Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen

Six months have passed since Clive, along with Jill, Torgal, Cid and several other memorable characters, fought to prevent the end of the world and to avenge his family. Kazutoyo Maehiro has said several times before that we haven't seen the last of them and during The Game Awards, the game's two expansions were finally shown where the first, Echoes of the Fallen, was released the same day. A fond reunion that offers great content, even if we had hoped for a little more.

Echoes of the Fallen takes place during the game's story and not afterwards. However, players who have already completed the game can still experience it by loading a save file that takes you back to that point just before the last main mission is started. In the expansion, Clive learns that a new black crystal has started appearing on the black market after he destroyed all the mother crystals. Soon he and the gang catch the sellers who lead him to an otherwise sealed passage that takes him to something called the Sagespire. A tower equipped to maximum level with monsters waiting for an intruder to reach them.

The game's first expansion is a very linear one where you as the player have the goal of reaching the top of the tower and where each floor presents you with real challenges consisting of both old and new types of enemies. When I say challenges, I do mean real tests as the expansion forces the player to have reached a high level in order not to be eliminated in no time. This review is based on the 'Final Fantasy' mode which is unlocked after completing the game once and in this mode all enemies you face are at least level 80.

The set-up is very much like a long raid as you have no way of getting out of there and are forced to use medicines sparingly, while picking up some supplies along the way. On the way up, there are also a few new pieces of equipment you can collect that come in handy in this surprisingly difficult expansion. Among other things, you can find equipment that can slow down time even further than usual in battles or give you a second chance to survive an otherwise fatal blow. Without these, this would have looked like something out of From Software's Dark Souls or Bloodborne. The final boss, Omega, is undeniably its most difficult boss and as many times as I died playing through the expansion, I have never died in my 70 hours with the game.

Echoes of the Fallen is about three hours long, which feels just right for the cost. Playing against even tougher enemies and thus experiencing Final Fantasy XVI on a tougher difficulty level than before was very refreshing and something I would have liked to see more of in the original game. However, in terms of the addition to the main story, it leaves a lot to be desired as it never gets very interesting, but I would rather argue that there are more interesting side missions than this slightly longer side story. Once you defeat Omega, there's not much more to do and the environment in which the expansion takes place is once again inaccessible to visit, so the likelihood of you spending many more hours with Final Fantasy XVI after this is very low.

In summary, Echoes of the Fallen is a nice expansion that offers exciting and intense boss battles. However, it doesn't do much more than that. The story is not something I will remember after a few weeks and the fact is that it is never very interesting to begin with. Hopefully, the second expansion, The Rising Tide, will offer something different and be aimed more at those who want an interesting story. However, those who just want more of the game's solid combat and raid-like structure will find a lot of joy in Echoes of the Fallen.