Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Review
Try the Sabotender
Following up the twin magnificence of Shadowbringers and Endwalker was always going to be a massive challenge for the next Final Fantasy XIV expansion. With the Hydaelyn and Zodiark story finally completed, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail has the unenviable task of fully rebuilding momentum while handling the expectations of its predecessors. It’s perhaps natural that the expansion never quite hits the same heights and takes a little while to get going; however, the “summer break” theme that Dawntrail offers serves as nice as a way for the game to take a bit of stock, before showing once again why so many fans have leapt on board across the year and how the game has kept going from strength to strength.
After dealing with the fallout of Endwalker and their incursions into the darkness of the Void, the Warrior of Light sets out to the land of Tural. A continent across the ocean to the east of Eorzea, players are recruited to assist Wuk Lumat in her bid to succeed the current ruler of Tural, her adoptive father Gulool Ja Ja. A two-headed Mamool Ja, Gulool Ja Ja is famed for uniting the disparate races of Tural and ushering in an era of prosperity and peace. Feeling his age, Gulool Ja Ja devises a rite of succession to decide the new ruler from four claimants: his trueborn son Zoraal Ja, his adoptive children Koana and Wuk Lamat, and another two-headed Mamool Ja by the name of Bakool Ja Ja. This rite requires the claimants to travel across Tural and accomplish tasks set by the local leaders, furthering their understanding of the history of the continent and the people and cultures within it.
Tural offers plenty of new sights and locales for players to explore, some more expected than others.
Joined by the gleaner Erenville and some selected allies from the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, the player and Wuk Lumat embark on what feels like a traditional RPG quest. Drawing a lot of inspiration from central and southern America, Tural blends this inspiration very nicely with the previously established races and lore of Final Fantasy XIV. Wuk Lumat is clearly the main protagonist of the expansion; she starts off a bit naïve and some of her earlier characteristics can grate early on, but undergoes tremendous growth as she comes to appreciate all of the different parts of Tural while maintaining her strong ideals, while polishing her leadership skills throughout the expansion. The other side of this is that the established characters are left in a bit of an awkward place. During most of the adventure, they act almost as supporting background characters, taking a bit of focus away from Wuk Lamat’s journey of growth and discovery. The game doesn’t really know what to do with most of the Scions until they demonstrate their purpose and abilities towards the denouement, where their involvement finally does pay off.
The writing for events big and small, right down to the incidental comments from townsfolk, is once again great. Although the early parts of the main quest are lacking a bit of urgency and there are some contrivances in the plot, there are some great twists and turns leading to a fine finale. Final Fantasy XIV has always been more than happy to draw on past entries in the franchise, and Dawntrail adds another title to the mix in its second half, with its own fascinating take on that setting, and the plot elements are used to great effect. When those elements come in, Dawntrail really turns a corner and demonstrates another case of the great emotional payoff that the game’s recent expansions also proved so adept in.
The Scions play more of a background role with Wuk Lamat and Erenville getting the main focus.
Working through the main scenario content of Dawntrail takes a familiar structure. Players travel to an assortment of different maps and locations, following quest markers that see them conversing with the townsfolk, defeating monsters, finding items, and following or escorting characters. Each location also provides a set of side quests that follow the same template. It’s a structure that’s been streamlined across the game’s expansions and has worked well, but at this point it is starting to get a little stale. It’s not like the game is lacking in varied things for players to do, but those who are focused on getting through the main scenario will find themselves following the same cycle again and again. It’s still plenty enjoyable, but it places more pressure on the story and presentation to stand out and paper over the repetitiveness, and there are some points where it just can’t, especially early on as the story is being fully set up. Players can potentially help themselves by leveling multiple jobs at once — the main scenario and side quests give out way more experience than needed for a single job — to at least get some variation in the field battles.
Unsurprisingly, where Dawntrail shows its biggest gameplay strengths in the main scenario content are the dungeons and trials. This is the first expansion to come with Duty Support for certain trials as well as dungeons, letting players get through them without needing to join up with other players as NPC companions can take their place. Despite all of the boss fights already in the game, the team has managed to inject new mechanics and ideas into Dawntrail’s encounters that ensure players are fully kept on their toes and the now extremely polished battle system is as good as it’s ever been, with plenty of thoroughly engaging battles bringing new challenges and mechanics to deal with.
The existing jobs in the game feel pretty much set in stone at this point, with the changes and new actions available in Dawntrail largely being minor and leaving them playing effectively the same way they did before. Where Dawntrail offers new options for players is in the two new DPS jobs: the melee Viper and the magical ranged Pictomancer. While neither offers any revolutionary new play styles, there’s enough different about them to fit their own niche and give players something extra to play with. Pictomancer is the more interesting of the two, with its take on magic coming alongside unique visual effects.
Pictomancer is the more interesting of the new jobs, both visually and mechanically.
Final Fantasy XIV had been showing its age graphically, and Dawntrail brings with it an appreciable, if largely subtle visual upgrade for the game. The game very clearly carries the same style without any major shifts, but it nonetheless noticeably brings things more in line with the current generation. Character models and outfits get the clearest upgrades with improved textures, shadows, and lighting. The stellar work of the location design continues throughout the expansion. The Americas are the clear driving inspiration behind much of the expansion’s locale and it pays off very well with some great mountains, plains, waterfalls, and more. The latter part of the expansion diverges drastically into futuristic vistas that are some of the most stunning sights of the game so far, used to great effect during its finale.
Dawntrail’s music offers plenty of very welcome additions to build upon the game’s already stellar score. The Tural capital of Tuliyollal features a delightful mix of upbeat jazz during the day bringing about a call to adventure before chilling out a bit in the night with something one could happily imagine backing up a beachside walk. This is joined by more excitement-building battle and dungeon themes, particularly as the story hits its zenith, while other highlights include a scene-setting Wild West guitar riff. The music rightfully takes the most plaudits, but the English voice acting also does a strong job to complement it. However, there are some times the direction is just a little bit off and the earlier parts of the story might’ve benefitted more from additional voiced scenes.
In the end, Dawntrail does the job it needed to do by giving players the new adventure they need to get going once again. It takes a little while to get there, but when the payoff comes it shows how the narrative team behind Final Fantasy XIV is at hitting the emotional highs. The dungeons, boss fights, and location designs further demonstrate the team’s impressive ability to keep injecting fresh mechanics and sights to a fully matured title. It may ultimately be regarded as an expansion that keeps the game rolling rather than bringing it to a new level, but Dawntrail is a worthy continuation of Final Fantasy XIV’s line.
Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the expansion provided by the publisher.
Great dungeons and trials
Fascinating take on a previous game's story elements
Strong story payoffs
Predictable MSQ cycle gets a little stale
Story takes a while to get properly going
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