Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Side Story: Cindered Shadows

 Switch
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. GameSkinny
    Apr 10, 2020
    90
    Though a bit short, Cindered Shadows is top-notch new content for Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
  2. Screen Rant
    Feb 24, 2020
    90
    Overall, the only real issue with Cindered Shadows is how rote the story feels. In particular, the "twists" players are subjected to are so predictable that they might as well be screamed in Byleth's face by the first guard they come across. Luckily, that's balanced by the truly great Ashen Wolves characters, who are both interesting in ways that make them feel like their own people and, in some cases, actually pretty useful in battle too.
  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    May 1, 2020
    85
    In the grand scheme of things the sum of its parts makes for a fuller Fire Emblem, even if casual fans won't really notice some of the differences. [Issue #46 – May/June 2020, p. 26]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. NintendoWorldReport
    Feb 19, 2020
    85
    Cindered Shadows truly takes the playstyle of pre-Awakening Fire Emblem: map after map, limited things to do to prep, and forcing budgeting for most of the time. The maps themselves are about the same difficulty as about a chapter from 17 to 20 in the base game, but without the backup of possibly having higher-end classes. That said, it was still a fun experience, and the new options provided by having the Ashen Wolves in my class make me want to get back on the bike and finish the storylines I’ve yet to play myself.
  6. IGN Japan
    Mar 10, 2020
    80
    The maps in Cindered Shadows feel different from the main game in a good way, and with enjoyable character dialogue and an interesting setting, this DLC is a treat for players who enjoyed the original game.
  7. Noisy Pixel
    Feb 19, 2020
    80
    Crimson Shadows is the extra add on to Fire Emblem: Three Houses I didn’t know I needed. It’s a perfect blend of additional tasty gameplay (with some challenges for those who want it), a fun story, and great characters. To top it all off, it gives you some tools to replay the original game in a new way. What’s not to love?
  8. SpazioGames
    Feb 17, 2020
    80
    Cindered Shadows considerably ups the difficulty of the fights, and this is by far its distinguishing feature. Otherwise, it's just more of the same of one of the best games in the library of Nintendo Switch.
  9. MGG
    Feb 15, 2020
    77
    Cindered Shadows is everything we expected from a Fire Emblem Three Houses DLC, turning the Season Pass into a great deal with its new characters, new classes, and tough battles. It removes the flaws of the main campaigns to give us a condensed version of intense battles and story, with enough new features sprinkled on top of it to extend the game experience an average of ten hours. If you plan to replay campaigns later on, its price is entirely justified.

Awards & Rankings

78
#78 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 67 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 67
  3. Negative: 7 out of 67
  1. badlatency
    Feb 16, 2020
    7
    A fun side adventure with some enjoyable characters and amazing music, though the story itself is on the weaker side and leans into someA fun side adventure with some enjoyable characters and amazing music, though the story itself is on the weaker side and leans into some cliches rather hard and recycles a number of maps. It does provide an enjoyable peek into further world lore and the backstory of the main character however. And some of the chapters were especially enjoyable. Could have been better, but could have been much worse.… Full Review »
  2. Aeron_ZX
    Feb 21, 2020
    7
    That's really deisappointing, after the precedent of Xenoblade 2 Torna expansion, this kind of DLC is a let down. A bland 5 hours storyThat's really deisappointing, after the precedent of Xenoblade 2 Torna expansion, this kind of DLC is a let down. A bland 5 hours story consisting of 7 maps, with some of them being recycled. Only 4 new payable characters and 4 new classes (which are nothing new in the series and should have been in the game in the first place).

    Expected a lot more and got a meh.    … Full Review »
  3. KayThonkNoel
    Feb 22, 2020
    8
    This has its ups and down, the side story is okay but not fantastic, the characters are quite well-designed but obviously too OP even forThis has its ups and down, the side story is okay but not fantastic, the characters are quite well-designed but obviously too OP even for hard/ classic mode, I expected a maddening mode for this side story but nope.

    For the maps and objectives, there are some new unique objectives comparing to the generic rout the enemies/ commander in the main stories, the locked roster/ skills surprisingly bring some fresh air comparing to the main games where there are more options in building characters and making them OP rather than playing out what you are currently having. But again, the new characters are too OP in this side story to the point the final boss becomes a mindless HP grind by repeating the same moves over and over again.

    I haven't recruited any new char by the time writing this reviews, but giving how strong they are in the side story, I could imagine how balance will be thrown out of the window in the main game, not gonna lie, I like it and am very eager to try out glass cannon Constance build in the main game.

    The Abyss is also a new area that got added to the game with some new features that may help even more in making the game becomes imbalanced (I'm looking at you the offering table) or just don't do anything at all (e.g mysterious teacher), all in all quite lackluster since I expected a somewhat endgame dungeon series gameplay to have some experiences with the final build since everyone feels like a WIP in the main story.

    In conclusion, a good DLC to shaking things up, but disappointing as a final one, I expected more.    … Full Review »
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