what the fuck did i just "play"

This is actually my first exposure to the series, although I started the anime right after finishing this. To call this a game is a stretch, it's not even really a visual novel. It's more of an interactive audiobook / cd rom.

The manner of progression was very abstract and I kinda gave up on beating it until recently. That said, I greatly enjoyed the narrative this game was presenting and felt really smart for piecing it all together. It disturbed and intrigued me and I just love the overall feel of it too.

Wow. Genuinely a top tier FF experience for me. Shadowbringers boasts not only XIV's darkest writing so far, but also arguably it's most hopeful moments. Not to mention the characters. Characters I already liked were elevated to all time faves, characters I didn't care for became ones I really loved, and new characters quickly became very important to me. The expertly crafted characters, narrative, and environments meshed together to create such an engaging and moving experience that I suspect will stand out as a fave among all the game's I have played. Not everyone likes the setup, but I personally found it really engaging from the start. The twists and turns at the end had me on the edge of my seat, although the identity of a certain hooded man was kinda obvious even if I wasn't aware going into the expansion. That said, it did not hinder how emotionally affected I was by cutscenes relating to that.
There was some big variation in difficulty, with instanced battles like Thancred Vs Ran'jit being quite a challenge while dungeons like the Qitana Ravel being a cakewalk.

Eden, the post game raids, are a MUST if you've played ff8, or even if you haven't. It's a very nice continuation of Ryne's story.

Gameplay: 7/10 - the implementation of the Trust and RP systems were really neat and a good way to further connect with the good characters
Plot: 9/10 - a great twist on the classic FF narrative and a very moving narrative that isn't afraid to let heroes make mistakes and let you sympathize for the villains.
Pacing: 7/10 - the side questing was drastically cut down, and boss mechanics had alot more variety
Visuals: 7/10 - Beautiful environments that really make the most of this game's limited graphics
On it's own, Shadowbringers is almost a 10 for me but in the context of XIV being an MMO and this taking 300-400 hours of content to get to, the way it's situated is so much less than ideal.

Conclusion: 9/10 Emet-Selch reaction images