playing the game together. She criticized how the conflict between Hank and Hickey felt generic and given less weight when compared to the previous vital conflict between Pierce and saving Fat Neil's life. She praised the casting of David Cross (Arrested Development, Mr. Show with Bob and David) as Hickey's son, Hank, and said she liked "the idea [of] having the two of them in the same room — even if they couldn’t stand each other — talking through their issues via the proxy of the game." She also praised the interrogation sequence between Hickey and the Hobgoblins (giving a taste of how Hickey operated as a cop) and praised the sound effects and camera movements that depicted the action in the game. Ultimately, she concluded that the "first D&D episode was much better at telling a compelling story about these characters and what they went through to save someone who wasn’t even one of their own." Rather, this episode "was better at capturing the feel of what it’s like to gather with friends and roll some dice, then laugh about how much fun something so silly can be." Joe Matar of Den of Geek gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars, saying how it was "an unabashed redux [of the original], taking the same basic premise of having the characters sit around and play a D&D game that happens to be a framework for healing real emotional issues." He wrote how this installment did not compare as well because the stakes were lower, the characters didn't feel well defined, and there was no villain. Matar criticized the basic premise of the sequel: "When the game was being played for Fat Neil, it was obviously a very grave situation: Neil might be suicidal. Furthermore, it was tied heavily back to one of our main characters, Jeff, who inadvertently coined the 'Fat Neil' nickname and therefore felt tangentially responsible for Neil’s suicidal tendencies. The trouble with Neil was introduced in the episode in such a way that it felt like this D&D game was an absolute necessity to avert a tragedy. Here, the group just forces the game into being when they learn that Hank is into Dungeons & Dragons. To use a Home Alone analogy (proven to be the most effective of all analogy types), it’s like how in the first Home Alone, Kevin had no choice but to