Collins was not amused by the Dean and Jeff's subplot saying it was "rather annoying" where the Dean "takes his role as Jeff's son a bit too seriously." He calls the Hickey interrogation of an NPC as a "fun bit," hedging that statement by saying that "scattered moments aren't enough to overcome the fact that the episode has no reason to exist beyond 'let's do D&D again.'" Despite his harsh treatment of the episode, Collins said that the episode "LOOKS good," praising the direction of Joe Russo, who infused the battle "scenes some much needed energy, with his soaring and oft-moving camera giving us a few peeks at previously unseen areas at their apartment." Sarah Shachat from Screen Crave rated the episode 8 out of 10, praising Joe Russo's direction at expertly angling dramatic shots to "evoke the sense of imagining a fantasy world." She wrote how the camera shots contributed to the humor, especially in the interrogation scene where "different angles [were] used as Hickey interrogates the hobgoblins (both played by Abed by oddly splitting his lip)." Shachat lauded the literary device of splitting-up the parties, facilitating competition, homing in "on the father/son motivations and issues for that race." She "loved how completely Jim Rash committed to his filial devotion, and his dreamy sequence of trying to contact his lost father via sparrow was a great interlude. The pile of failed notes sitting in Abed’s trashcan made the gag too." Her main criticisms came at the premise of the episode, i.e., the conflict between Hank and Hickey, which she called "generic." Shachat also criticized the abrupt resolution of the episode, but concluded that the show "put together another convivial roleplaying quest." Eric Goldman from IGN rated the episode 8.5 out of 10, saying it was a "solid sequel that delivers plenty of great entertainment, even if it can’t quite mach [sic] the heights of its predecessor." Goldman applauded Jim Rash's performance saying there "were some clear standouts though, including Dean Pelton, who was oh-so eager to embrace his role as Jeff’s son in the game ('FATHER!') in increasingly amusing ways. Jim Rash was hysterical showing all the different ways the Dean got into character and I loved his earnest 'Me too!' response to Buzz’s son’s sarcastic comment about loving being told exactly what to do while role-playing." He also praised the interrogation sequence where "Buzz interrogated the two different