Final Fantasy XVI The Rising Tide Review - Leviathan Still Feels Lost

With the Sagespire taken care of Clive's adventures in Final Fantasy XVI are coming to a close except for one final mystery. The lost Eikon, Leviathan, is now part of Final Fantasy XVI and obtainable in The Rising Tide DLC. How well does this DLC close out the Final Fantasy XVI adventure though?

The Rising Tide

Receiving a strange letter from an anonymous sender, Clive, Joshua, and Jill meet a representative of the Motes of Water. The Water tribe that was thought to be lost 100 years ago is revealed to be alive and in hiding behind a glamour to the North.

Once in the North themselves Clive and his party learn of the Dominant of the water Eikon Leviathan and the state they've been trapped in. Over this short 3-4 hour story you'll learn the cause of the disappearance of Leviathan, and take steps to free the Dominant and turn right a wrong that occurred almost a hundred years ago.

While the story of The Rising Tide is more fleshed out and involved than Echoes of the Fallen, it's still a very straightforward experience. It's nice to have closure about the fate of the Leviathan Eikon, but it being so removed from the rest of the events of the world makes it feel like more of a side-quest than an important part of Clive claiming the power of all Eikons.

Side-Quests Are Still Lackluster

Aside from the very linear primary quest, there are a few side-quests, but they have the same problem as the side-quests from the main game. I was hoping going into the DLC that some unique side-quests may have been added but the first person you talk to asks you to collect some flowers for their husband. It felt like getting handed a level 3 quest in an MMO when you're ready for end-game raids.

The Leviathan Eikon's powers allows Clive to deal damage in a new ranged form. Donning Leviathan's power Clive can float in the air while firing water from a serpent on his arm, Levianthan's other abilities are also some range of projectile. One lets you create a horizontal line of explosions while the other scatters shot out.

This mechanic really reminded me of the Wisdom Form from Kingdom Hearts 2, with a bit of Shotlock third person shooting added in. Another interesting mechanic for Leviathan to pull from is the Gears of War-style active reload letting you refresh your shots faster.

A Fight Against Leviathan

While Final Fantasy XVI had its fair share of issues, the Eikon vs Eikon fights are the things many fans remember when playing. The fight against Leviathan however isn't anything special, in fact, it's quite frustrating.

After a boring falling through the sky/shooting fireball opening the battle lands on a plane of water. The fight occurs over multiple phases but is mostly just you playing as Ifrit dashing toward Leviathan to hit them.

The worst part of the Leviathan fight is the "Troubled Waters" section where Leviathan puts up a shield that you need to destroy in a certain amount of time. This section is close to the wire.

Unlike other parts of the game where altering Clvie's equipment or ability loadout might give you a better chance when fighting as Ifrit there really isn't much to change, it's just how quickly can you use your abilities and get close to Leviathan.

Other Abilities

After completing the story there's also a new Eikon ability that Clive can pick up and a new challenge mode that's been added. Almost like playing a Roguelike you can take on a series of combat rooms and obtain different boosts and items. The boosts only remain while you're in the challenges, while the items come with you.

I really like the idea of a game coming to the end of its DLC run and developers putting in a challenge mode like this to make sure that any player who does want to just keep playing the game over and over again can do that.

Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide DLC Review | Final Thoughts

Overall I was underwhelmed with this DLC. For all of the teases about Leviathan for it to be so side-lined in its own story was a shame to see. Even after being found the Leviathan still doesn't feel like it's part of the rest of the pack.

The real winners here will be the players who are fans of loadout crafting and pushing their combos to the limit as they can challenge harder and harder monsters to different results. 

Final Fantasy XVI The Rising Tide DLC was reviewed on PS5 with a copy provided by the Publisher over the course of 4 hours of gameplay — all screenshots were taken during the process of review.