Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is pretty great, we all know that, but it’s also critically the highest rated game in the series in over 13 years.
It’s been a long time since each Final Fantasy game would easily score in the 90s. Post Final Fantasy XII the series has certainly not lived up to its super high expectations, however in recent years things have been looking pretty good with one of the major reasons being Final Fantasy XIV.
Shadowbringers is the third expansion for Final Fantasy XIV and was released earlier this month on the 2nd of July. The game takes players to The First, one of the reflections of The Source, that is being consumed by Light. Considering the story of Final Fantasy XIV’s development and how the game died and came back as A Realm Reborn, what Director-Producer Naoki Yoshida and his team has done has to be one of the biggest modern day success stories.
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers scored 92 on Metacritic, based on 10 reviews on the PS4 and 16 on PC so far. Since its an MMO expansion with tons of content, reviews are slow to come in but they’re mostly saying the same thing. Metacritic also shows a 9.2 average User Score, just in-line with the critics scorer, ensuring that Shadowbringers is loved by fans and critics alike.
The improvement has been steady with the score rising as follows:
- OG Final Fantasy XIV – 49 (PC)
- A Realm Reborn – 86 (PS4)
- Heavensward – 86 (PS4)
- Stormblood – 89 (PS4)
The expansion scored the same as Final Fantasy VII (1997), Final Fantasy X (2001) and Final Fantasy XII (2006). Only Final Fantasy XI (2000), sitting at 94, is a higher rated Final Fantasy game. This is huge accomplishment as the gaming landscape has greatly changed and not many JRPGs tend to score this high nowadays.
Have you played Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers yet? What are your thoughts on the game? Do you think it deserves the high score? Let us know in the comments below.
