Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen Review - A Piece Forgotten

Square Enix suddenly pulled off a shadow drop during the 2023 Game Awards to deliver Final Fantasy XVI’s first story expansion DLC, called Echoes of the Fallen. For the price of $9.99, those yearning for more adventures with Clive and the rest of the gang could hop right in. While it was fun going through the new endgame dungeon, this piece of content fails to push the player out of their comfort zone and provide a broader understanding of the game’s overall story as it’s simply a lengthy side-quest with good gear waiting for you inside.

This DLC amounts to a short end-game activity, one that felt like extra content left on the cutting room floor - it’s a series of challenging optional activities you’d usually see at the tail-end of a JRPG for players to engage with before jumping into the final battle. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what it is, as you can only access Echoes of the Fallen before you do specific side quests quite literally at the game’s final battle.

Just a big sidequest, nothing more

Charon, the Hideaway’s go-to vendor, informs Clive that she has come across a strange crystal she has never seen before, one that has been aggressively circulating through the trade network recently. You go to investigate, resulting in your coming across a large tower that suddenly activates. As you further explore, you’ll slowly uncover a deep secret of The Fallen, a lost civilization that attempted the impossible. 

It’s an interesting piece of lore, but it doesn’t necessarily enrich the overall story of the game. To put it simply, it’s just a big side quest, which is why this DLC is hard to swallow, as it does nothing significant to make it stand out from or add any significant twists to the base game. The Echoes of the Fallen dungeon consists of a couple of new boss encounters, a few recycled ones, and a final boss that fans of the series will appreciate, as the last encounter has been a staple endgame activity for years, if not decades.

The layout of the new area is narrow and small, as you’ll progress from one small room to another, going up one level through an elevator to reach the top of the tower. All we got was an impressive view of the area at the beginning, and that’s about it. 

What was disappointing was that I jumped in with no real need to change things up with regards to Clive’s loadout. I loaded my current save file, started Echoes of the Fallen, and then finished it with no change in gear or abilities. I wasn’t even at max level, nor did I have the best gear possible. It’s not one of those endgame activities that require you to grind to push a player who has fully completed the game and explored every inch of Final Fantasy XVI. It’s just a long side quest with great loot.

What I’d experienced the last time I played this game was enough, and while some encounters were challenging (because I was rusty), the real meat in this DLC is the final battle and probably the new accessories that are found within the dungeon. 

The true highlight is the final battle, and it’s likely the only reason why you’d want to cough up money for this, as it was not only challenging, but a fun encounter that made me think I was going through a difficult Final Fantasy XIV Online raid. Creative Business Unit III flexed their experience as an MMORPG developer as there are bullet-hell sequences and areas in the space you’ll need to avoid to not get damaged. The fight was also paired with an impressive musical score that was a remix of a classic tune fans will quickly notice the moment it starts playing. The only real complaint I had was that it didn’t have a big set-piece that could rival what we’d seen in the base game before this moment. There was no Eikon versus Eikon battle meant to entertain, which felt like a missed opportunity considering who you were facing.

When the encounter was over, I wanted more, but that was sadly it. Once I completed the quest there was no means to revisit the new area, as it acted just like any other side quest in the game. I was only slightly more knowledgeable about the game’s lore now, and will likely forget its significance in a couple of weeks.

Hopefully, the Rising Tide DLC is something different

Echoes of the Fallen features highlights for Final Fantasy fans, but as DLC content goes, it’s tough to recommend something that doesn’t deliver much to the core experience, or even something completely different. At the current price point, I was expecting a bit more to stand out - maybe they could focus on one aspect of the game we haven’t seen taken to its zenith. Sadly, this isn’t the case. You’re not missing much here as it would be best to wait for the second DLC, Rising Tide, which is coming next year, as that title alone hints that it has the potential to tie up loose ends in the game’s lore. I just hope it goes beyond being just another side quest.

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Verdict: 2/5 (Poor)

*We’ve recently changed our review score format from a 10-score rating to a 5-score rating. You can check out the definition of the new review score system on our About Us page.

PROS

• Fantastic final boss encounter that would excite Final Fantasy veterans

• Cool new accessories to play around with

CONS

• Feels like a big side quest that doesn’t add much to the overall story of the game

• Dungeon layout that looks similar to a previous dungeon that also had elevators

What I’ve Played 

• Can be finished in roughly 3 hours

• Received all the new gear exclusive to the DLC

*This review is based on a PS5 code provided by the publisher

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