Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Reviews
[I]t doesn't take long for fatigue to set in when they're the only two dungeons, and when there's almost nothing else to do at 60 beyond farming tokens to get your next set of gear
Heavensward reconfirms Final Fantasy XIV as one of the best MMORPGs out there.
All in all, Heavensward made for a great expansion for the game, and is a great springboard for things to come.
What more can really be said? Everyone was expecting a nice and self-contained story at best, a bit of a romp, and nothing exceptional. Getting a well-crafted story, developers learning how to up their game to create intense battles from their prior experiences, and so many other improvements, was simply not expected. There is a distinct rift in quality between the base game and this expansion, and considering A Realm Reborn was already very good, this new rift showcases just how great Heavensward is.
But as I said, these three issues are incredibly minor when considering the sheer scale and variety of content in the game, and they haven't stopped me logging over 300 hours in total play across Final Fantasy XIV and now Heavensward. I don't use the five-star rating to describe the perfect game. As per our scoring process, a five-star score is like a five-star hotel; it's a deluxe experience that offers something meaningful well beyond what most games do. But Final Fantasy XIV has genuinely developed into the best MMO on the market as far as I'm concerned, with its brilliant post-game content and now, with the additional Heavensward content, the best is just getting better. This game is a compelling argument for the continued validity of the subscription model for MMOs.
...Heavensward takes Final Fantasy XIV's reborn realm and takes those high emotions from Patch 2.55 and twisting them into a beautifully dark Final Fantasy story while also polishing many aspects of the gameplay to make the game both more accessible and enjoyable.
As a title, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward is polished. It might not always get everything right, but when it does, it does it pretty damn well. It’s an example of developers finally finding their footing and taking a game to its limits. Even if those limits are the consequence of a rather shameful disaster.