The Deconstruction of the Light vs Shadow trope, and a magnificient story, everything is so well written, it really shows XIV's true potential.

The setting, ambient and problematique are absolutely charming and captivating, the music is also absurdly iconic and masterfully composed, just bravo.

On the other hand, it has some pacing issues, but that's the only con i can find.

It's such a masterpiece and gives us one of the best villains in the whole franchise.

Yeah, it's the best expansion storywise. I know it, you know it, your mom who hasn't even heard of Final Fantasy Fourteen knows it. Ishikawa and the writing team did an absolute miracle by taking the shittiest, worst part of XIV's storyline, the Ascians, a plot bit I actively kept trying to forget existed (Indeed, the direction they took in the end of Stormblood completely jumped the shark for me with what they did with the Ascians. At that moment I thought to myself that I could no longer pay attention to the story and would just raid with my static, because any storytelling the game could do would be absolute garbage) and... made it incredibly compelling.

For performing XIV's second revival miracle, I will forever kneel.

Some pacing issues aside, Shadowbringers boasts what's probably this game's best storytelling to date. In Norvrandt, Final Fantasy XIV has an incredible post-apocalypse and what's at least facially an interesting subversion of Final Fantasy XIV's centerpiece conflict between "light" and "dark." A handful of story beats are some of this long-running MMO's best, many of them mulled over the course of the last two expansions only to suddenly deliver at Shadowbringers' heights. A few of Final Fantasy XIV's newer characters – as well as a couple of returning faces – are fun and nuanced additions to a game that often struggles with developing its cast. Even the core cast members here find room to grow into something feeling more akin to actual characters.

That's all on top of the usual trappings that make Final Fantasy XIV so special. Aesthetically, this game remains a delight, though Final Fantasy XIV's cozier notes find a little more contrast in the handful of moments where Shadowbringers openly flirts with horror. The boss fighting and raiding at Final Fantasy XIV's core continue to dazzle, and I've yet to find a better communal experience in online gaming.

I know the folks behind Final Fantasy XIV have disowned interpretations of Shadowbringers as a metaphor, but I can't shake the analogs to environmental collapse, and the bureaucratic failure presented in both Amaurot and Sharlayan's response to their worlds' supposed end. I'm not the first person to point this out, but those connections felt more familiar than I'd like as I began Shadowbringers on the tail end of a mismanaged pandemic, during a summer of intense floods and wildfire smoke, and then finished this expansion amid one of my home state's warmest winter seasons on record.

Finally, I'm nervous as this game heads into Endwalker. Chasing Shadowbringers' Emet-Selch with a nihilistic brat and an obsessed rival seems poised to let down, and even at their most theatrical, the set piece battles wrapping up Shadowbringers haven't quite delivered. I'm hoping a few of the narrative seeds planted in Shadowbringers, however, maybe bloom into something more as Endwalker begins in earnest.

You know I didn't actually play this again I'm just thinking that as time goes by I was waaaaay too nice to it lmao. Story revolves around the importance of Law and Order and Great Men. Virulent hatred of fatness. They brought back G'Raha Tia but lobotomized him so his only character trait is wanting to fuck the player now. I dunno what I should actually have given it and it doesn't really matter but god damn the story of FF14 is conservative garbage lol. Fun combat though love to do the trials with pals

FINAL FANTASY XIV REVIEW



SHADOWBRINGERS

9.0/10

PEAK
Shadowbringers está um passo acima de tudo que veio antes dele. A mistura perfeita de jogabilidade cativante e uma história verdadeiramente memorável que rivaliza com aquelas anunciadas pelos fãs há décadas.
PERSONAGENS NOVOS EXCELENTES, PERSONAGENS MEMORÁVEIS, UNIVERSO RIQUISSIMO, TRILHA SONORA IMPECÁVEL, QUESTS DIVERTIDAS, DUNGEONS E BOSSES INSANOS.
Só algumas ressalvas para algumas partes da história e quests que caem na formula de serem repetitivas e cansativas, mas vendo ao todo, é uma experiência riquissima e muito bem feita.
Realmente muito, muito bom!

Truly a journey. From the start I was captivated, the blinding but beautiful light, the music, the new land, I was so eager to learn and explore. Unlike the previous two expansions I knew absolutely nothing about the story but I heard so many sing their praises for it so I was excited and I was not disappointed. The ending brought me to tears, and that final fight was truly special. The way they incorporated the multiplayer aspect was genius and gave me goosebumps. It felt like a truly spectacular expansion and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead. All of the characters are brought into the limelight and given their time to shine and it's wonderful. Definitely my favorite expansion so far.

Llevo ya más de 300 horas con el XIV, y si bien todas las partes hasta ahora me han encantado (algunas más que otras), si que es verdad que tenías que ponerle detrás el "para ser un MMORPG" cuándo se lo intentabas vender a alguien. Shadowbringers es muchas cosas, y entre ellas es el claro final de eso, es el momento dónde el juego se justifica por haberte hecho dar mil vueltas y por haberte comido tramas alargadas de forma cuestionable, y la justificación es que básicamente te vas a joder y vas a llorar.
Es increíble lo altísimo que llega la trama principal, lo integrado que está todo desde el principio y lo muchísimo que eleva el conflicto el tener tantísimo camino a tus espaldas. Toda la trama es cojonuda ya desde el concepto, pero las ultimas 3 horas son algo magistral al nivel de lo mejorcito que haya dado la saga.

En definitiva, que auto - causarte síndrome de Estocolmo está de puta madre porque te llevas peak fiction con personajes bonicos, eso y Soken eres lo putisimo superior ojala compongas el tema de mi funeral.

After the last 2 and a half years of Endwalker, all I can think of is... man I miss Shadowbringers. I miss the excellent writing and memorable characters. I miss the plot that felt like it had actual stakes and wasn't afraid to take risks. I miss the beautiful areas and fantastic music. I miss the exciting boss fights. I miss the side story content with Ryne and Gaia - and when EX trials HAD a side story. I miss the underrated Nier raids (and especially when they were tuned correctly...). I especially miss the big group content like Ishgard Restoration and Delubrum Savage. I miss everything about 5.3 and getting patch msq that just hit. Most of all I miss the feeling of wanting to log into the game and see my friends. I don't think Shadowbringers is perfect - Bozja being some of my least favorite content in the game - but most of what we had was truly great and the excitement between the playerbase of "wow, this game is REALLY good!" made it that much more enjoyable. It is truly disappointing that FFXIV would stumble so hard with its next expansion, and I am hoping the future of the game leads back to the incredible heights achieved by Shadowbringers.