FFXIV Dawntrail reviews are out on Metacritic

[Striker44]

6.4 still feels a bit high for DT... But not by an excessive amount. But it most definitely notable that the game dropped from ShB and EW being a 9 to DT being a 6.

That's expected given that ShB and EW were the culmination of a decade-long story, while DT is something new. I like to use the baseball analogy that not every batter can hit a grand slam, because doing so first requires three other batters to get on base. Similarly, not every installment of a series can be a 10/10. Those are the end-product of a much longer build-up. DT is the start of that new build-up, and a future expansion that ends up being another ShB or EW will be able to do so precisely because of installments like DT. Me personally - I'd rate DT a 7/8. Yes, that really means 7/10, but from a practical perspective, I feel an "8" is the highest it could even hope to attain given where it lies in the series.

Slipping from one of the worst rated xpacs to one of the worst FFs all time. Yikes.

So, we know a certain element of the gaming population is out in force review bombing. Good to know.

[Turtledeluxe]

That's expected given that ShB and EW were the culmination of a decade-long story, while DT is something new. I like to use the baseball analogy that not every batter can hit a grand slam, because doing so first requires three other batters to get on base. Similarly, not every installment of a series can be a 10/10. Those are the end-product of a much longer build-up. DT is the start of that new build-up, and a future expansion that ends up being another ShB or EW will be able to do so precisely because of installments like DT. Me personally - I'd rate DT a 7/8. Yes, that really means 7/10, but from a practical perspective, I feel an "8" is the highest it could even hope to attain given where it lies in the series.



So, we know a certain element of the gaming population is out in force review bombing. Good to know.

I wasn't aware critics could review bomb. For a mainline release, the 70 range is pretty bad for FF.

This is officially scoring worse than FFXIII and FFXV.

[ThorneDynasty]

So, we know a certain element of the gaming population is out in force review bombing. Good to know.

Almost hit like on your post until this last part. Fuck off.

[Skellydawizard]

Dawntrail just has too many issues for the good bits to win people over, such as in Endwalker. And it caught an incredible amount of flak and scrutiny because it had the misfortune of trying to live up to Shadowbringers (which is a 9/10- 10/10 Expansion depending on who you ask) EW only real stumbling bit was the inferior post-game content.


As for Dawntrail it earned its 6.4:

-Story is C+ at best.
-Art quality with the "Graphical update" is all over the map. Some things being flat downgrades, or forcing players into strange fixes because of their new graphics systems fighting each other
-Questionable design choices in terms of gear (1st raid gears is uh.. something) Amputating Tail/ears on some gear, but then remembering to add them to other random gear pieces
-Incredible eye strain issues for a lot of players due to the graphics issues and heavy over usage of flashbang style FX with new spells/abilities. Excluding bosses, they funnily enough are actually toned down! Preferring to use darker color palettes to show off the new graphics
-Ancient core system putting up extreme social roadblocks (Can't make new toons on 99% of NA/EU realms, forced to go to the effectively abandoned ones.) Server hopping bars to you from important and major features (FC/Mail/Retainers)
-Controversial Job changes for some jobs, heavy neglect for other Jobs, and "You clearly didn't test this"
-MSQ that has Death Stranding levels of Polarity (You either enjoy it, or you hate it with every fiber of your being"
-English VA was all over the map on quality "yells in lowercase"


Square/CBU3 don't get to hide with blinders on with is one.

[Galvuu]

6.4 still feels a bit high for DT... But not by an excessive amount. But it most definitely notable that the game dropped from ShB and EW being a 9 to DT being a 6.

I think 6 is fair.
The combat content is pretty darn good, like a solid 8/10. Jobs are very hit or miss, soundtrack is half forgettable, reused old themes or new bangers, so I'd be comfortable in giving either of those 6ish/10. I like the new zones and I think the graphic update is pretty good (even if very incomplete).
It's really the 2/10 msq that drags everything down. Unfortunately, it's a lot of the available content during the DT release, but I like the new dungeon and trials/NMs so much, I'd begrudgingly agree that a 6/10 is a fair score for DT so far.
Though I'm spiteful enough to dock a point for the murdering of BLM :>

[Turtledeluxe]

I think 6 is fair.
The combat content is pretty darn good, like a solid 8/10. Jobs are very hit or miss, soundtrack is half forgettable, reused old themes or new bangers, so I'd be comfortable in giving either of those 6ish/10. I like the new zones and I think the graphic update is pretty good (even if very incomplete).
It's really the 2/10 msq that drags everything down. Unfortunately, it's a lot of the available content during the DT release, but I like the new dungeon and trials/NMs so much, I'd begrudgingly agree that a 6/10 is a fair score for DT so far.
Though I'm spiteful enough to dock a point for the murdering of BLM :>

Don't remind me. After doing the recent raids, I just feel so unmotivated to login. Crafting and gathering is all I have to look forward to. I tried PCT but I'm sorry, it doesn't replace BLM in any way, shape or form. I'm not sure I want to keep subbing and supporting my favorite job being in the state that it is.

[Swordsman]

Steam score updated.

[Striker44]

I wasn't aware critics could review bomb. For a mainline release, the 70 range is pretty bad for FF.

This is officially scoring worse than FFXIII and FFXV.

Not looking at the critics, but the user scores. Critics that rated both ARR back in the day and DT now seem to be rating them as rather equivalent, which makes sense given their nature as the start of a new storyline. The user score started as 8.6 and then as soon as that became known, it magically plummeted. Classic sign of review bombing.

Almost hit like on your post until this last part. Fuck off.

Great attitude there

[Galvuu]

snip.

Kinda copium ngl, given how in every outlet/channel people are mixed, slightly leaning negative on DT.
Especially when it's about XIV- I spent tens of thousands of hours in this game and I still genuinely enjoy it, but man it has this weird "cult" following (in the literal sense) that crawls out to defend it, even when an expansion is middling in many areas.
You also seemed to have missed the threads of people complaining their negative/average reviews were being deleted for days, and only started getting undeleted like 10 days in, leading to the score wildly swinging either way for a while.

[Aurelius2625]

That's expected given that ShB and EW were the culmination of a decade-long story, while DT is something new. I like to use the baseball analogy that not every batter can hit a grand slam, because doing so first requires three other batters to get on base. Similarly, not every installment of a series can be a 10/10. Those are the end-product of a much longer build-up. DT is the start of that new build-up, and a future expansion that ends up being another ShB or EW will be able to do so precisely because of installments like DT. Me personally - I'd rate DT a 7/8. Yes, that really means 7/10, but from a practical perspective, I feel an "8" is the highest it could even hope to attain given where it lies in the series.



So, we know a certain element of the gaming population is out in force review bombing. Good to know.

Are you saying that people who don't like DT are transphobes or something? Lmfao, what a puny intellect if so. It's the same thing Disney says about people who hate, rightly so, on the butchering of the new Star Wars being "misogynist" lmfaoooooo. Nah dawg, we don't give a damn about that, we care about the trash heap of a story this is. They are capable of doing better. If we thought they were incapable, we wouldn't be criticizing. We just wouldn't play xD. Screw off with this nonsense. There are plenty of Grass Touchers that despise this story too.