Yay for more cut content! Return to Ostagar is a DLC featuring a very short level -- the shortest of all DLC packs bar maybe The Golems of Amgarrak -- featuring important development for some of the party (provided you bring the correct people) as well as overpowered equipment that can be used to make cheese builds later on. It's...fine, and better existing as DLC than not at all, but it hits as something that should have been in the main game and serves as a perfect example of how bizarre EA's strategy with Dragon Age: Origins was.

Essentially a more involved iteration of what Normandy Crash Site from ME2 was doing: go back to a fantastical event that affected your PC, do some quick objectives, then reap all the rewards. As for whether it's better or worse than that, I'm not too sure; I like that I have like, stuff to do, and having tangible items instead of an context-sensitive interactive item for your base makes it a little more rewarding, yet NMC was just a walk-around of the area which kept the pace brisk, unlike here where you have combat encounters that really should've been cut down by half, keeping the final one against the Genlock Necromancer and the Risen Orc, while still maintaining the (admittedly, pretty thin) emotional and atmospheric pull.

It's largely made up by the items and conversations you can have here. Reading into the codices helps characterize Cailan and Loghain more, as well as all the interactions you have when bringing Alistiar/Wynne, or Wynne/Loghain together. Not to mention, you can functionally slot this into a solid detour either at midgame or endgame, unlike NMC which is a very awkward and stumbling early mission type beat. The King's armor set and Duncan's items are scaled, meaning that if you do save it for the endgame, you effectively have some of the stronger armaments at your disposal for the rogues or warriors of any type, which is nice. Likely the mid-point of my DAO DLC totem pole at the end of the day, though.

A strange relic of the brief period when cheap DLC packs were parceled out in one to two hour chunks. Indeed, this inconsequential bit of fluff is emblematic of the issues that doomed that business model from the start: shoddily reused assets, a barebones storyline with little connection to the overarching plot, and a dearth of unique gameplay concepts. Eminently skippable, this will suffice if you are looking to engage in a bit more of the dungeon crawling from the base game. Expecting more than that is folly.