It’s been six days since Final Fantasy XIV launched its latest expansion, Dawntrail, and more than a week since the start of early access. User reviews have been steadily coming in as players have finished the main story and, so far, feelings about Dawntrail have been divisive, to say the least. Currently sitting at a “generally favorable” Metascore of 79 and a user score of 7.9, the polarizing nature of Dawntrail is centered mostly around the expansion’s story
Granted, the critic score of 79 is based only on four reviews so far, with the 60 submitted by the entertainment news site We Got This Covered greatly lowering Dawntrail’s average. There’s still plenty of time to see a Metascore boost as other credible platforms chime in, but still, no Final Fantasy XIV expansion has ever scored below an 85. Even A Realm Reborn, Final Fantasy XIV’s remade and relaunched version of the flopped Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 pulled in a Metascore of 86 a decade ago. Dawntrail has a steep hill to climb to catch up with its predecessors.
The 7.9 user score is based on 611 user ratings. Given the larger review sample, the mixed reception becomes more noticeable–especially when compared to the last three FFXIV expansions that scored no lower than 8.9 (Endwalker) among users. The only expansion to come close is, once again, A Realm Reborn with its 7.8 user score.
We’ll continue to monitor Dawntrail’s overall performance among critics and players, but here are the current critic reviews of Patch 7.0 so you can come to your own conclusions.
“Dawntrail is roughly the same game as Endwalker and the previous expansions, with a few minor nuances and differences. You may find that boring, but bottom line this is still the best you can find in the mmorpg field at the moment. In any case, it is more than enough for loyal players who are ready for new content.” - Gamer.nl, Score 90
“After the masterful conclusion of Endwalker, Final Fantasy XIV leaves on new foundations with Dawntrail. Carried by its lighter tone and its endearing characters, it is in its second part that the adventure takes off, after a sluggish start and some less interesting passages. But more than anything, it is through its graphical update and its magnificent new areas that the experience wows us. With more exciting boss fights, two new fun jobs to play and plenty of comfort options, Dawntrail is an expansion that continues in the right direction instilled by Naoki Yoshida and his teams for over a decade. Hoping that the course is maintained in the next updates and expansions.” - Jeaxvideo.com, Score 85
“Dawntrail is by far the most complex expansion that Final Fantasy 14 has ever had to tackle: after concluding a ten-year-long story, it had to lay completely new narrative foundations, a goal it has only partially achieved. Similar to what happened with Stormblood, it suffers from much weaker writing compared to the usual standards and is particularly marked by significant pacing issues; however, it compensates with an exceptional "Battle Content" design, promising tons of satisfying encounters.” - Multiplayer.it, Score 80
“Dawntrail shoves your character so far into the background of its story you may as well not be there. That said, the vibrancy and personality of Tural is a real breath of fresh air, and the dungeon bosses have never been more satisfying to take down.” - We Got This Covered, Score 60
