Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches is a fine end to a great cycle of downloadable content for one of the best games of 2012. Being the follow-up to The Knife of Dunwall, The Brigmore Witches adds a much-needed layer of depth to what was originally a pretty standard tale of revenge, and gives one of its villains more depth and personality than the core game's protagonist. Put them together, and you've got a fantastic sidestory that enriches the Dishonored experience. That's twenty dollars extremely well-spent.

In The Knife of Dunwall, Daud, the leader of the group of supernatural assassins colloquially known as the Whalers, was approached by the Outsider and given a mystery to unravel. The mystery was in a name: Delilah. Daud's quest eventually led him to a powerful witch by the name of Delilah Copperspoon, who, it was revealed, had turned his second-in-command Billie Lurk against him. Despite the ending, Delilah is still at large, and she has a truly sinister plan for Emily Kaldwin, the daughter of Jessamine, the late Empress of the Isles. Wracked with guilt over his actions and not one to take such a threat lightly, Daud sets out to bring her down. The Brigmore Witches, along with The Knife of Dunwall, is best played with the same mindset as Dishonored. There could be some serious narrative dissonance at work here, but the developers make it work.

As in The Knife of Dunwall, you take Daud through three missions, each of which explores a different part of Dunwall. One mission takes you back to Coldridge for a jailbreak, another takes you through the textile mills and heavily-contested riverfront streets of Draper's Ward, and the final one takes you into the heart of darkness itself: Brigmore Manor, the overgrown seat of Delilah's earthy coven.

Runes and Bone Charms are still your key tools for character customization and growth, but in The Brigmore Witches, you have the option to find and equip Corrupted Bone Charms. These are like other Bone Charms, but with a serious twist: the benefits they provide are incredible, but they all come with a penalty. For example, Statuesque makes Daud invisible to enemies when standing still, but it also prevents his mana from regenerating.

The Brigmore Witches comes with a new power for you to try out: Pull. It's essentially telekinesis, Dishonored-style. Level 1 allows Daud to pull items towards him. This can include consumables, currency, and even whale oil tanks used to power security machines. Level 2 allows Daud to rip bodies, quick and dead, towards you. It's high-profile witchcraft, but it's fun to use.

There's also a new gadget for Daud to try, and it's Baffle Dust, a variant on Chokedust that leaves enemies confused and oblivious once they're done with their coughing fit.

Other than all of that, all of Daud's abilities from The Knife of Dunwall come into play here. He can summon assassins, pay for certain favors, and upgrade his equipment between missions. Depending on your playstyle, you'll get through the content without seeing and doing everything you could. So, of course, that invites replay.

Dishonored was commercially well-received enough to merit consideration as a franchise. I don't know where the fine folks at Arkane Studios will go with this, but if all the lore and backstory are any indication, we probably have something special to look forward to. And with the next generation of consoles mere months away, it sure is exciting to think about.