Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Reviews

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is ranked in the 99th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Gamefa
Top Critic
9.1 / 10.0
Jul 8, 2019

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is an excellent choice for New Players and Experienced Ones. The story is very attractive and gameplay mechanics are so deep. Besides thd improved trust system make you explore dungeons more and more. It's the best time to walk in Final Fantasy XIV world.

Review in Persian | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Jul 12, 2019
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers - Easy Allies Review video thumbnail
9 / 10.0
Aug 15, 2019

Stale mechanics and features can't bring down an epic experience featuring cool characters, incredible bosses, and a spectacular soundtrack

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GameSpot
Top Critic
9 / 10
Jul 9, 2019

Even though some ambitious additions need a little refinement, Shadowbringers' fearless execution pays off in spades.

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Jul 9, 2019

Final Fantasy 14 set a high bar with its previous expansions, but Shadowbringers stands above the rest. Expected additions come in the form of new regions and the new jobs, Dancer and Gunbreaker. Both bring their own flavor to the game, though the Dancer is the standout. More importantly, Shadowbringers tells a tale that not only contains some meaningful real-world connections, but also provides an experience that's firmly Final Fantasy-esque. Great writing, solid voice acting, and an excellent soundtrack wrap Shadowbringers up in a package that should satisfy Final Fantasy 14 fans and neophytes alike.

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9 / 10.0
Jul 12, 2019

Shadowbringers delivers on all fronts, offering up great new instances, vast new zones to explore, and a new storyline worthy of almost any best-of list. Despite its few early day hangups and minor missteps, Stormbringers excels on almost all counts.

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GameMAG
Top Critic
9 / 10
Aug 7, 2019

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is the quintessence of everything that the FF: Online team has learned in six years. A great story is so much more interesting than of the last single games of the series. Deep mechanics, an atmospheric world and a huge amount of content absorb all the attention, forcing you to stay in the project for a long time. Shadowbringers is not just an exemplary extension of this popular game, but also the best project in the genre for many years.

Review in Russian | Read full review

9 / 10
Jul 10, 2019

Shadowbringers is simply the best MMO extension ever made, period. The new world to discover is amazing, the story is amazing, the soundtrack is amazing and the updated battle system is amazing. We will only complain about one thing: please Square Enix, fix the way characters are animated during cutscenes because it is painful to watch in 2019.

Review in French | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Jul 17, 2019

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is a pretty cool game. Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is an awesome extension of it, adding features that further distills the game's core appeal and adds an entire new game of shockingly excellent storytelling in terms of scale and quality. I don't really know what happens between those two points yet, and I have a long road of Final Fantasy XIV ahead of me yet. But after my experiences so far in learning the game, experiencing its latest expansion, and seeing just how much I have left to see and do, well, I'm in it for the long haul.

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PCMag
Top Critic
Sep 13, 2019

Final Fantasy XIV is one of the best MMORPGs on the market, and is easily one of the best Final Fantasy games in the series. It's packed with content, including an engaging narrative and quirky quests that are an absolute delight.

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4.5 / 5.0
Jul 8, 2019

Shadowbringers solidifies Final Fantasy XIV as the best MMO on the market.

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9 / 10.0
Jul 19, 2019

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is one of the best MMO expansions I've ever played. The story is incredibly good, the new jobs are ridiculously good fun, and the mechanical updates work well. The word of the First is a beautiful treat, and music is top-notch. If this sounds like your jam, you should absolutely play it.

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Leif Johnson
Top Critic
Jul 13, 2019

Full of emotion and high adventure, Final Fantasy XIV's Shadowbringers expansion brings MMORPG storytelling out of the shadows. Two great new combat classes, two cool new races, and a nifty system for running dungeons solo round out the experience of FFXIV's best expansion to date.

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Digitally Downloaded
Matt C.
Top Critic
Jul 26, 2019

Shadowbringers is a shining example of why that formula works.

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9 / 10.0
Aug 25, 2019

With Shadowbringers, Final Fantasy XIV does more than just cement itself as one of the best –if not the best – top-tier MMORPG’s today, but also the best Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy IX.

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9 / 10.0
Aug 1, 2019

Shadowbringers is the highest point of Final Fantasy XIV to date and it brings some much needed changes, two exciting new classes and an unforgettable story that rivals even the very best Final Fantasy stories. An excellent music score elevates the package higher and with the promise of a 24 man raid series based on Nier Automata, there’s a lot more to look forward to.

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8.6 / 10.0
Jul 9, 2019

Thanks to a substantial story developed along the ten new levels available and to the rather well-built antagonists, Shadowbringers manages to bring the player to moments of tension, epic battles and espionage missions, allowing himself some dramatic moments that make us almost hope history took an even more tragic turn.

Review in Italian | Read full review

MMORPG.com
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Jul 15, 2019

Shadowbringers brings a lot to the table. From a great story, to amazing areas to discover and explore, Square Enix has truly outdone themselves this time. With many changes not only to the Jobs system, but also FATEs and just general gameplay, it's more than enough to bring new players and returning players alike to the game.  Unfortunately, it's not all perfect, but the flaws are mostly revolving around issues not related to actual gameplay. Still, some will find the content boring, as per usual, but to me, it's pure fun!Score: 8.5/10

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Atomix
Top Critic
85 / 100
Jul 21, 2019

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is an awesome expansion that offers an incredible story that approaches the world we already know from a new perspective, as well as some new interesting additions in the form of jobs, races and gameplay mechanics. The bad part is that the narrative is kinda slow paced and take some time before starting to get deeper and darker.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Aug 9, 2019

An abridged telling of the story up to Shadowbringers when you use a Tales of Adventure would go a long way towards smoothing the process. As of right now, I can’t recommend Shadowbringers as a direct starting point for Final Fantasy 14. Instead, play through the base content a bit and get a feel for it. You’ll thank yourself later.

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