I knew going in that this is generally considered the worst FFXIV expansion but I really did not expect this to get as bad as it gets. Centering the narrative around the liberation of Ala Mhigo/Doma isn't necessarily bad on paper but the Garleans had grown insufferably dull by the end of ARR and they don't do much to make them more interesting here. Also kind of thoughtless with the way it depicts Zenos as this all-powerful force of nature that even my WoL can't hope to face until the very end. If I'm capable of defeating countless primals, and Zenos bests me without trouble throughout 90% of Stormblood's MSQ, then why do the Garleans have such trouble beating primals? Just throw Zenos at them, crikey.

So much in this expansion that's inexplicable. Why is Lyse, someone who didn't even grow up in Ala Mhigo, the de facto protagonist when Raubahn is right there? Why did they put the least compelling character in this entire game at the center of this narrative? Spending 4.0 following around someone who spends most of her time onscreen talking down to oppressed people about their own oppression is just not a very fun time, I gotta say.

And then the Stormblood patch MSQ is just actively rancid, the kind of bad writing that's not only stupid and lazy but reveals something poisonous about the worldview of the people who wrote it. Genuinely could not believe how bad the end of Yotsuyu's arc is.

The stars are for the maps, some of the worldbuilding (the Azim Steppe in particular), the raids, and the music. On to Shadowbringers I guess. Sure hope this picks up soon. If this game makes me deal with another fucking primal I am unsubbing on the spot.

EDIT: finally played through the raids and I'm upping this half a star because damn the side content in this game is good. Doesn't excuse how shitty the rest of it is though.