Following up on the previous expansion, Echoes of the Fallen, The Rising Tide offers up a more extensive DLC that features a larger breadth of content in terms of story, quests, and abilities. Whilst it's most definitely longer however, it ultimately is still relatively short which was admittedly somewhat of a disappointment considering I had anticipated it going on for a little longer, but there's no denying that what's here is still solid, particularly when it comes to boss fights and new abilities.
First up, the main headline of the release is the introduction of the Eikon Leviathan, complete with its own boss fight that's equally as demanding, exciting, and all kinds of brilliant, just like the base game's Eikon battles. As for the gameplay implications regarding the new abilities acquired in this release, they offer a more robust and wider selection of attacks thanks to its Eikonic Feat, with some fun new cooldown-based abilities to equip too. There's also a bit of expansion beyond this when it comes to your gear and abilities in a few neat ways too.
However, whilst Echoes of the Fallen began a trend I believed suggested more buildcrafting options to come, I still feel like the game struggles to introduce truly new and varied ways to play, and rarely do the game's array of abilities present use cases that makes them enticing to equip other than their impressive visuals and baseline damage and Will damage statistics.
That means - besides the more demanding upfront combat challenge various bosses and enemies pose in The Rising Tide - you're generally fighting in quite similar ways to before, and the game doesn't suddenly get you thinking about combat in different ways beyond those core abilities you equip.
Of course, it would be a tall order to have expected an entire combat or buildcrafting-focused overhaul in such a short amount of time, however I did find myself wanting more depth to really get me theorising about what builds or styles of play I could employ. Though I did learn about NG+ having higher tiers of accessories with improved effects - as well as weapons and armour - which does make a replay more enticing to me, especially when many of the accessories in FFXVI are rather boring as far as I'm concerned. Thankfully, across both Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide, some of those issues are addressed but as mentioned, it's still not completely changing the dynamic of the game.
Despite all that though, I still very much enjoy the combat of this game, and with this DLC's increase in difficulty along with the new endgame 'Kairos Gate' mode, there's a lot more dynamic and difficult gameplay that keeps you on your toes. The end result is that the gameplay of this release ends up being some of the best in the game thanks to the increased difficulty, particularly noticeable in boss fights. While I did like all of the bosses in the base game, the higher challenge presented here does yield positive results, much like those in Echoes of the Fallen.
The king of all these fights that tops the expansion off is of course the Eikon battle against Leviathan that manages to reach similar heights as those in the base game, with its own array of themed spectacle and visuals.
.
As for the story, I wasn't massively enthralled by this new tale but there's still some interesting ideas and moments, and the setting and lore of the new locale were fun to see. I am a little surprised there weren't more general narrative implications considering some of the hype from the devs around 'what happens when Clive has access to all Eikons'. There is still something, just not ultimately anything that really changes or affects the narrative. Though there are some implications that could be drawn from it, just there's no real acknowledgement of it, at least as far as I've seen.
In regards to the new location of Mysidia itself, it was very nice to get away from the dreadful pink sky and colour tones of the main world that most definitely outstayed their welcome by the end of the original game. When you're in Mysidia, it's much more pleasant, with blue skies and lush jungles.
The beauty of this new region shines in large part due to the game's continuously strong graphical presentation. Even if it's a shame the game rarely ever sticks at 60fps, I never found this much of an issue and it did feel generally more consistent than the base game.
.
Beyond the story, there are also various other aspects to note, such as the multiple side quests, endgame 'Kairos Gate' mode, and several items and accessories to acquire.
The side quests have some nice tidbits about Mysidia and its people, but ultimately still aren't anything to write home about - though they do include a few fun bosses to fight, with an epilogue that serves as a perfect segue back into the final part of the game's main narrative.
Beyond that, shop vendors across the game have a few new Accessories and a long list of new Orchestrion rolls to acquire for the Hideaway which now makes me want to grind out a bunch more Gil to once again fully fill out what is a essentially now-doubled collection of tracks.
The main highlight of the post-story content is the Kairos Gate, a bonus roguelike mode where you face multiple waves of enemies and bosses, earning points to be spent on a variety of boosts and bonuses to improve your stats and score, all with various rewards for both first-time clearance and repeat runs. By earning more points within each 'circle', you get more points to spend on bonuses that'll give you an easier time on future floors. Even if you don't fancy checking out this mode, the interaction with the Arete Stone that precedes this is definitely worth checking out.
At the time of writing, I've not managed to best this completely yet, getting my ass handed to me at around the halfway mark on my first run, but it proved to be a fun challenge, and the rewards are actually more exciting than I had anticipated which is cool.
On the whole, it's a solid bonus addition that rounds this DLC off nicely. I think I initially would've liked to have seen something more extensive than just 20 waves - more on the level of DMC's Bloody Palace, for example, with up to 100 or so waves - but even in its current form, it felt like a solid length of time you could spend here. It's also decent for farming Gil, so that's a bonus.
As for one last critique, it's a bit of a shame that there are no more costumes to unlock. I hadn't really expected it, but it does seem odd to have added literally just one alternate outfit for each character randomly in an update last year, and then never utilise the feature again.
.
Overall then, The Rising Tide is a decent enough DLC that isn't completely mind-blowing for the game holistically, doesn't change the flawed status of the base game, and I really do wish they had pushed harder to deepen what's on offer and make the expansion feel a little more transformative for the game. However, taken for what it is though, it's more FFXVI, which is admittedly hard to complain about honestly, especially when it's delivering some of the game's best boss fights and ability sets, along with a new endgame challenge.
Flawed or not, it's a solid DLC that does take a stab at some of the criticisms from launch, and it's a release that has reinvigorated my desire to experience a more challenging playthrough via Final Fantasy Mode. This has only become even more true as I learned more about the upgraded Accessories you can acquire on that difficulty, so my hope is that it makes the gear game a little more engaging than it otherwise is.
Alongside a bunch of new items to acquire with Gil and a replayable endgame mode, no matter my critiques and even if I wish there was more overall, I still had a great time with this DLC, and it's sure to appeal to anyone who wanted more after beating the base game. For as flawed as it is, I still love FFXVI and for as much as I wish it had done better, this DLC expands a game I otherwise love and made returning to the game a joy.
First up, the main headline of the release is the introduction of the Eikon Leviathan, complete with its own boss fight that's equally as demanding, exciting, and all kinds of brilliant, just like the base game's Eikon battles. As for the gameplay implications regarding the new abilities acquired in this release, they offer a more robust and wider selection of attacks thanks to its Eikonic Feat, with some fun new cooldown-based abilities to equip too. There's also a bit of expansion beyond this when it comes to your gear and abilities in a few neat ways too.
However, whilst Echoes of the Fallen began a trend I believed suggested more buildcrafting options to come, I still feel like the game struggles to introduce truly new and varied ways to play, and rarely do the game's array of abilities present use cases that makes them enticing to equip other than their impressive visuals and baseline damage and Will damage statistics.
That means - besides the more demanding upfront combat challenge various bosses and enemies pose in The Rising Tide - you're generally fighting in quite similar ways to before, and the game doesn't suddenly get you thinking about combat in different ways beyond those core abilities you equip.
Of course, it would be a tall order to have expected an entire combat or buildcrafting-focused overhaul in such a short amount of time, however I did find myself wanting more depth to really get me theorising about what builds or styles of play I could employ. Though I did learn about NG+ having higher tiers of accessories with improved effects - as well as weapons and armour - which does make a replay more enticing to me, especially when many of the accessories in FFXVI are rather boring as far as I'm concerned. Thankfully, across both Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide, some of those issues are addressed but as mentioned, it's still not completely changing the dynamic of the game.
Despite all that though, I still very much enjoy the combat of this game, and with this DLC's increase in difficulty along with the new endgame 'Kairos Gate' mode, there's a lot more dynamic and difficult gameplay that keeps you on your toes. The end result is that the gameplay of this release ends up being some of the best in the game thanks to the increased difficulty, particularly noticeable in boss fights. While I did like all of the bosses in the base game, the higher challenge presented here does yield positive results, much like those in Echoes of the Fallen.
The king of all these fights that tops the expansion off is of course the Eikon battle against Leviathan that manages to reach similar heights as those in the base game, with its own array of themed spectacle and visuals.
.
As for the story, I wasn't massively enthralled by this new tale but there's still some interesting ideas and moments, and the setting and lore of the new locale were fun to see. I am a little surprised there weren't more general narrative implications considering some of the hype from the devs around 'what happens when Clive has access to all Eikons'. There is still something, just not ultimately anything that really changes or affects the narrative. Though there are some implications that could be drawn from it, just there's no real acknowledgement of it, at least as far as I've seen.
In regards to the new location of Mysidia itself, it was very nice to get away from the dreadful pink sky and colour tones of the main world that most definitely outstayed their welcome by the end of the original game. When you're in Mysidia, it's much more pleasant, with blue skies and lush jungles.
The beauty of this new region shines in large part due to the game's continuously strong graphical presentation. Even if it's a shame the game rarely ever sticks at 60fps, I never found this much of an issue and it did feel generally more consistent than the base game.
.
Beyond the story, there are also various other aspects to note, such as the multiple side quests, endgame 'Kairos Gate' mode, and several items and accessories to acquire.
The side quests have some nice tidbits about Mysidia and its people, but ultimately still aren't anything to write home about - though they do include a few fun bosses to fight, with an epilogue that serves as a perfect segue back into the final part of the game's main narrative.
Beyond that, shop vendors across the game have a few new Accessories and a long list of new Orchestrion rolls to acquire for the Hideaway which now makes me want to grind out a bunch more Gil to once again fully fill out what is a essentially now-doubled collection of tracks.
The main highlight of the post-story content is the Kairos Gate, a bonus roguelike mode where you face multiple waves of enemies and bosses, earning points to be spent on a variety of boosts and bonuses to improve your stats and score, all with various rewards for both first-time clearance and repeat runs. By earning more points within each 'circle', you get more points to spend on bonuses that'll give you an easier time on future floors. Even if you don't fancy checking out this mode, the interaction with the Arete Stone that precedes this is definitely worth checking out.
At the time of writing, I've not managed to best this completely yet, getting my ass handed to me at around the halfway mark on my first run, but it proved to be a fun challenge, and the rewards are actually more exciting than I had anticipated which is cool.
On the whole, it's a solid bonus addition that rounds this DLC off nicely. I think I initially would've liked to have seen something more extensive than just 20 waves - more on the level of DMC's Bloody Palace, for example, with up to 100 or so waves - but even in its current form, it felt like a solid length of time you could spend here. It's also decent for farming Gil, so that's a bonus.
As for one last critique, it's a bit of a shame that there are no more costumes to unlock. I hadn't really expected it, but it does seem odd to have added literally just one alternate outfit for each character randomly in an update last year, and then never utilise the feature again.
.
Overall then, The Rising Tide is a decent enough DLC that isn't completely mind-blowing for the game holistically, doesn't change the flawed status of the base game, and I really do wish they had pushed harder to deepen what's on offer and make the expansion feel a little more transformative for the game. However, taken for what it is though, it's more FFXVI, which is admittedly hard to complain about honestly, especially when it's delivering some of the game's best boss fights and ability sets, along with a new endgame challenge.
Flawed or not, it's a solid DLC that does take a stab at some of the criticisms from launch, and it's a release that has reinvigorated my desire to experience a more challenging playthrough via Final Fantasy Mode. This has only become even more true as I learned more about the upgraded Accessories you can acquire on that difficulty, so my hope is that it makes the gear game a little more engaging than it otherwise is.
Alongside a bunch of new items to acquire with Gil and a replayable endgame mode, no matter my critiques and even if I wish there was more overall, I still had a great time with this DLC, and it's sure to appeal to anyone who wanted more after beating the base game. For as flawed as it is, I still love FFXVI and for as much as I wish it had done better, this DLC expands a game I otherwise love and made returning to the game a joy.