A timeless adventure

The Rising Tide is the second of the two planned DLCs for Final Fantasy XVI, and it puts the player in Clive’s shoes once more to investigate the region of Mysidia and find information regarding the lost Eikon, Leviathan. The base game had teased parts of the DLC’s lore, and there was quite a bit of excitement before its official announcement, but does it live up to the hype, and is it a worthwhile addition to the game?

The story of the DLC takes place right before the big finale of the game, and like the previous DLC pack, the side quests "Where There's a Will" and "Priceless" must be completed. Unlike Echoes of the Fallen, which didn’t feature much of a story and centered on dungeon exploration, The Rising Tide’s focus is exploring the world of Mysidia, completing side quests, and solving the mysteries surrounding it.

The main story has some interesting twists to the traditional rules that the base game sets, and despite being essentially a lengthy side quest, it is a significant part of Clive’s journey. While it didn’t have the confrontations and political intrigue you find in the base game, Leviathan’s story explores a different side of what it means to be a Dominant. Furthermore, there’s quite a bit of background lore regarding the new region and its town, and I appreciate how it fits with the rest of the world.

In addition to his regular companions, a new character from Mysidia, Shula, joins Clive, offering insight into this quest. While the side quests expanded her character quite a bit, I wasn’t very impressed with her, and she gave me the impression that she was there just to provide the exposition more than anything. While there’s an attempt to give some time to Clive’s previous companions, like Jill, there’s barely anything of worth with them added to this DLC, which is a bit of a shame and made me question what was even the point of them joining Clive there.

The land beyond the waves

Mysidia is a very beautiful region with some impressive backgrounds, enhanced by a certain plot element. Moreover, I am thankful that they returned the sky to its normal light blue for this DLC, avoiding a big misstep in the last few hours of the base game. Still, this doesn’t save the map design, which is extremely linear, making exploration kind of dull. Also, while this is a bit of a nitpick, I am disappointed that they went with another green area that is a combination of plains and a forest and missed the opportunity to try a more interesting environment that wasn’t in the game previously.

Ten sidequests in this region expand some of the villagers in the new town, along with some of the regional lore. While the MMO-esque nature of these quests doesn’t change compared to the base game, and the dialogues can often feel wooden to boot, I found most of them quite interesting, especially the two-parter about this game’s depiction of Tonberries. Some also introduce boss fights, but at that point of the game, I wouldn’t say they offer much of a challenge. On another note, the QoL change they introduced with the newest patch, making quest completion faster, was well appreciated.

On the topic of boss fights, I was quite satisfied with the ones on the critical path, both from a presentation and challenge standpoint. The cornerstone is the Eikon fight with Leviathan, and as with the fights in the base game, it’s a mix of cutscenes, QTEs, and several different lengthy phases of gameplay. It might not be the best Eikon fight in the game; the bar is very high, but it was very impressive regardless. The rest of the boss fights probably get overshadowed by the one introduced in the previous DLC, but they are fun fights.

Guns and Angels

The Rising Tide introduces two Eikon’s worth of abilities, and to my surprise, both are very fun to use, if probably a bit overpowered compared to the rest of them. The second one, Ultima’s, is more of an endgame gift, but Leviathan’s kit can be used quite early. Leviathan’s power is similar to that of a shotgun, and a lot of its abilities remind me of other types of guns, with the climactic attack being a tsunami. Ultima is all about displaying godly powers, whether they are angelic wings or judgment lights. The latest patch also brought several changes to the older Eikon abilities, and the addition of some new accessories helps balance them and create more variations in the builds.

A new important addition to the endgame is Kairos Gate, a mode that sees Clive fighting his way through twenty stages of enemy waves. It features some roguelike elements like the ability to permanently and temporarily buy stats upgrades, and for each stage, you get rewarded with a rank. It is a welcome addition, but I feel that after a run or two, it doesn’t offer much to the game, and I’d have probably preferred an actual roguelike mode with a similar structure.

Conclusion

The Rising Tide adds about ten hours of gameplay and complements Echoes of the Fallen, providing some more life to Final Fantasy XVI. It’s far from the highlight of it, and it doesn’t solve any of the base game’s issues, but a beautiful new region with a nice story and some cool abilities to play around with make it a nice offering to anyone who wants to do a bit more. Recommended to those who enjoyed Final Fantasy XVI regardless, especially if you are looking for a little more challenge.