves to the only Insta-Kill weapon aside from Gentle Moon, and is decent at clearing groups to boot. All of them are solid and both introduce fun play styles, and heavily compliment existing ones. Solid!
But if that weren't enough, the characters aren't so bad either. Big standouts being three new "Heroes" whom act as the protagonists for this DLC; one based around always getting access to the three Spell weapons, one based around armor, and one based around luck. Additionally, all three of them gain a new Passive Item at Level 30 that outside of one of the new stages, can only be obtained by them. A nifty little thing that fully upgraded grants you -15% EXP gained, but 2 extra revivals and +3 projectiles for your trouble.
But then, if that wasn't enough, the new map is FAR better than Mt. Moonspell was. Its the same general idea; a fixed map with a "map" that shows the whole thing. However, unlike Mt. Moonspell which was essentially just a standard area with a really obnoxious mountain path and a few buildings you needed to walk around to find the entrance to, Lake Voscari, perhaps in keeping with the classic fantasy theme of the DLC, feels like a real adventure to explore the first time through. Its paths are straight forward but also winding, leading to different regions. Its tricky the first time through, but you quickly realize that everything around you can be treated like what it looks like, and if you need to progress, you can quite literally just "follow the path." Additionally, the map for this area is located about halfway "through" it, meaning you are forced the first time through to genuinely explore the place and figure out how to reach it. And best of all? This time around, there's damn good reasons to come BACK to Lake Voscari. Not only is it just a fun map to actually play on, with entirely reasonable waves and a fun path to travel to get to all of the Yellow Sign items, but like with the base game, this time, the map has actual secrets to unearth. I won't go into anything here, other than just to say that this one was an absolute banger to go through. They really nailed it, this time.
And that's really all that needs to be said. This second DLC is a 100% compliment to the existing game and an absolute must for anyone who loves what the base game already has on offer.