Disclaimer: This review is strictly about 4.0
This expansion had a lot to say, telling an evocative story about oppression and imperialism. With XIV’s usual handling of its heavier topics, I was expecting this to be genuinely great, and while it’s still very good, it could have been much better for me.
With an ensemble cast like this one spread out across essentially two different narratives, the overall mesh felt imbalanced and the pacing bloated which led to some characters feeling underutilized or just…different. That’s the best way for me to describe Stormblood, different. While it was by no means a complete bore, a few sections felt tedious. With how much of a thrill ride Heavensward was, this felt like a return to ARR, for worse. Still, where the game might have stumbled narratively it excelled in every other aspect. Some of the new landscapes and areas are among my favorites in the entire game coupled with one of the best soundtracks as well. The dungeons, trials, and raids were also fantastic and a clear step up in presentation.
Also, although I was mostly mixed on the main cast, I can’t say the same for the villains. Zenos and Yotsuyu balance each other well as an imposing megalomaniac and an emotionally driven one that directly challenges the themes of the expansion. Fordola also works extremely well as an antithesis to Lyse.
Looking back on Stormblood, it's an expansion with high highs and low lows. A few things get rectified with context from Shadowbringers and Endwalker, but I still can't help but see it as something that could have been so much more.
This expansion had a lot to say, telling an evocative story about oppression and imperialism. With XIV’s usual handling of its heavier topics, I was expecting this to be genuinely great, and while it’s still very good, it could have been much better for me.
With an ensemble cast like this one spread out across essentially two different narratives, the overall mesh felt imbalanced and the pacing bloated which led to some characters feeling underutilized or just…different. That’s the best way for me to describe Stormblood, different. While it was by no means a complete bore, a few sections felt tedious. With how much of a thrill ride Heavensward was, this felt like a return to ARR, for worse. Still, where the game might have stumbled narratively it excelled in every other aspect. Some of the new landscapes and areas are among my favorites in the entire game coupled with one of the best soundtracks as well. The dungeons, trials, and raids were also fantastic and a clear step up in presentation.
Also, although I was mostly mixed on the main cast, I can’t say the same for the villains. Zenos and Yotsuyu balance each other well as an imposing megalomaniac and an emotionally driven one that directly challenges the themes of the expansion. Fordola also works extremely well as an antithesis to Lyse.
Looking back on Stormblood, it's an expansion with high highs and low lows. A few things get rectified with context from Shadowbringers and Endwalker, but I still can't help but see it as something that could have been so much more.