Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers

 PC
User Score
9.1

Universal acclaim- based on 1547 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,419 out of 1547
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 1547
  3. Negative: 102 out of 1547

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  1. Sherchi
    Jul 3, 2019
    10
    I haven't felt as exicited playing an MMO since I was a child. City's actually feel like they are cities and not just a warehouse with vendors. Music is so good I could just listen to it all day., Almost all of the main story is voiced beautifully, and the story itself just drags you in and keeps you there. I normally skip stories and only play for endgame, but this expansion's was just too good
  2. braves300
    Jul 3, 2019
    10
    This is one of the best Final Fantasy stories in the last two decades and the best I have ever played (I've played VIII, X, XII, XIII). This story alone beats a lot of non-MMO RPGs out there. The voice acting was top-notch and even better than previous expansions. The character development was high quality as well. The cutscenes were well directed as well making the dramatic moments feelThis is one of the best Final Fantasy stories in the last two decades and the best I have ever played (I've played VIII, X, XII, XIII). This story alone beats a lot of non-MMO RPGs out there. The voice acting was top-notch and even better than previous expansions. The character development was high quality as well. The cutscenes were well directed as well making the dramatic moments feel much more impact. I couldn't stop taking screenshots of my characters whenever there was a big moment going on in the story. Big credit to the story writers here. The zones were also incredible. Each time I enter a new zone, I was always in disbelief in how much prettier the game and environment got with each new zone. There are definitely times where I stop and took in the sights of the environment. And this without mentioning the music as well. The music that accompanies the zones does a really great job at capturing the mood and atmosphere of the story. Same with the trials as well. The buildup to the 2nd and 3rd fight were great as well making the fights feel much more epic. Credit to Soken for composing an awesome soundtrack.

    The only issue I had was the amount of time between the first and second dungeon (but it's understandable as it fits with the story's pacing). The story will make you laugh and cry. This is a tale told of epic proportions.    … Expand
  3. aevic
    Jul 3, 2019
    10
    In an age where the MMO genre seems to be dying off, Shadowbringers emerges to show that MMO's are still alive and kicking. A story that grips you as soon as you jump into it. Environments and music that will leave you breathless. Truly, Yoshi-P and all of SE should be proud of this as they have done a phenomenal job.
  4. metusodium
    Jul 3, 2019
    10
    Comparing this expansion with all main series Final Fantasy games, would still easily put it near the top. Huge praise to the team working on this game. All of the other recent Final Fantasy IP's could learn a lesson or five from them.
  5. OtoKitsune
    Jul 3, 2019
    10
    Amazing storyline!! The community is as friendly as MMO's go and the level of character customisation/expression is amazing. Very immersive and lots of attention to detail in both the graphics and the interface
  6. Balbereith
    Jul 3, 2019
    10
    Shadowbringers is a really a game full of emotions. The story is great, epic from the beginning to the end.

    And the truth behind everything... The truth, guys... The end of this game is incredible.
  7. Rubedo
    Jul 3, 2019
    10
    Nothing on the market has never been more true to the game type MMO-RPG than FF14 with their newly released expansion. The story, music, zones, new jobs, battle changes are just beautiful. I'm at loss for words to describe my experience trough Shadowbringers
  8. Fireguardian
    Jul 3, 2019
    10
    The Story is one of the best ones in the Final Fantasy Franchise and in MMO's to this date. Classes are fun, endgame is interesting and there is a lot to do after you got your first class to 80. Also the 35€ Price tag is a absolute steal for the amount of content.
  9. minibiubiu
    Jul 3, 2019
    10
    The best expansion of FFXIV and insane OST, breathtaking and tearing story, what I could ask for more.
  10. Iceflare
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    This Expansion is beyond fantastic!
    First of all, let's look at the bad parts, to show how few there are:
    - The combat music for overworld battles is horrible - The FPS cap was a mistake (although it's being removed again) - Many large areas look pretty empty - From all the shiny old weapons they only implemented the Omega weapons for Gunbreaker and Dancer, unlike Stormblood, where    This Expansion is beyond fantastic!
    First of all, let's look at the bad parts, to show how few there are:
    - The combat music for overworld battles is horrible
    - The FPS cap was a mistake (although it's being removed again)
    - Many large areas look pretty empty
    - From all the shiny old weapons they only implemented the Omega weapons for Gunbreaker and Dancer, unlike Stormblood, where they implemented almost all old weapons for Redmage and Samurai

    And that's it! Everything else is absolutely wonderful:
    - The music is wonderful through the bank. Every dungeon theme is on spot and fits the theme. Every boss theme is incredibly exciting. Every zone theme is absolutely perfect and when the area's night is restored the music gets even better. And the Final battle's music is unbelievable
    - The story of this expansion is absolutely breathtaking, especially the ending. You thought Avengers: Endgame was a great ending? It is total crap compared to Shadowbringers's ending. Shadowbringers genuinely made me cry for the bad guy in the end, despite having done the good deed. Never had this experience before
    - The lore is so rich and well implemented, that you crave for more and actually want to listen to non-essential NPC conversations, which I never did before
    - The changes to combat classes, despite them being a simplification of their rotations, feels extremely good, satisfying and rewarding now. Jobs feel much more intuitive and mistakes don't punish you in such an unsatisfying way anymore (also, boss transitions aren't such a pain anymore)
    - The endgame is full of interesting stuff to do, like the Crystarium deliveries, FATE chains that reward you with several different things (apparently they've learned from Eureka), the typical expert dungeons (which also are very entertaining), very interesting extreme boss fights, countless Sightseeing Log spots that are a challenge to reach, level scaling Sidequests that now reward you with decent experience no matter when you take it and a soon to be released raid which I can't wait to see
    - The trust system (running dungeons with 3 story NPCs instead of 3 other players) is actually better than I imagined it would be. They perform flawlessly in every dungeon, which is great for players who still have difficulties learning the mechanics - even if you deliberately pull extra mobs (the NPCs can take it) - with the only downside vs real human players being that trust NPCs do much less damage and the dungeon takes longer to complete in general
    - The new races Viera and Hrothgar - despite only existing as one gender each in the game for now - look absolutely stunning and despite thinking that not many players would pick up the bulky, muscular Hrothgar, I've actually seen lots and lots of them running around
    - The two new jobs Dancer and Gunbreaker feel extremely great to play. Their animations and sound effects are super satisfying and their general gameplay feels extremely polished
    - With the active subscriber count reaching over the 1 million players bar the game feels so full of other players and no matter where you go at any time everything feels so full

    All in all, this is the best Final Fantasy XIV expansion so far - even a lot greater than Heavensward, which was already amazing and of course better than Stormblood, which was not that great in comparison, but still good.    … Expand
  11. Jisatsu
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Seriously puts a lot of video game stories to shame. You thought your precious heavensward was good? You might want to plan a funeral for it... because Shadowbringers puts it six feet in the ground. May be the best story I’ve ever experienced and really pulls all the lore from the last near decade of content in lovely. You’ve never experienced anything like this in a game. It’s just nextSeriously puts a lot of video game stories to shame. You thought your precious heavensward was good? You might want to plan a funeral for it... because Shadowbringers puts it six feet in the ground. May be the best story I’ve ever experienced and really pulls all the lore from the last near decade of content in lovely. You’ve never experienced anything like this in a game. It’s just next level.… Expand
  12. DaveZarek94
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Played during early access and once i finished the MSQ i must say, hands down GOTY for me, what a great experience, been emotionally invested trough the story and even weeping in some parts. This game is absolute wonderful
  13. Redpaint
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    I'm a lazy person and don't really write review. FFXIV 5.0 made me registered an account in this website and wrote a review to pay my respect! The story is super super super good, personally I think it is better than 4.0 (stormblood)! New maps have very beautiful view!
  14. NoctisStrife
    Jul 2, 2019
    9
    Great Story,best so far.Though still have some jobs’ balance issues need to be fixed.Such as the damage and support between Melee DPS.And new job’s practicality.
  15. Aetheros
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    I have not felt this happy to play this game since Heavensward. This is brilliant. All the attention to detail. All the small improvements to the engine to deliver high quality, expression rich cutscenes. The voicework in the german version also saw a huge increase in production quality. The gameplay may be lacking for some but I think its absolutely brilliant. Beyond that, You only needI have not felt this happy to play this game since Heavensward. This is brilliant. All the attention to detail. All the small improvements to the engine to deliver high quality, expression rich cutscenes. The voicework in the german version also saw a huge increase in production quality. The gameplay may be lacking for some but I think its absolutely brilliant. Beyond that, You only need to pay about 60$ to play the full game, since Shadowbringers includes all previous expansions. This is a brilliant package and everyone should give it a try. Even if the content before looses out in comparison to this newest expansion. Especially the early game needs to be retouched.

    Either way, most of my critisism doesn't concern the changes Shadowbringer does to the game. So a solid 10 from me.    … Expand
  16. Maliwolf
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Best expansion of the game so far and probably the best overall expansion to a MMO in general of all those that i have played. Story was excellent and kept me wanting to know what happens next. It was also accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack. This is for sure one of if not the best MMO out there now.
  17. Hock
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Absolute phenomenal story telling, best expansion story line yet. Would highly recommend to anyone on the fence.
  18. pagepro
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Even if you aren't a huge fan of MMO and are just looking for a good RPG to play this game is it. I have played many Final Fantasy games in my 26 years being alive and seeing everything come to life is amazing. If you have a favorite Final Fantasy game you will find that this game pulls ideas from all of them and molds it into something amazing.
    This expansion however is the best that XIV    Even if you aren't a huge fan of MMO and are just looking for a good RPG to play this game is it. I have played many Final Fantasy games in my 26 years being alive and seeing everything come to life is amazing. If you have a favorite Final Fantasy game you will find that this game pulls ideas from all of them and molds it into something amazing.
    This expansion however is the best that XIV has to offer thus far and the bar was pretty high to begin with after Heavensward and Stormblood. Shadowbringers sets the bar even higher. If you are looking for an immersive game with a great soundtrack with an engaging story and gameplay you won't be disappointed.    … Expand
  19. Mikoto94
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Best expansion yet, square enix really outdid themselves, amazing story, soundtrack, locations.
  20. iNuclearPickle
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I got early excess and started playing day 1 and love it
    Story -definitely took a darker tone watching a character become a sin eater you sit there as the greater sin eater stabs the npc trying to protect a child who will become a sineater himself in time then transform barfing out light the main on her face as her eyes go blacl then the change is done. Combat for summoner & fates -the changes feel good as a summoner getting bahmuhut after 1 trance feels great and Then going into fire bird trance definitely keeps you busy in a fun way. I’ve been mainly leveling thro fates since you benefit both through exp and rewards you get from trading gems is nice once I’ve finished summoner it’s gonna be nice doing fate trains to level my other jobs to get more options in the shop

    Ending statement
    -I really love what they’ve changed and loving the story and will continue to love it going forward    … Expand
  21. Gamejournalism
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Koji and YoshiP really did go all out here. Other companies should take note
  22. Kamui22
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Best mmorpg best DLC music 10/10 the new classes is good,new location and the best story.
  23. Akiin
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Holy... this is how a expansion to a game should be, Shadowbringers puts other Mmo's to shame with it's otherworldy soundtrack and a Story better than most tripel A games provide. THIS IS A MUST BUY FOR FF14 PLAYERS !
  24. Pmemer
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    The best Final Fantasy experience in over a decade. FFXIV has always been good but Shadowbringers just pushes it over the edge.
  25. SpudCommando
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    This is the most Final Fantasy game in almost a decade. The story, the cast, the music, it rivals or even exceeds that of single player JRPGs. Square Enix has done a great job on producing this title. Just over a decade ago, FFXIV was a massive failure. But they since then made an amazing comeback to bring Shadowbringers today.
  26. mikezero0526
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    I am not the type of person who typically writes reviews, but I truly felt like this experience deserved one. This is one of the best stories, so far, that I have ever played in a game. I am putting this on par with AAA single player games as well. This expansion, all by itself, stands on its own but with the foundations set by the past 5 years, it is even better. The music is some ofI am not the type of person who typically writes reviews, but I truly felt like this experience deserved one. This is one of the best stories, so far, that I have ever played in a game. I am putting this on par with AAA single player games as well. This expansion, all by itself, stands on its own but with the foundations set by the past 5 years, it is even better. The music is some of the best I have heard in a video game. The story is amazing and well written. It is like finding a good book that you just can't put down. The world is absolutely gorgeous and filled with life and adventure. The player base is amazing.… Expand
  27. ReviewerX103
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Played this expansion's story from start to finish.

    One of if not the best story I have played in my 14yrs of playing mmos. So many plot twist, raw emotions, and just masterful writing in part of the story writers. Tons of voiced cut scenes. You even begin to question yourself if the main villains are actually bad and second guess if what you are doing is even right in the first place.    Played this expansion's story from start to finish.

    One of if not the best story I have played in my 14yrs of playing mmos. So many plot twist, raw emotions, and just masterful writing in part of the story writers. Tons of voiced cut scenes. You even begin to question yourself if the main villains are actually bad and second guess if what you are doing is even right in the first place. This expansion ties the game into all the expansions before it filling in many of the small questions hinted in the dialog and cut scenes of A Ream Reborn, Heavensward, and Storm Blood.

    The sound track for this expansion is stellar, with the exception of the open world battle music in my opinion had to turn that off in the settings. But everything else just fits so well. I found myself literally just listening to the field music in several of the zones and the final battle zone for 30+mins while I did stuff around the house the other day.

    World design they take us to another shard, parallel universe, where the world developed completely differently. You can tell where you are in game but it is done where they really did not borrow any assets from the old Eorzea world. It is masterfully done. Some parts of the world even change as you progress through the story.

    Negative parts of this expansion are somewhat hard to find, it is very polished but here are a few in my opinion.

    You have to do everything else before it or pay to skip to this. So as a new player you have 50ish hours of work to get to this expansion, or drop money in the cashshop. (You will be sorta lost in the story if you do though.)

    There are points where you need to level up outside progressing the story. While not bad with what the game give you it sucked to have to take a 1-2hr breaks right as you are getting into the story to continue it. This is standard for a mmo though.

    The server issues on certain worlds, while no where near as bad ARR,HW, and Stormblood. Disconnects and ques are up drastically. To note this is common in any major mmo and always resolves itself as the expansion launch gets farther away. This basically means a lot of ppl are playing.

    Extremely long ques for tanks and dps classes due to shortage of healers. Without the launch of a new healer job this expansion there is an extreme imbalance of jobs in the instance que system. You can expect up to 30min waits as tank and dps. Healers insta get into groups for literally everything.

    Overall this is one of the single best expansions ever released in any mmo period. I highly suggest purchasing it even if only to play through the story it is that good.    … Expand
  28. BaronSolace
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Aviot is incorrect on the yen price to get into the game, its actually ¥6576 / 59.99 (expac + base) for a new player
    and ¥ 4200 / $40 for a veteran player. you wont find another mmo like this, it transcends the wow clone stereotype.
  29. Prezly
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Anyone who is voting this low hasn’t played it (or is likely a WoW fanboy). Shadowbringers is a flawless expansion, a rare gem of a game that improves in every way upon the game while somehow managing to be an entire standalone game in its own right (storywise).

    I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, and all I want to do is do it over and over again with different characters. If you love Final    Anyone who is voting this low hasn’t played it (or is likely a WoW fanboy). Shadowbringers is a flawless expansion, a rare gem of a game that improves in every way upon the game while somehow managing to be an entire standalone game in its own right (storywise).

    I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, and all I want to do is do it over and over again with different characters.

    If you love Final Fantasy, MMOs, or incredible storytelling this game is for you...

    If you just want to hurry up and beat the endgame content without having to play the game.....this is still for you, but you will need to purchase a token to bypass the story.

    This is, without a doubt. The best MMO expansion ever.    … Expand
  30. Dkcbrown
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    You won't find an MMO (And few games in general) with a stronger story or more meticulously crafted music. The new QOL updates and Jobs are aces! Can't recommend this game more!
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best PC Game of 2019
23
#23 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019
9
#9 Most Shared PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Cubed3
    Mar 27, 2020
    70
    The active story events of ShadowBringers are good fun, but due to the grinding nature of the genre, it suffers from some terrible pacing issues. If you are invested in FFXIV, this DLC will probably excite and please you. It's a fun but forgettable romp that runs just the wrong side of boring during its hours-long retelling and bland A-B mission style. If this tickles your fancy, be sure to start and play with a team of friends - it will easily be 10 times more enjoyable, if infinitely longer.
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  2. Multiplayer.it
    Sep 15, 2019
    90
    Shadowbringers is not just a fun and juicy MMORPG thanks to some intuitive design choices and amazing dungeons and encounters, but also a different take on the overindulged "hero saves the world" story with lots of twists and turns.
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  3. Game Informer
    Aug 15, 2019
    90
    Shadowbringers is the best expansion yet for Square Enix’s MMORPG, a world that comes alive in the player’s hands, with weight and gravitas moving you through every whimsical corner. Old-fashioned quest design and color-dodging combat add a dull tinge to a truly magical landscape, but those imperfections can’t keep down the scale and scope of excellent environments, grandiose bosses, and majestic music.
    Read full review
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