I really enjoyed this DLC, as it's not often we get a solid perspective and upbringing of a villian. It answers alot of questions as Final Fantasy XV in my opinion didn't give alot of back story onto Ardyns beliefs, motives and understandings, he seemed like a pompous teasing know-it all with coffee filters for arm sleeves (but he still looks pretty so).

Ardyn already was one of my favroite villains due to his consistent ability to remain level headed, charming yet obviously conniving and sinister. Seeing his upbringing knowing he was originally good, having the ability to heal others before he was tainted was a really good connection point for sympathy towards his charchter and It didn't feel cringe or forceful as that trope often does. The pace for only being a DLC was better then I thought, the progression of his personality and motives slowly changing really felt right on track.

However I bealive this goes for all of the "Episode" DLCs as they really rounded out the characters letting the player feel much more emersed within the personalitie allowing individual connection to each of them espcically with the party companions it was nice to see their purpose, ideals and motvies outside of Noctis.

There isnt much I can say about the mechanics as Ardyns abilities mirrored Noctis's in quite similar ways just instead of warping you can daemonify wich kills off vunerable enimes and it's useful and super cool when utilizing it in certian combos. I think being able to have diffrent hats was kinda dorky but in a cute charming way as whenever you sprint you hold onto the fedora wich was a cute thing to see.

I think with like all of the DLCs it actually made me want to replay certian chapters within the game I could have a better understanding of the charchters motives and personalities. I think a big tip I'd give to new players of FFXV is DONT play the DLCs after your play through, play DURING the game as they all take place within the story and you'll know when to play each one as the charchter will "leave" for a bit. (However I think you should play Ardyns after) The DLCs espcically this one are great editions to the games already rich story line and seriously make the game feel so much more fulfilling.

I was pretty excited for ardyns dlc him being probably the most interesting character of the bunch to talk about and explore and actually seeing his origins and how he became a villain is actually kind of nice but I don't think the bible would be happy about this evil portrayal of jesus

so you know what's up big dicked man tries to fuck the city up and collect hats what's more to love and then (after getting interrupted by a 1 hour infodump) you get to play as him in all his glory and I gotta say he's so fucking nice to play as he can teleport he can do a lot of different moves and finishers you can upgrade his skills through a skill tree ♡♡♡ and also summon ignis like lord wishes and fuck the city's towers up

I ain't gonna lie playing as him is so fun I destroyed all the towers and almost 100%ed the entire place he's just idk maybe it's the super fast transportation technique I don't get it which is actually in contrast with the fact that he has to walk around in that huge meat of his AND with this bomb battle theme in the background he got a lot of responsibilities

after that it actually ties in pretty good to the main story and actually left a bittersweet taste in my mouth after playing ffxv and all its dlcs because I do still think there's a masterpiece buried under there but we're left with an unfinished game and canceled dlcs

whatever at least I can jerk off to gladio and ardyn porn that's what my 4 star review meant thank you everybody

ps my mom saw ardyn and went “is that you” and I was genuinely concerned at what this couldve meant so I told my friends and they said “yeah you haven't take a shower in weeks like he does” cut the cameras… deadass

also why is the cover stretched but the contrary of what stretch means wait I need to look it up ok Google says shortened but that's not what I meant maybe collapsed is better anyway you get what I mean

Oh, okay. So Ardyn actually is a pretty interesting villain, you just have to play this DLC - released three years after game's release - to actually get his motivations and backstory.

I'm happy that this and Episode Ignis actually fix a bunch of issues I had with the game's story (though many still remain), but I really subscribe to a thought I saw online:

Final Fantasy XV doesn't exist. That vision was never fullfilled or realized, all we have left are leftovers, bits and pieces that put together at least form an actual, though incredibly flawed, story (instead of whatever the main game alone had), and glimpses at what-could-have-beens.

I really do wish they had just publicly cancelled Versus XIII, but use these ideas and designs to make a FFXV completely free of any expectations set by that doomed project. A damn shame, but at the very least, I am not pissed off by the final result of the story now.

Episode Ardyn is the final piece of DLC for the post launch line up of content for the Final Fantasy XV media amalgamation. What was originally supposed to be the start of a new story line that would've seen our cast of characters get a happy ending instead was transformed into a more straightforward prequel to the main game. In this DLC we learn more about Ardyn's backstory, but before you play this game it is highly recommended you watch the Episode Ardyn Prologue animation on youtube on the official FFXV youtube page, which is done by the same team who did the FFXV Brotherhood animation. It provides more context for the story by showing things that are only vaguely hinted at in the actual DLC content itself. Combined it presents a really compelling backstory for XV's main antagonist that leaves you really questioning who is the bad guy by the end. The gameplay is rather straight forward as Ardyn has similar abilities to Noctis, and then some such as demonification of your enemies and teleporting. The bulk of the DLC takes place in what amounts to 4 blocks of Insomnia, where you can wreak havoc to the citizens of the city and rack up points. In battle we are also greeted to a catchy song sung by Lotus Juice of Persona series fame, and it really puts the whole experience together in an awesome, yet sorrowful package. I highly recommend Episode Ardyn to anyone who plans to revisit XV, or as a first timer. If you have already beaten the game before I recommend starting with the DLC first as it sets an entirely different tone to the rest of the game's events but if you are a first timer I recommend saving it for the end as it does spoil some late game story points. I think as it stands Episode Ardyn is the perfect end cap to the many ups and downs of the existence of the expansive FFXV universe.