Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen review: Brief, yet essential

Final Fantasy XVI is among my personal favorite games of this year, right alongside the likes of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Lies of P, and Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon. Naturally, I was genuinely excited to hear about Square Enix's plans to release story DLCs for the game. What I didn't expect was to get the first story DLC, Echoes of the Fallen, this early.

While Final Fantasy DLCs have always been a hit or miss, with Final Fantasy XV's story DLCs, apart from Episode Prompto and Ardyn, being rather underwhelming, Final Fantasy 7's Intermission DLC is surprisingly good. As such, despite my excitement, I was a bit skeptical going into Final Fantasy XVI's Echoes of the Fallen DLC.

Fortunately, the first story expansion of the latest Final Fantasy title was a rather enjoyable piece of content despite its short runtime. Echoes of the Fallen delivered exactly what I expected from a Final Fantasy XVI expansion, that being an engaging questline, new enemy types to battle, and amazing setpiece boss fights.

Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen: A brief but ultimately fun DLC, with some truly amazing boss fights

Brief but satisfying runtime

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Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen is essentially a single, extended questline, akin to one of the many major "Eikonic" questlines from the base game. In terms of its length, Echoes of the Fallen is roughly around the same length as the Odin questline from the base game, i.e., two to two-and-a-half hours, including all the cutscenes and enemy and boss encounters.

My first playthrough was on the Final Fantasy mode, given that was the latest save I had on my PlayStation 5 after grabbing the Platinum trophy for the base game. While the DLC's length might feel a tad on the shorter end of things, considering its asking price, I think it's offering plenty to chew on.

For $9.99, I think Echoes of the Fallen offers plenty of content, especially considering the base game's replayability, Final Fantasy mode, and the ability to replay certain boss encounters from the base game as the expansion. Despite being linear, Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen to me, never felt lacking in terms of content.

Sagespire is one of the most mesmerizing levels in Final Fantasy XVI. (Image via Square Enix, Sportskeeda)

While I do like DLCs like Dark Souls 3's The Ringed City, The Witcher 3's Hearts of Stone, or Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty, I also appreciate story expansions that don't overstay their welcome. A game/ DLC that lets me start, finish, and perhaps even Platinum it within hours, without getting tedious or boring, will always leave a positive impression on me.

Gameplay and boss fights

The battle against Omega is a true spectacle to behold. (Image via Square Enix, Sportskeeda)

Echoes of the Fallen acts as a standalone questline that unlocks fairly late into the base game's main story. To get access to the DLC, you essentially will need to have finished all but the final story quest, Back to Their Origins. There are also some other optional quests that you need to complete, which the game does mention in a text pop-up upon installing the DLC.

Once you reach that point of the story, simply go to Charon and talk to her to start the quest. Given Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen is basically an hour or two long questline, the gameplay here remains identical to the base game, with the only differentiating factors being the locale and the monsters you face as you go through the DLC.

Not that it's a bad thing to have the same gameplay as the base game of Final Fantasy XVI, especially given how incredible the combat system is, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't expecting a bit more. Perhaps a new ability or combat skill would've made me happy, but I think what's on offer here, especially the boss fights, more than make up for these minor gripes.

Echoes of the Fallen comes with several new enemy types. (Image via Square Enix, Sportskeeda)

Speaking of boss fights, Echoes of the Fallen features essentially three major bosses, with a few mini-bosses sprinkled throughout the level. However, of the three major bosses, one is recycled from the base game, while the other two are completely original. And let me tell you, the original bosses this DLC has are hands down far superior to anything in the base game.

The final boss of the Final Fantasy XVI DLC, Omega in particular, is far more challenging than anything I remember facing in the base game. Yes, even Svarog. From the fight being a pure spectacle of particle effects, colors, and bombastic action to the sheer gameplay challenge posed by the boss, especially in the final two phases of the battle, really won me over.

There are also some exclusive weapons that you can unlock in the new DLC. (Image via Square Enix, Sportskeeda)

Also, I should mention the DLC, despite featuring some genuinely breathtaking visuals, runs quite flawlessly on the PlayStation 5, akin to the base game. I played Echoes of the Fallen in performance mode, and outside of some scripted scenes and open-world traversal scenarios, the framerate is locked to 60 most of the time, especially in combat.

Story and characters

As for the DLC's story, this aspect somewhat left me underwhelmed, despite me loving almost every other aspect of Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen. The story here sees Clive, Joshua, Torgal, and Jill venturing out to find the source of a mysterious black crystal that has been making rounds of Black Market and Valesthia's wealthy towns.

Echoes of the Fallen serves as a side story for Clive and his friends. (Image via Square Enix, Sportskeeda)

As they try to figure out the history behind the crystal, they eventually come across a band of thieves who lead the party to a hidden and previously undiscovered Ancient Tower, the Sagespire, which houses the black crystal, claimed to be another "Mothercrystal." The story eventually leads to Clive making some interesting discoveries.

However, the story (perhaps due to its brief runtime) did not get fleshed out beyond the revelations surrounding the black Mothercrystal. The DLC does answer a few questions I personally had regarding the history of Valesthia and Ultima's role in it, but most of what it does is very surface-level, akin to a side quest.

In conclusion

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Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen is an excellent story add-on, one that does exactly what you'd expect from a DLC, more of what the base game offered, with a few new elements thrown in for good measure. While the expansion's runtime and story leave much to be desired, the gameplay and, most importantly, the boss fights more than make up for its shortcomings.