I'll be 100% honest, going in I wasn't super interested in this DLC. It was mostly just the design of the new characters, they just seemed kinda... Basic, I guess? At least compared to previous ones, they seemed very drab and mono-colored design wise, like nothing POPPED about them like with Artisans or Visitors. But my goodness- MY. GOODNESS. Are these two some insane new customers to the roster with a nice selection of new weapons to boot!

My main issue, if I were to give any, is that some mechanics on the new characters can feel pretty unbalenced (just a bit TOO good at times which can suck the challenge out of even the higher difficulties), and that 2 of the weapons are basically just straight upgrades of older legacy weapons. (Edit: I should also mention one of Yoyo's main gimics is she gets benefits from staff weapons, and 2 of the 4 in the game are locked behind DLC #3 which... Uh... That's not great.)

Compared to the other DLC's, I think the characters in this one are a lot more interesting than the last, but doesn't hit that sweet spot of balance Visitors did or the perfection that is Artisan & Magician. If you're looking at this wondering which DLC you should get, here's my personal ranking.

#1: Artisan & Magician
#2: Visitors of the Realm
#3: Echos from the Primal Grove
#4: Realm of Frost and Inkwash

All that aside I still think this is a solid addition if you got the extra money, so without anymore delaying lets get into what this DLC actually adds!

NEW CHARACTERS

Yoyo: The gene-pool is stagnate, and Yoyo is the administer of chlorine. Do not be fooled by her cute shy demeanor, this witch is a bringer of death, decay, and zombie-like infestation. Her grenades are some of the most savage and brutal in the game, infesting enemies with parasites that chew at them from the inside at a completely savage... And admittedly kinda busted degree (Edit: In retrospect after playing her a lot more, they're really good at single target damage, but honestly not so good at crowd control. I also end up running out of them pretty fast on higher difficulties, so I think she's a lot more balanced than I originally gave her credit for).

In addition, they leave behind little sproutlings on the ground you can use your main ability on to grow highly kawaii-desu sproutling friends who act as mini-turrets. Her goblet upgrades can upgrade these little guys with more range and damage, she can upgrade her grenades to have more savage effects, or she can hone into using one of the three whole staves and corrosive damage for a more direct approach to her march of all-organic horror...

Oh yeah and she's a Jedi. She can use the force to pickup vases, explosive barrels, and her own sprouts, and then throw them at enemies. I have no idea why she does this, but it's freaking hilarious. (Edit: Just wanted to add she's quickly become like my #4 favorite character in the game. Love her!)

Cang Jue: Have you ever played Gunfire Reborn and said to yourself "I don't want to use these guns, I just want to punch people until they explode into gore"? Congrats, Cang Jue can hit a button and permanently become Senator Armstrong from Metal Gear Rising: Revengence and punch people to death with a somewhat complex, but easy to execute melee system.

This character is 100% busted beyond recognition as his melee powers in this form deal absurd damage and he can... Just stay in it as long as he wants AND deals HEALTH PERCENTAGE DAMAGE with a goblet upgrade, but there is absolutely a charm to exploding every enemy in the game into a fine red mist in 3 hits. Also, if you die in rage mode, you just go back to normal form with FULL HEALTH... yeah, this is probably the new easiest character in the game, no question, sorry Nona.

NEW WEAPONS

Drift Shard: Ever used the Golden Bow and asked "This isn't nearly anime enough, I need to fire a hail of homing arrows AND I need this to have 4 burst firing"? You ask a lot of questions, but here you go. A solid long-range weapon that uses light ammo, has a 4 burst fire, and fires a barrage of homing bolts after getting enough hits with it. I wonder why the Cavalry even exists sometimes, like it's ENTIRE thing was it fired in bursts, and now we have a cool bow that does the same thing AND fires a burst of anime arrows. Oh well, I never really used it much anyways.

Armillary Sash: Just straight up Talisman 2.0, it takes the main gimic of Talisman, its ability to change to any element in the game, and adds a ricochet effect AND the ability to add stacks to enemys you can execute at any time with the right-click to deal a rapid burst of damage per every stack. This is 100% is just straight better than Talisman, which is a shame because Talisman was always a personal favorite of mine, but you really can't argue with its cooler older brother mopping the floor with enemies.

Viper Sight: Gunfire Reborn has finally added the Deagle. You shoot people in the head with it and it blows peoples brains out, that's the gimic, and it sounds fantastic to shoot. You also fire split-shots after hitting enough headshots, and aiming down the sights reveals weakpoints. It's simple, but it's beautiful at what it does.

Jackpot: A heavy-ammo shotgun that fires some of the flashiest explosive rounds I've ever seen in the game (Edit: Rounds do not actually explode, but they look like they do. They're still very punchy and satisfying to shoot) with the gimic of getting some random passive effects after every 8 shots fired. Sometimes none, sometimes just 1, sometimes 2, and sometimes you get all 3 at once. It feels good to shoot, it rips enemies apart, it's a nice brother to Hell without replacing it since Hell still pierces and still has its cool clip mechanic!