Rate top gamesAfter the masterpiece that was Episode Ignis, Episode Ardyn falls a little too short compared to that. I assume you have played all the other XV related media or at least the base game, so the combat is still good or bad depending on your taste, the gameplay is more like an "arena" where you have almost only mini-boss battles and the final battles, which I prefer more from the semi-open world that the Episode Prompto proposed.
The real meat of this DLC is its lore and story, if you have seen the Ardyn's anime, you have the backstory, but in here, you'll uncover what came after and why Ardyn was like he was in the main campaign. The music started kind of edgy and ironic, but after a while, I really dug it, and I think that feeling goes for almost everything, aside from the ending which I really like but I can't say if it was lazy writing or intentional, so maybe that's up to you to decide.
This final episode doesn't feel as mandatory as Ignis's, but it sure doesn't feel as shallow as the other two, the thing is that it doesn't stand out much either, so only play it if you find it on sale or really want to expando XV's lore.
The real meat of this DLC is its lore and story, if you have seen the Ardyn's anime, you have the backstory, but in here, you'll uncover what came after and why Ardyn was like he was in the main campaign. The music started kind of edgy and ironic, but after a while, I really dug it, and I think that feeling goes for almost everything, aside from the ending which I really like but I can't say if it was lazy writing or intentional, so maybe that's up to you to decide.
This final episode doesn't feel as mandatory as Ignis's, but it sure doesn't feel as shallow as the other two, the thing is that it doesn't stand out much either, so only play it if you find it on sale or really want to expando XV's lore.
«That ending!»
Other reviews2
Episode Ardyn is the final DLC for Final Fantasy XV, it explores the main antagonist Ardyn, and his backstory. Ardyn is one of my favorite video game antagonists to date, and the base game barely scratched the surface of his backstory, but explored just enough to make Episode Ardyn a story I was very excited to explore, and overall it was pretty great.
Ardyn's backstory is a tragic one, plagued by love, loss, and betrayal. The story takes place before the events of the main game, like thirty something years before, and touches on his decent into madness and what caused it. I was looking forward to a potentially in depth look into his life, but at only a couple hours I thought it unlikely, and overall it didn't explore quite as much as I would've liked. It does explain a lot in regards to why he is the way that he is, but felt ultimately shallow.
Gameplay-wise it took a lot more of an action and destructive approach, with the bulk of the DLC helping destroy the capital city and killing as many guards as you can. It was fun for the most part, but ultimately felt boring after awhile. I ended up skipping all the extra stuff in favor of finally reaching the final level.
In the end though I appreciated how they handled the story of Ardyn. I would've loved a more fleshed out and longer DLC, but a couple hours is all we got. All things considered it was pretty good.
Rating: 6.5/10
Played on the PS4
Ardyn's backstory is a tragic one, plagued by love, loss, and betrayal. The story takes place before the events of the main game, like thirty something years before, and touches on his decent into madness and what caused it. I was looking forward to a potentially in depth look into his life, but at only a couple hours I thought it unlikely, and overall it didn't explore quite as much as I would've liked. It does explain a lot in regards to why he is the way that he is, but felt ultimately shallow.
Gameplay-wise it took a lot more of an action and destructive approach, with the bulk of the DLC helping destroy the capital city and killing as many guards as you can. It was fun for the most part, but ultimately felt boring after awhile. I ended up skipping all the extra stuff in favor of finally reaching the final level.
In the end though I appreciated how they handled the story of Ardyn. I would've loved a more fleshed out and longer DLC, but a couple hours is all we got. All things considered it was pretty good.
Rating: 6.5/10
Played on the PS4