Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood

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User Score
9.1

Universal acclaim- based on 993 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 890 out of 993
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 993
  3. Negative: 64 out of 993
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  1. Unoskd
    Sep 7, 2023
    7
    An expansion with a strong focus on war and its consequences. The story here becomes significantly darker, which is absolutely fine.
    However, Stormblood has a similar issue as ARR; it drags on at times and has many, many lengthy conversations about politics in Eorzea, which I found somewhat boring.
    Zenos, although we learn absolutely nothing about him, which I find quite odd in FF14,    An expansion with a strong focus on war and its consequences. The story here becomes significantly darker, which is absolutely fine.
    However, Stormblood has a similar issue as ARR; it drags on at times and has many, many lengthy conversations about politics in Eorzea, which I found somewhat boring.

    Zenos, although we learn absolutely nothing about him, which I find quite odd in FF14, still leaves an impressive impression. For the first time as a player, you encounter an enemy/friend, who is not only your equal but much stronger at the beginning. And this is despite him being a Garlean, who, unlike us, can't actually use magic. However, he finds other ways to continually increase his strength.

    As epic as Zenos may be, I find his story lacking. It's almost as if they only wanted to have a character who could match the Warrior of Light. Which is completely fine. But there's no explanation for why he is the way he is.
    For such an important character, that's completely unacceptable, especially if one has certain expectations for the quality of the story.

    7/10    … Expand
  2. Light_Ain
    Jul 25, 2023
    10
    Stormblood is a little long for my liking but the setup it makes for the future is incredible. Some might not like how long it is but the payoff in the later expansions it sets up is worth it ten times over.
  3. DeWyntr
    Jun 26, 2023
    8
    Despite being originalyl received with far less praise, I've come to think of Stormblood as one of the better expansions in XIV's history. Starting with a stunning cast of new characters in a segment of the world developed solely for the purposes of expanding the cultural identity of XIV's cast, Stormblood is both impressive and perhaps the expansion with which SE injected the most fundingDespite being originalyl received with far less praise, I've come to think of Stormblood as one of the better expansions in XIV's history. Starting with a stunning cast of new characters in a segment of the world developed solely for the purposes of expanding the cultural identity of XIV's cast, Stormblood is both impressive and perhaps the expansion with which SE injected the most funding and resources to date. Stormblood heralded one of the most spanning naratives, began the threads that formulated one of the most notorious characters in the game's history, and all of that was managed while providing some of the most in depth-driven character casts I've seen in an RPG, let alone an MMO like XIV.

    It's worth your time, it's only drawback is that is absolutely does overstay it's welcome with the post MSQ patchquests. There are many of them, too many much the same as HW.    … Expand
  4. Imopsie
    Apr 7, 2023
    9
    Stormblood introduces the new antagonist Zenos. He is the first person in the game who truly instills fear in the player, as at first you have absolutely no chance against him and are completely at his mercy.
    Without wanting to spoil too much, we owe our lives to the fact that Zenos sees something in us, the player character, that he himself does not quite understand. His confused    Stormblood introduces the new antagonist Zenos. He is the first person in the game who truly instills fear in the player, as at first you have absolutely no chance against him and are completely at his mercy.
    Without wanting to spoil too much, we owe our lives to the fact that Zenos sees something in us, the player character, that he himself does not quite understand. His confused musings, in which he wants to see us both as a friend and an enemy, as he is still the prince of the Garlean empire, make every encounter with him truly interesting, and you want to learn more about him and why he cannot feel any joy except when he meets us.
    Unfortunately, his story is unusually short for this game, which is really puzzling to me. We learn almost nothing about him and only scratch the surface.
    In general, this expansion is much more ominous than the previous one, as it deals directly with war and its consequences.    … Expand
  5. Roka
    Apr 1, 2023
    8
    The story is darker and more intense than anything we've seen before in a Final Fantasy game. It's a grim and brutal tale of war, rebellion, and sacrifice. But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of moments of levity and humor to balance out the darkness.

    Speaking of bad-ass characters, let's talk about Zenos. He's one scary dude. When you first face him, you'll    The story is darker and more intense than anything we've seen before in a Final Fantasy game. It's a grim and brutal tale of war, rebellion, and sacrifice. But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of moments of levity and humor to balance out the darkness.

    Speaking of bad-ass characters, let's talk about Zenos. He's one scary dude. When you first face him, you'll be filled with a sense of dread and helplessness. But as you progress through the game, you'll discover that there's more to Zenos than meets the eye.
    He's a fascinating character, and you'll find yourself wanting to learn more about him. It seems as if he might be deeply depressed and is only finding satisfaction in combat. He doesn't even care for his own life and has mixed feelings about the warrior of light, in whom he sees a friend and an enemy at the same time.

    It's only getting an 8 though, because I feel like there should have been more screentime with Zenos, about his past and so on. That and also the beginninng of this expansion starts rather slow.    … Expand
  6. KinimodYunmi
    Mar 3, 2023
    7
    Der Anfang war sehr langweilig und hat sich ewig gezogen, das Schleichen durch die große japanische Stadt war so schrecklich, das ganze rumgerenne wieder und wieder für eine weitere Szene mit der Frau mit den schwarzen Haaren, grauenvoll!
    Aber unter Wasser und vor allem der Unterwassertempel Dungeon und später das große Gefecht gegen den blonden in der vier Mal so großen Rüstung war schon    Der Anfang war sehr langweilig und hat sich ewig gezogen, das Schleichen durch die große japanische Stadt war so schrecklich, das ganze rumgerenne wieder und wieder für eine weitere Szene mit der Frau mit den schwarzen Haaren, grauenvoll!
    Aber unter Wasser und vor allem der Unterwassertempel Dungeon und später das große Gefecht gegen den blonden in der vier Mal so großen Rüstung war schon echt ganz gut, genrell alles was man mit anderen zusammen spielen kann, vor allem die 24-Mann Dinger!    … Expand
  7. NN010
    Jan 29, 2023
    8
    Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood has some great gameplay segments & encounter design, but it's held back from surpassing Heavensward by a story that felt like two expansions smushed into one (still better than A Realm Reborn's story though). Far from a bad expansion, but still the weakest link due to just how great Heavensward, Shadowbringers, & Endwalker are.
  8. LastResource
    Jan 14, 2023
    10
    worth it and glad to play this game again. so much memories and nostalgia within this fourteenth game in the series.
  9. MazrimTaim14
    Jul 31, 2022
    8
    would have been a lesser score for me if not for the patches. main story got bland by dividing it into two regions but the patch stories and content made it for me.

    people might forget the tons of content the expansion brought due to not liking the main story quest of 4.0 but i did have a hell of a time although the empire plot could have gone another way but it did help set up the    would have been a lesser score for me if not for the patches. main story got bland by dividing it into two regions but the patch stories and content made it for me.

    people might forget the tons of content the expansion brought due to not liking the main story quest of 4.0 but i did have a hell of a time

    although the empire plot could have gone another way but it did help set up the big bad of the next expansion    … Expand
  10. candidKlutz
    Apr 30, 2022
    9
    Don't let anyone tell you that this expansion is bad, or even the worst one. While I wouldn't say it's quite as incredible as HW, it's still very much enjoyable. Every single character is enjoyable.
  11. MoofiaBossVal
    Dec 26, 2021
    8
    Fun adventure story and lots of content, much more compared to later expansions.
  12. Wweald
    Dec 15, 2021
    8
    Stormbloods very good, but it's more on the level of ARR instead of Heavensward and Shadowbringers. The trials are amazing, the best of the game imo. The dungeons are among the best as well. I like most of the characters in Stormblood, but the pacing is awful on some parts it drags on similarly to ARR. The plot is good but not great like the other expansions.
  13. ZodaSoda
    Dec 13, 2021
    10
    While feeling like a weaker story than its predecessor Heavensward. the actual quality of Stormblood is leaps and bounds better than ever, the cutscenes, the dialogues, the character building, the world building, Stormblood is VERY good in a lineup of Expansions that are also VERY good and the other expansions are bolstered by its existance and willingness to focus more on world buildingWhile feeling like a weaker story than its predecessor Heavensward. the actual quality of Stormblood is leaps and bounds better than ever, the cutscenes, the dialogues, the character building, the world building, Stormblood is VERY good in a lineup of Expansions that are also VERY good and the other expansions are bolstered by its existance and willingness to focus more on world building than many players may not enjoy as much as it drags on.… Expand
  14. Katzena
    Dec 12, 2021
    10
    Not my favorite expansion cause I dislike Lyse, but the story was still good! There were a lot of feely and funny moments!
  15. loliance
    Dec 11, 2021
    6
    Story was mediocre, too little voice acting to be immersive, lots of very "same-y" quests... walk to a place, talk to a person, walk back... occasionally kill a mob.

    Thankfully there was some excellent raids and dungeons which kept my interest and were thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately the savage raids are short and contain only a handful of bosses each time, so you run out of    Story was mediocre, too little voice acting to be immersive, lots of very "same-y" quests... walk to a place, talk to a person, walk back... occasionally kill a mob.

    Thankfully there was some excellent raids and dungeons which kept my interest and were thoroughly enjoyable.
    Unfortunately the savage raids are short and contain only a handful of bosses each time, so you run out of challenging content quickly. Ultimate's are ok, quite challenging but again so short.    … Expand
  16. jokerdamate8
    Dec 10, 2021
    8
    Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood was an ambitious tale of freedom, liberation, and what it means to stretch one's self too thin... which was, unfortunately, the major drawback to what could have been a great narrative. Mind, the overall experience was enjoyable, but the pacing and tonal issues hold it back severely. The characters were well written as per usual, but Lyse's development mightFinal Fantasy XIV: Stormblood was an ambitious tale of freedom, liberation, and what it means to stretch one's self too thin... which was, unfortunately, the major drawback to what could have been a great narrative. Mind, the overall experience was enjoyable, but the pacing and tonal issues hold it back severely. The characters were well written as per usual, but Lyse's development might be a tad rushed and sudden at times. The dungeons in this expansion range from awe-inspiring to rather average for the game's standard, while the trials in this game I must admit were all simply amazing. Not to mention, most of the new zones were fun to traverse and explore due to them taking place in locales only previously mentioned in passing.

    Overall, Stormblood is a good expansion, just not as great as what came before and what is to come after due to being held back by narrative and character development pacing issues.    … Expand
  17. TristanX
    Sep 26, 2021
    9
    Square Enix makes this expansion with care. Top quality contents. Just buy if you love ARR and Heavensward. Battle system still on the slow side.
  18. TPLaMar
    Aug 22, 2021
    10
    I didn’t think this one would be better than the Heavensward expansion, but it was just continued excellence in game design and story telling. 10/10, and a loss for words this is an MMO
  19. erazor2021
    Aug 18, 2021
    0
    If you don’t like the Trial / “Realm Reborn” take my word, you won’t like any of it…

    New players hope you are ready for 200+ hours of MSQ which is mainly reading text. I fell for the recent hype. To all the people who says “it gets better” seriously, what is wrong with you? This constant insincerity is what kept me going. IT DOESN’T GET BETTER (a least to the point it serves as a    If you don’t like the Trial / “Realm Reborn” take my word, you won’t like any of it…

    New players hope you are ready for 200+ hours of MSQ which is mainly reading text.

    I fell for the recent hype. To all the people who says “it gets better” seriously, what is wrong with you? This constant insincerity is what kept me going. IT DOESN’T GET BETTER (a least to the point it serves as a valid argument).

    I just finished Shadowbringers 5.5 MSQ, and let me tell you, this is an “interactive Novel” more than it is a video game.

    Sure with each expansion the game (novel) gets a little better, in terms of graphics, animations, storytelling, but the CORE of the game doesn’t change, it is still this outdated mmorpg tab targeting, with its main FOCUS on MSQ, which is basically walls of text.

    Your quests in order of occurrences is: talk, travel, click objects, kill NPCs, do dungeons/trials/story instances.
    They added one different mechanic in Stormblood lol, which is to “click stuff in FPS mode”.

    I can count the EPIC moments of the story in one hand! 3 of them were in Havensward and 2 in Shadowbringers (forget RR and SB).

    The main focus of this game is the MSQ, but the problem is; the MSQ is 90% fluff pointless writing and storytelling, you could cut out 80% of this writing and still get a concise accurate description of the story, albeit just more on point.

    What Square Enix is doing is inflating game time content with more and more text and sloppy animation screens, which I’m not kidding stretches the MSQ than it really needs to be. I’m not even talking about important background build up, I’m talking about content you won’t even remember because it served no purpose in the grand scheme of things. (Anything you wont remember a month from now isn't worth reading about).

    Because the MSQ is mainly storytelling, and single player orientated, why not just play better solo video games that are much, much better technically advanced in gameplay, like GTA 5, Witcher 3, red redemption 2, and hundreds of others titles?

    There were times I was so desperate to just “play” the game, because there is so few dungeons/trials and killing quests in-between all the walls of text.

    One could always pay a story skip potion, but the fact is MSQ is the focus of this game, the endgame is extra stuff. Players and Square have both said that MSQ is the focus of the game, and the more casual player base.

    WoW = focuses on repeatable endgame content after a short introductory (and often crap) storyline.

    FF14 = 200 hours of MSQ (at minimum) at which point you can cycle through some endgame content and get max ilvl gear fairly easily. But levelling others job/crafts, which has its own questlines seems be one of the most popular things to do.

    I won’t be buying Endwalker. People who enjoy reading fluff for hundreds of hours to see one good cutscene here and there, you do that, enjoy! I’ll watch it in a recap YouTube video and do more productive things with my life than read FLUFF MSQ content, which is intentionally used to extend game play time.

    “You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time” think about if you’re really enjoying that 200 hours or if you’re only enjoy small amounts of it. Whilst the epic moments were epic, the pain of going through so much unfun content to see it was not worth it. The balance is definitely not there.

    Even most fans think the post RR quests are so bad, yet square hasnt fixed it by just removing it for new players by using a short narration cutscene to bring players up to date for havensward. (And i heard it was even worse, oh dear God).    … Expand
  20. chocletymilk
    Mar 21, 2021
    8
    This expac is for my fello Lyse stans. Story wise I think it's a lil less exciting than HW, MSQ got reaaally repetitive there for a while. It's not bad by any means, but def not the best. Some of the new zones added are really really cool, others not so much. The story is a lot more war/politics based and less fantasy epic battles. All in all it's 100% worth it for some main character'sThis expac is for my fello Lyse stans. Story wise I think it's a lil less exciting than HW, MSQ got reaaally repetitive there for a while. It's not bad by any means, but def not the best. Some of the new zones added are really really cool, others not so much. The story is a lot more war/politics based and less fantasy epic battles. All in all it's 100% worth it for some main character's developments, new races and characters, zones, mechanics and stuff, they added some really cool new stuff to the gameplay here.… Expand
  21. saintninja
    Dec 12, 2020
    9
    I don't like theme of Far East. But hey! This expansion wake up my interest to this culture! Storytelling grow up again and more challenge and beautiful contents awaits! Bravo
  22. BetaReviews
    Nov 26, 2020
    10
    Amazing story. Graphics has a great emphasis on attention to detail from scenery to character.
  23. yousuck1
    Aug 21, 2020
    0
    Sucks.,.................................................. ...................
  24. HomeroomTeacher
    Jul 28, 2020
    6
    Final Fantasy XIV is my favorite PvE MMO, however I think this expansion was the worst. Story was boring, and I felt it a chore to play through. Towards the ending the quality shifted upwards, but this doesn't same my rating to go higher. Instances however were good, and I also liked the maps, and new classes.
  25. Mohammed-alsheh
    Jun 21, 2020
    9
    the expiation had it's fair share of launch problems but the actual content is actually quite phenomenal i enjoyed every bit of it , just remember this is an mmo it's not fair or reasonable to not expect grind for levels or a soft cap on gear THERE IS NO MMO THAT DOESN'T HAVE THAT , or even soft mmos so please be reasonable other than that the content that was provided was quite awesomethe expiation had it's fair share of launch problems but the actual content is actually quite phenomenal i enjoyed every bit of it , just remember this is an mmo it's not fair or reasonable to not expect grind for levels or a soft cap on gear THERE IS NO MMO THAT DOESN'T HAVE THAT , or even soft mmos so please be reasonable other than that the content that was provided was quite awesome not only in presentation but in execution as well… Expand
  26. stupidusername
    May 3, 2020
    1
    I tried out Final Fantasy XIV on a whim with a discounted price for some sale..Not wanting to have to level to max, I purchased for $25 a "level to 100" kit so I could try out the pvp(which was why I bought the game). Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me I was unable to even participate in pvp, or anything but the level 1 starter quest. That's right, in order to do ANYTHING in the game youI tried out Final Fantasy XIV on a whim with a discounted price for some sale..Not wanting to have to level to max, I purchased for $25 a "level to 100" kit so I could try out the pvp(which was why I bought the game). Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me I was unable to even participate in pvp, or anything but the level 1 starter quest. That's right, in order to do ANYTHING in the game you have to go through a 70000000 hour quest that is so boring you will want to die. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME unless you really enjoy storyline, which I do not. I felt ripped off, and will never log in again.… Expand
  27. Kezian
    Jul 30, 2019
    10
    FF14 is amazing ! If you never played it, download the free trial and see for yourself !
  28. zaftgun
    Mar 7, 2019
    3
    Main quest are long, boring and tedious. Average characters, story, music, poor quality in some parts. Boss and dungeon design uninspiring. The game showed no improvement in terms of design and systems from the original release of ffxiv a realm reborn. Its just a big unenjoyable time-waster.

    The tasks are so lame and simple that automated bots make up half the player base, they do the    Main quest are long, boring and tedious. Average characters, story, music, poor quality in some parts. Boss and dungeon design uninspiring. The game showed no improvement in terms of design and systems from the original release of ffxiv a realm reborn. Its just a big unenjoyable time-waster.

    The tasks are so lame and simple that automated bots make up half the player base, they do the same main story quests as you do and even farm dungeons in duty finder. If you are playing the same game they do, you are doing it wrong.

    This is a ridiculous time waster that makes you dumb. Stay away.    … Expand
  29. Powermario0
    Jan 24, 2019
    1
    Don't ever step in this **** This isn't a game, it's garbage. It's not fun, it's not rewarding and of course because it's made by Square Enix they can't make good games, can't they? Actually they do make some good games here and there, but this oh boy don't even touch this **** even with a stick because the stick is gonna pull you in the **** Don't buy it, don't even think about it. ThisDon't ever step in this **** This isn't a game, it's garbage. It's not fun, it's not rewarding and of course because it's made by Square Enix they can't make good games, can't they? Actually they do make some good games here and there, but this oh boy don't even touch this **** even with a stick because the stick is gonna pull you in the **** Don't buy it, don't even think about it. This is trash, not a game!

    This wasn't a joke review, I'm serious.    … Expand
  30. vizzi01
    Dec 4, 2018
    5
    After coming off Heavensward I can't help but say what an immense disappointment Stormblood ended up being. I kept hoping the storyline would pick up like in HW but ultimately it was a contrived mess of a story with an even more disappointing ending. I can but hope that Shadowbringers fixes this.
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Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Best PC Game of 2017
54
#54 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
55
#55 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Cubed3
    Jan 2, 2018
    90
    Stormblood is simply amazing. Not much more can be said about it. With a very well-crafted story, some tense and epic battles, two new classes, and wonderful zones, saying anything else would ruin so much of the expansion and what makes it great.
    Read full review
  2. Game Rant
    Aug 21, 2017
    90
    Do yourself a favor and lose yourself in the world of Hydaelyn for a good month at the very least. You won’t regret it.
    Read full review
  3. Everyeye.it
    Jul 25, 2017
    90
    Kugane's eastern atmospheres did a great job at Eorzea, which has never been so attractive.
    Read full review
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