Getting to Shadowbringers, Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion has been an incredible journey. Not least because of the amount of content that Square have managed to bless this MMO with, but because the story has been an amazingly crafted tale that, just when you think it can’t get any better, outdoes itself. How Square have managed to, not only, maintain a level of storytelling excellence but also raise the quality with each expansion, is simply mind-boggling.



Final Fantasy XIV’s story has, from the beginning, been one long tale about the Warrior of Lights journey. Like life, the base game and each expansion has flowed seamlessly from one into the next, each plot thread, each connection made or lost is just another step in the journey of your digital life. Plot threads begun in one expansion usually pay off in another or the games patch quests between expansions, making it all the harder to truly talk about the story without eliciting spoilers. And believe me, this is a journey that you don’t want spoiled at all.

Story plot threads begun in the game’s first expansion, Heavensward, not only set the stage for Shadowbringers, but begins to culminate emotionally as well. It’s an astounding achievement rarely seen outside of novels. Suffice to say, your journey is no longer merely about saving one world from the games main antagonists, The Ascians, but rather the fate of Final Fantasy XIV’s version of the multiverse. So no pressure then, right Warriors!

It’s an astounding achievement rarely seen outside of novels.

Through events setup during the patch quests at the end of Stormblood, the Warrior of Light has been called away to another world, The First, which is on the brink of destruction. The Light, through dastardly Ascian machination, has flooded the world and is close to bringing about its destruction. There is no balance in The First between the primal forces of Light and Dark and, without one to balance the other, The Light has proven itself just as deadly when left unchecked. The bulk of The First has been decimated by The Light, while its people – those who yet survive – are slowly being infected and transformed into Light-spawned monstrosities known as Sin Eaters. Night no longer graces the skies in this washed-out world of perpetual Light.



Though you get transported to this world, and are unknown, once you hear of the people’s plight, it’s not long before you’re making waves in the Lights stream. After all, what’s a hero to do? Adopting the mantle of Warrior of Darkness, and aided by your fellow Scions who were also unwittingly pulled across, you traverse forth into the washed-out landscape to battle the Lightwardens, the monstrous Sin Eater bosses.

Along the way you’ll encounter an empire seeking to rule this worlds last days through debauchery and force, euthanasia camps for people who have been infected by The Light and are slowly transforming into Sin Eaters, a culture waiting for legendary heroes to return and your fellow Scions who, through interdimensional timey-wimey shenanigans, have been here longer than you and been changed by the experience - all the while searching for a way home as well to continue a war you were rudely ripped away from.

While the fate of the world has been your major goal, you’re just as often entrenched in the political machinations between kingdoms...

Final Fantasy XIV has always been high fantasy. While the fate of the world has been your major goal, you’re just as often entrenched in the political machinations between kingdoms and leading rebellions from beneath the shroud of tyranny. And yet, somehow, Square have managed to make each of these plotlines personal and emotionally affecting. You’ll befriend kings, Sultanas and paupers alike. Their battles become yours and with the phenomenal character writing, you’ll get to know them better than you thought you could a digital character.



Which is all the more heartbreaking when they’re fates come calling. Shadowbringers, as with the rest of Final Fantasy XIV, isn’t afraid to remove characters from the board permanently.

Visually, Shadowbringers continues with the same level of visual excellence as the rest of the MMO. Norvrandt is a wonderfully washed out, bleached landscape, as beautifully harsh to the eyes as it is hostile. As you defeat Lightwardens, some semblance of balance returns to the world and night makes its appearance to people who have never seen it before, with palpable adulation.

From a gameplay standpoint, Shadowbringers brings the usual new items, weapon, armour sets, dungeons, boss fights and massive explorable maps that you would expect from an expansion. Two new races join the game; the Viera and the Hrothgar – along with two new jobs; the Dancer and Gunbreaker. I’m afraid to say I haven’t checked out these jobs just yet, mostly because I’m quite happy with how my Black Mage currently rolls.



The largest change, and the one I was most excited for, was the addition of Trusts. Trusts allow you to form a party of NPC’s to take on the games MP dungeons if you’re not up to waiting in ques or just playing with others. This is a feature that I feel should have been in the game from the base campaign, even if it does have its limitations. From a story cohesion point of view, it makes far more sense for you to journey into a dungeon with the rest of the Scions while they’re standing next to you due to the story, than tackling it with your adventurer friends. It would be great if this feature could be retroactively fitted into the base game and previous expansions.

For anyone who’s played this game, you know how insane and involved the boss fights are and just why that can be a really frustrating affair...

Trusts aren’t perfect however. You’re A.I. controlled partners do an excellent job of attacking enemies and healing you, but come with one major limitation: they can’t raise you if you’re KO’d in any of the fights. As soon as you’re knocked out you’re popped back to the dungeons start immediately. What you’ve killed up to that point stays dead, but if you pegged during a boss fight, that’s a restart on the boss. For anyone who’s played this game, you know how insane and involved the boss fights are and just why that can be a really frustrating affair, especially if, like me, you’re just rubbish at them and the split second timing required. Also, at least for me, Trusts took longer to complete than running the dungeon with other players.



Gone too are the multi-room explorable Dungeons from the base game as Shadowbringers keeps the same design from the previous expansions, where the Dungeons are essentially multi-floor corridors designed for large pulls and AOE’s. The major advantage to this is that Dungeon runs now rarely last more than twenty minutes but does rob them, outside of the gorgeous set dressing, of character.

Finally there are the games boss fights. There’s some inspired design for the Lightwardens and the insanity of the fights and all the attacks being flung around simultaneously remains. Square seems to have upped the ante on some of the fights, such as the Titania fight, which smacks you with just about every one of the bosses mechanics at the same time. A month after launch and it seems people are still having trouble with this as, after multiple wipes, players started leaving the fight.

Shadowbringers isn’t without its faults though. One of the games narrative mechanics to get you exploring the world are starting to feel a little cliché and well-worn, especially if all you’re after is the story. The usual "kill so many of this and speak to these three people" quests in each new area or settlement may be designed to get you to know the area and its history, but it feels archaic and pace-breaking now. The writing, even on these little quests, may still be superb but it’s an RPG holdover and cliché that really needs to be weeded out.



Shadowbringers' gorgeous visuals and tremendous writing will entrench you in a world whose stakes and characters are close to your heart while providing you with a rich world to explore. With Shadowbringers, Final Fantasy XIV does more than just cement itself as one of the best –if not the best – top-tier MMORPG’s today, but also the best Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy IX.