I'm here to kill Gilgamesh, that's my mission. Looks like Gilgamesh has been waiting for us....
I only know one thing: I want to kill Gilgamesh. I need to. It's not a hope, or a dream, it's like a hunger, a thirst.
This is the shrine of Gilgamesh. He's here, we just have to hunt him down.
The darkness is so thick I can taste it... this is it, no doubt.
Gilgamesh......
We are here to kill Gilgamesh......

This is the first of three reviews for the FFXV DLCs and where better to start then with Gladio. Gladiolus’s DLC takes place after he leaves the party. To keep this review spoiler-free I’ll just say that Gladio is taking a trial to become a better Kingsguard and Cor is there with him. A common theme with these DLCs is excellent writing and character development, as each DLC tells a story that glances into the life and journey of each of Noctis’s companions, while also building upon the lore and stories of other characters along Noctis’s journey. Gladio’s DLC is combat focused and with emphasis on going through each “stage” of his dungeon as fast as possible. This might seem like you won’t get as much plot and character development but this style of gameplay fits perfectly for Gladio and Cor’s way of explaining things. As Cor and Gladio frequently chat about the trials, Noctis, etc etc. Gladio’s combat is slower than Noctis’s, but has a focus on parrying and attacking at the right time to build up Rage, which increases Gladio’s damage output, allowing him to dish out big damage with his Glaive Arts. Gladio’s combat system plays very differently from the entire party, so he’s a really fun character to play. This DLC goes very hard, did enjoy.

>abruptly leaves the main game's story without any apparent reason
>comes back just as abruptly just one short chapter later
>refuses to elaborate further
>months later, gets paid DLC to elaborate further

Jesus Christ this game's storytelling

Anyway, it's fine. I say it "elaborates", but I'm still not sure what the fuck is going on in this story. Killer main theme song though, interesting rendition of Battle at the Big Bridge, though it's the weakest version of this music they've ever done.

Episode Gladiolus is the first piece of DLC content for FFXV, and it really shows. It is a DLC that has big ambitions, but is just too short to really see those ideas shine. The DLC follows Gladio as he briefly leaves the main part in the middle of XV's story. He leaves with an older royal guard named Cor, and together they go into the lair of the ancient Royal Guard of the first king of Lucis, Gilgamesh. The main content of the game is just a couple of action set pieces where you fight a couple waves of enemies and descend further into the cave to challenge Gilgamesh and prove yourself as a worthy shield to King Noctis. Gladio himself plays really well all things considered as he is slower than Noctis, so his combat focuses on pacing yourself and parrying at the right time. When you master Gladio's play style the DLC really shines, and it's put on full display during the battle against Gilgamesh himself and the bonus fight with Cor. Sadly like I mentioned outside of those two instances the DLC doesn't really take the time to challenge the player in any meaningful way which is truly a shame. Luckily as the DLC kept coming out the content got better as the development team were willing to experiment... for the most part.