I’ve played Final Fantasy 14 since the beginning and Dawntrail is the best expansion to date

DAWNTRAIL is the long-awaited new expansion for Final Fantasy 14, and picks up the story where the last expansion Endwalker left off.

While continuing the story, it also marks a fresh start for your character, with a new tone and chance to explore new ideas.

Square Enix

Dawntrail includes graphical updates for the whole game[/caption]

You’ll see the return of familiar characters, but the new cast definitely makes up the bulk of the story.

While the story, particularly the opening act, can drag on a bit, new characters like Wuk Lamat are particularly well-written.

On the other hand, the antagonist Zoreel Ja is particularly shallow, as a psychopath with few redeeming qualities.

The first half of the story has a very slow and deliberate pace, forcing you to adopt a relaxed vacation mentality.

However, if you push on with the main quests, you will find some unexpectedly deep stories.

Dawntrail’s new zones are some of the most beautiful yet, and it ups the overall quality of the game’s visuals.

In fact, Dawntrail has added a complete graphical overhaul to the game that improves textures and facial expressions throughout the MMO.

We still found the quests to be a little lacking. The new side quests are the strongest part but they still feel as if they keep you at an arm’s length.

It’s built more like a traditional Final Fantasy game than Final Fantasy 14’s previous expansions.

Dawntrail also covers more complex topics, such as how technology makes all cultures more similar to each other, or the dangers of anti-immigrant sentiments.

There are a lot of big ideas at play that service the larger narrative, and these are generally handled quite well.

The whole journey of Dawntrail is to teach characters the benefits of living in a multicultural society, while also respecting each other’s cultural differences.

It’s not scared to make social commentary, which is an improvement over previous games.

There are also clear influences from the story of Final Fantasy 9, a nice callback for longtime fans of the series.

Dawntrail’s dungeons and trials can definitely be challenging at times, but for veterans of the MMO, it is a great way of testing your gameplay knowledge.

There are two new job additions, Pictomancer and Viper, changing up the ways in which you can play.

Viper is a strong balance between approachability and complexity, while Pictomancer is a more involved class with interesting skill rotations.

There are also welcome changes to the UI, which now feels far less cluttered and more intuitive to use.

Overall, while Dawntrail could do with some polish for the rougher areas of the expansion, we’re sure these will be fixed in upcoming patches.

It’s a well-executed addition to the already brilliant Final Fantasy 14, with more story, quests and action on top of the new characters and classes.

Most of all it leaves more hope for the future, and highlights that the game has a long promising story ahead.

If you want to read more game reviews, check out our Zenless Zone Zero review.