Let me start by saying that I like XV. I really do. I like the setting, I like the characters, I like the move away from turn-based combat to action (which would later be perfected by VII Remake). These things are all highly subjective so I won't go on about them too much.
I also like the story as a whole, but...
On the first playthrough of the standard edition (before the DLC came out), the story constantly feels like it's missing something, like there are big chunks in the story that should explain what is happening that just aren't there. Characters disappear from the narrative without any fanfare. Things happen in the background without explanation. Some characters are built up as important but hardly show up. (example - in the late game a character is unceremoniously found dead and the characters act like it's a tragedy despite him hardly getting any screen time.)
As it turns out, it was missing something. About half the god-damn story in fact.
The DLC packs add new chapters to the game, chapters that were sorely needed to provide context for a lot of what is happening. Unfortunately the execution of this content is done extremely badly. The new chapters are completely seperate entities that must be accessed from the main menu, and the game gives you no indication of where they fit in the main story, so the choice is yours: play them early and have no context and possibly spoilers, or play them after the main game, which will feel like a hollow and unfinished affair without them.
(Also, some of the important context is in a film. A totally seperate film which is hurriedly recapped in a confusing cutscene. I shouldn't have to watch a totally seperate piece of media just to understand your game, Square Enix!)
They should have built these DLC chapters into the main game itself, so that the story flows naturally. If they had done that, I'd call it my favourite FF game ever, but as it stands, it feels like such a waste.
A great story told extremely badly
Let me start by saying that I like XV. I really do. I like the setting, I like the characters, I like the move away from turn-based combat to action (which would later be perfected by VII Remake). These things are all highly subjective so I won't go on about them too much.
I also like the story as a whole, but...
On the first playthrough of the standard edition (before the DLC came out), the story constantly feels like it's missing something, like there are big chunks in the story that should explain what is happening that just aren't there. Characters disappear from the narrative without any fanfare. Things happen in the background without explanation. Some characters are built up as important but hardly show up. (example - in the late game a character is unceremoniously found dead and the characters act like it's a tragedy despite him hardly getting any screen time.)
As it turns out, it was missing something. About half the god-damn story in fact.
The DLC packs add new chapters to the game, chapters that were sorely needed to provide context for a lot of what is happening. Unfortunately the execution of this content is done extremely badly. The new chapters are completely seperate entities that must be accessed from the main menu, and the game gives you no indication of where they fit in the main story, so the choice is yours: play them early and have no context and possibly spoilers, or play them after the main game, which will feel like a hollow and unfinished affair without them.
(Also, some of the important context is in a film. A totally seperate film which is hurriedly recapped in a confusing cutscene. I shouldn't have to watch a totally seperate piece of media just to understand your game, Square Enix!)
They should have built these DLC chapters into the main game itself, so that the story flows naturally. If they had done that, I'd call it my favourite FF game ever, but as it stands, it feels like such a waste.