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. raigon25
    Jul 13, 2019
    10
    What a phenomenal journey how can they top this! the story, the music the gameplay is maddening that this is an expansion! and it well worth the money i'd throw hundreds at it I could.
  2. houjo2000
    Jun 28, 2021
    10
    The story continues and builds on one started almost a decade ago, and it is amazing. Fantastic game with so much care put into it, beautiful for its age, god tier music, the most chill and friendly community I've ever seen.

    This is the best mmo of all time, and this is their best xpac yet. Can't wait to see the conclusion of the story arc that started with 1.0 to end in Endwalker, and    The story continues and builds on one started almost a decade ago, and it is amazing. Fantastic game with so much care put into it, beautiful for its age, god tier music, the most chill and friendly community I've ever seen.

    This is the best mmo of all time, and this is their best xpac yet. Can't wait to see the conclusion of the story arc that started with 1.0 to end in Endwalker, and definitely can't wait to see what the next arc will be.    … Expand
  3. 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
  4. 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.
  5. Devilish
    Jul 11, 2019
    10
    This will be the best MMORPG expansion you'll ever played. Story is top notch and Music is so so good.
  6. Gamer4life1985
    Jul 13, 2019
    10
    I will say I am a huge FF fan and have played every single game plus many more RPGs in my lifetime so far and Shadowbringers is arguably one of the best ever created. This story has been a massive build up for 9 years, including when it 1.0 was rough; and with each expansion SE continues to out do themselves and have created an absolute masterpiece. The bad guy is charismatic,I will say I am a huge FF fan and have played every single game plus many more RPGs in my lifetime so far and Shadowbringers is arguably one of the best ever created. This story has been a massive build up for 9 years, including when it 1.0 was rough; and with each expansion SE continues to out do themselves and have created an absolute masterpiece. The bad guy is charismatic, intriguing, and relatable; in other words human and you truly understand his motivations by the ending dungeon and trial. The rest of the story is heartbreaking, emotional, cheerful, and all those emotions that we crave from an excellent story.

    SE was a masterpiece you have created and I truly hope you are paying attention to all this praise. You guys have been doing wonderful the last couple of years and continue to be that with your future releases. Continue the great work. Can't wait for the Nier raid in 14 and the future content of this game especially.    … Expand
  7. Lonegunspy
    Jul 6, 2019
    10
    Having played FFXIV since ver 1.0, I’ve seen the game change and grow over the years. It’s been a joy too see the game become something that was nothing but a instrument of frustration to the truly great game it is today

    Ver 1.0 was a mess, and I was ready to abandon this game. Having come from other MMOs I was not impressed to say the least, but when Yoshida came onboard and made his    Having played FFXIV since ver 1.0, I’ve seen the game change and grow over the years. It’s been a joy too see the game become something that was nothing but a instrument of frustration to the truly great game it is today

    Ver 1.0 was a mess, and I was ready to abandon this game. Having come from other MMOs I was not impressed to say the least, but when Yoshida came onboard and made his promises to the players, I was doubtful anything would happen, but it did intrigue me.
    What he did to make good on those promises, and weaving the disaster of the original game into the lore of the Calamity event (fitting name) was masterful. By the end of its lifecycle ver 1.0 was playable and enjoyable a miracle when given what he had to work with.

    After the servers went down, launching ARR after the long wait was like a breath of fresh air, ARR had pacing issues and such but compared to 1.0, it was amazing, and set the firmament for what was to come. The after story for ARR was painful, you could see Square was struggling with what to do now, since it was apparent pre ARR release they didn’t think the redux was actually going to pay off. As the months went on I played on, it was like any MMO I understood, Fuller grinds and such. I wasn’t terribly impressed, but I saw nothing different so played XIV as well as some other MMOs at the time.

    Heavensward came out and it’s narrative, was amazing. The atmosphere it set of the world, long standing cultural and literal warfare as the setting was moving. The story was subtle and we were given a deeper understanding of the world we were set in. The Post HW stories were brief but numerous and kept me involved.
    The storytelling had come to its own, and I looked forwards to what was to come. Stormblood came out and the pacing was so different from HW, the story wasn’t as nuanced but showcased a dichotomy where we weren’t focused on one area but two, expanding our view of the world two fold, and showcasing two opposite outcomes of war. We felt the urgency a bit too much as the pacing had us jumping in and out of two lands but it’s also where the character development started becoming unquestionably refined. Certain characters become beloved. Certain characters you should feel NO sympathy for, became human. The worlds NPCs became more than just the 2d characters and villains that serve no purpose than to play their part and fade away from the spotlight. The after story of SB especially showed that every character you meet probably has a history you may not expect. And we as the hero are allowed to glimpse that history and understand. Now with Shadowbringers, the storytelling has reached a pinnacle. From the magnificent send off from Stormblood, the last story arc and that final dungeon... we the players are thrust into a story that draws you in from the opening quest, and subsequent change in venue that quest launches. We’re presented a slow thought out world, where our conversations feel meaningful and the characters we meet are deeper than just a fetch quest placeholder. Don’t get me wrong, the quest is probably to fetch something, but you feel there’s a meaning for actually needing it to be done. Then almost immediately the game sets the stakes high, and inspires the player to want to be a hero. Want to make things right. Want to figure out a resolution as the problems are encountered. And these problems? These problems are set in such a beautiful crafted world, that changes so much as you advance from zone to zone. So very beautiful and complimented by a magnificent musical score. The most consistently great so far.

    All in all Shadowbringers interweaves all those elements. Characters, environment, music to create a story that makes you want to see how it ends. It rewards you emotionally as well as breaks your heart when appropriate, the world of shadowbringers, has that balance, and makes you want to believe you can make that difference, after all you are the Warrior of Ligh...Darkness...

    Taken as it is, the story is incomplete if you’re a new player, havingbto work Through all the last content may seem burdensome, but it’s so worth it. You are the hero here, imagine how many hours of your own lore you’re creating. Not just observing but actually creating a heroic history, with so many moments of pain and triumph that you will feel attached to your character, regardless if you have the best gear or not. It’s not the destination so much in XIV as the journey, and after Shadowbringers, you’ll want to see more than ever where the journey will go. The creative team shows their love for the game with Shadowbringers and has raised the bar so high, it will be difficult to keep up to par, let alone surpass it. But I believe Yoshi-P and the team can, and I want to see them succeed. And I intend to be there when they raise that bar higher still.    … Expand
  8. iozay
    Jul 14, 2019
    10
    One of the best stories I have ever seen, great music and awesome gameplay :)
  9. HyperTornado
    Jul 20, 2019
    10
    All I can say is the story is insanely good and keeps me reeling in the entire time. The dungeons are super high budget and the world environment is gorgeous. Note that to get to Shadowbringers you must complete the previous expansions.
  10. Kamui22
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Best mmorpg best DLC music 10/10 the new classes is good,new location and the best story.
  11. fenrishero
    Jul 18, 2019
    10
    With a couple tweaks, you could take the main story of this expansion and make it it's own game, and it would be in running for game of the year, it's that good. Good voice acting, good music, and great writing.
    Mechanics wise, it's almost all positive: most of the class re-works were done well, and the two new classes are decently executed (Gunbreaker is a tank with an occasional DPS    With a couple tweaks, you could take the main story of this expansion and make it it's own game, and it would be in running for game of the year, it's that good. Good voice acting, good music, and great writing.
    Mechanics wise, it's almost all positive: most of the class re-works were done well, and the two new classes are decently executed (Gunbreaker is a tank with an occasional DPS rotation mixed in, and Dancer is a whack-a-mole priority class a la Red Mage). The one complaint is that healing is kind of a mess, with it now largely being hitting buttons to 'undo' damage from bosses and not about resource management and situational awareness as much.

    The Trust System for duty's lets you run dungeons with NPCs, removing the speed bump of queues for required dungeons as DPS. The NPCs generally do the mechanics correctly, though they can glitch. Still, it's a great way to 'learn' a dungeon before doing it with other people, and it does drop gear and XP, making it a solid leveling option. Trials still have to be done in groups of 8 players, but the difficulty is correct this time (no Shinryu level nightmares).

    If you've played this game, this expac is worth coming back for. If not, this is a pretty good place to dive in, provided you're willing to read some lore backstory to explain a couple things.    … Expand
  12. Genis94
    Jul 15, 2019
    10
    Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers isn't just a good MMO expansion. It's by far the best Final Fantasy game I've ever played. The combat system has been refined and retooled to be more intuitive with less unfun mechanics bogging it down, such as the removal of the ammo and heat systems from Machinist. The story in Shadowbringers is far and away one of the best RPG stories in years and isFinal Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers isn't just a good MMO expansion. It's by far the best Final Fantasy game I've ever played. The combat system has been refined and retooled to be more intuitive with less unfun mechanics bogging it down, such as the removal of the ammo and heat systems from Machinist. The story in Shadowbringers is far and away one of the best RPG stories in years and is full of twists and turns that challenge your preconceptions of the rules of the world as well as the morality of your struggle. Masayoshi Soken has also blown us away yet again with his OST, managing to implement all manner of musical genre into an ever-evolving game. Shadowbringers is more than worth your time, and I strongly urge new players to progress through the game normally rather than buy skips to jump straight to the endgame. Endgame isn't everything in XIV and the story loses a lot of meaningful impact by skipping it.… Expand
  13. LaysMan
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Amazing new DLC! New classes, new Music, new location. Amazing story. Recommended!
  14. Paladin82
    Jul 20, 2019
    10
    Shadowbringers has great visuals and gameplay (my only significant criticism is healer balancing), but most of all the expansion's story is skillfully written and shown. It ties in the already robust FFXIV story and puts a bow on it. This is a well done expansion.
  15. Pat1711
    Dec 12, 2019
    10
    As a long time WoW fanboy, all I can say is that Shadowbringers sets a new bar for the MMO Genre.

    WoW really has some work to be done to rise to the level of Shadowbringers.
  16. 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
  17. SevenDevils
    Jul 12, 2019
    10
    The best FF storyline in two decades. Also, the best composer since Nobuo himself.
  18. Rikori
    Sep 5, 2020
    10
    Absolute masterpiece, honestly the best MMORPG online I've ever seen. The story is the best thing about the game.
  19. artimis
    Feb 1, 2020
    10
    This is a really amazing expansion, to the story,characters, places, maps scenery, music, all so amazing, well worth the money and worth it, wont be dissapointed
  20. Cavox
    Jul 8, 2019
    10
    Spoiler-free review, you have to experience it on your own.

    I've always thought that MMORPGs need to have an awful story by default. That it's just a checkbox to mark like in Hack&Slashes - where gameplay is all that matters. I was sure the story is a necessary evil to drive the player around to do quests or grind through the content. Years of playing World of Warcraft solidified that    Spoiler-free review, you have to experience it on your own.

    I've always thought that MMORPGs need to have an awful story by default. That it's just a checkbox to mark like in Hack&Slashes - where gameplay is all that matters. I was sure the story is a necessary evil to drive the player around to do quests or grind through the content. Years of playing World of Warcraft solidified that opinion for me.

    Naoki Yoshida (the director of FFXIV) and Natsuko Ishikawa (the writer) have proven me wrong.
    Not only FFXIV Shadowbringers has undoubtedly the best story ever written in an MMORPG, even better than universally praised Heavensward expansion from the same game, but also one of the best stories I have seen in any RPG I've played for the last decade at least. Not often do I have goosebumps during a cutscene in a video game, but Shadowbringers is just so good I'm not ashamed of admitting it.
    The music is also on the next level. Masayoshi Soken has again proven his mettle - he makes the highest grade video game music, on equal footing with Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Cross) and Nobuo Uematsu (FF series). It suplements the story of FFXIV in a way that when combined it truly deserves the unofficial title of KINObringers.

    The gameplay and graphics suffer a little bit in Final Fantasy, having to accommodate for console players. They're not bad, mind you - they just aren't at their full potential due to the PS3/PS4 limitations. But if I have to judge the expansion on its own it's still a perfect 10 for me. Worth every penny spent.

    It's made with love and care, which is especially impressive if you account that (allegedly) the game is made on a shoestring budget. It's an RPG first and MMO second, but it knocks-out the competition from the get-go and for me it reigns are the king of MMORPGs in the year 2019.    … Expand
  21. Dustybrown
    Jul 5, 2019
    10
    The best Final Fantasy story I’ve ever played. I am just completely blown way. The music is incredible, the new zones are beautiful. The dungeons are amazingly designed. Even the voice acting is amazing. You can see how much hard work the dev team have put into this game and it really shines through. An excellent expansion to an already fantastic mmo.
  22. Hock
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Absolute phenomenal story telling, best expansion story line yet. Would highly recommend to anyone on the fence.
  23. ripshocks
    Jul 26, 2019
    10
    The most amazing MMO i've ever played to this day. The release content schedule is stable and keeps on improving upon itself month after month, year after year. It's the best time to become a final fantasy fan.
  24. Eliitti
    Jul 10, 2019
    10
    The story is so good without a question the best so far in FFXIV history and the soundtrack is godlike.
  25. Praxeti
    Sep 13, 2020
    10
    What am I meant to say, goddamn, finishing this was actually insane. Please, help yourself out, try this game.
  26. Lovely_TimeLord
    Dec 21, 2020
    10
    First of all I wanna say I'm a guy who love play everytime of game online or not and I played a lot of mmorpg over the years... that said, I feel cursed for never playing final fantasy XIV...

    Shadowbringer is for me the best game I've ever played, just brilliant. It had been a long time since I had seen something so puzzling and magnificent. If you came here looking to know if it's    First of all I wanna say I'm a guy who love play everytime of game online or not and I played a lot of mmorpg over the years... that said, I feel cursed for never playing final fantasy XIV...

    Shadowbringer is for me the best game I've ever played, just brilliant. It had been a long time since I had seen something so puzzling and magnificent.

    If you came here looking to know if it's worth playing. YEA!
    But if you are going to start in FFXIV play without haste, forget that the game is a mmorpg, enjoy the story as if it were an offline game and you will not be disappointed    … Expand
  27. GenericBlueToad
    Jul 17, 2019
    10
    I made an account this to rate this. This game left me feeling empty and sad in the way only truly amazing stories can. The characters are so incredibly written and voiced. The antagonist is beautifully crafted. The cutscene are animated perfectly to fit the scenes. This game made me connect so much even just with my own character. It's truly a masterpiece. I almost wish this wasnt an MMO,I made an account this to rate this. This game left me feeling empty and sad in the way only truly amazing stories can. The characters are so incredibly written and voiced. The antagonist is beautifully crafted. The cutscene are animated perfectly to fit the scenes. This game made me connect so much even just with my own character. It's truly a masterpiece. I almost wish this wasnt an MMO, because anyone who doesn't play ffxiv will miss out on this, and that's genuinely upsetting.… Expand
  28. Nedkelly
    Jul 13, 2019
    10
    This expansion is really good, really love it.
    Changes to the jobs are really nice and diverse.
    I love new instances, the story, they even improved pvp.
  29. Mikoto94
    Jul 2, 2019
    10
    Best expansion yet, square enix really outdid themselves, amazing story, soundtrack, locations.
  30. psdao1102
    Jul 8, 2019
    10
    Just fantastic. The story/writing/voice-acting is on par with theatrical games, and blows any MMO story away. The big fights are difficult but rewarding, the skill rotations are fun and engaging (I play BLM for reference). The music is bar none.

    The only thing i can throw at this, is that if your brand new to this series, i still think you should go through the entire story... which    Just fantastic. The story/writing/voice-acting is on par with theatrical games, and blows any MMO story away. The big fights are difficult but rewarding, the skill rotations are fun and engaging (I play BLM for reference). The music is bar none.

    The only thing i can throw at this, is that if your brand new to this series, i still think you should go through the entire story... which will take a long time sorry to say. But if you enjoy MMO's its so worth it.    … Expand
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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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
  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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