Final Fantasy XV Comrades Review: A fun, online side story

Final Fantasy XV Comrades, a spin-off story set during the events of the mainline entry, Final Fantasy XV, is an intriguing side story that, frankly, is shockingly forgotten and lost in time. This game came out of left field, shocking me as a fan of the original game. Now, without further ado, I will deconstruct the good, the bad, and the ugly of Final Fantasy XV Comrades in today's article: a Final Fantasy XV Comrades Review: A fun, online side story

Battle System - 9

I feel like I'm one of the very few long-time Final Fantasy fans who absolutely dug the cinematic action combat of Final Fantasy XV, and I loved seeing it adapted here in a new, unique way. This game implements a more traditional MP system for magic, new weapon types, customizable weapons, and more! It feels just enough like Final Fantasy XV for fans of that game and just enough new to justify its existence. Ultimately, this game has a fantastic battle system, especially when playing online with friends.

Story - 2

This game takes place during the ten-year time gap between the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Final Fantasy XV, where the world is overcome with darkness, doom, and gloom. You play as a member of the Crownsguard, rebuilding cities and protecting the denizens of Eos from monsters and calamity. However, while this was a promising premise for the game, there's practically no interesting story here, making the original game's time gap feel like a weird catalyst for this oddly made and underplayed side game. If this game took the initiative like the single-played DLCs, the story here could be terrific, but sadly, that's not the case here.

Characters - 1

While the character creator here is incredible, and the NPCs here are pretty solid, there are simply not any memorable main characters in this game to cling onto, in stark contrast to the boys in the original game. I hate to say it, but this score is absolutely deserved.

Customization System - 7.5

Outside of the shockingly phenomenal character creator, this game also allows you to take full control of how you customize your weapons, similar to Final Fantasy X. You can make a pretty sick loadout of weapons here, tailor-made to take down any enemy in your own way. With crossbows and shurikens, you don't even need Prompto for ranged attacks! This game also utilizes only a traditional leveling system which, honestly, is a rarity for modern Final Fantasy titles. While this isn't a groundbreaking or unique customization system, it is still solid and allows for every player's experience to be unique—just as any good customization system would let you do!

Sidequests - 5

It's rather hard to accurately distinguish "sidequests" vs "story content" in this game, but either way, the majority of this game's quests are simply killing enemies. That's fine and all, but nothing too unique or interesting. Due to the premise of the game, it is rather limited in terms of potential side missions, making for an ultimately generic sidequesting experience.

Music - 9

The Final Fantasy XV soundtrack is my favorite of the series by quite a bit, and, as such, this game instantly deserves a good score in my eyes. However, since this soundtrack is a tad bit limited compared to the original (especially due to the lack of the DLC episode music), I simply can't justify rating this soundtrack with a perfect score.

Locations - 2

As with any sequel or side story with little to no new assets or innovations over the original, I feel it necessary to give this category a low score. This is simply the world of Eos but on a smaller, more boring scale. As such, this score is absolutely justified.

Art & Graphics - 9.5

While the graphical fidelity and style of this game is a little weaker than the original, I'd say the artstyle and graphics are just as impressive. This is due to the character creator, which has got to be one of the most impressive and customizable character creators I have seen. I was able to make an exact replica of myself with it and some of my friends, which was shocking to me. Ultimately, this game is scintillating and stunning!

Quality of Life - 5

The loading times and necessary mission replays make this a rather annoying experience all around. While it doesn't ruin the game for me, it doesn't exactly make me want to revisit this game anytime soon. If these small issues didn't plague the experience, I'd look back on this game much more fondly, but it is what it is.

The Verdict

Fun Factor: 5
Letter Rating: C
Overall Score: 55%

While I'd absolutely recommend this game to superfans of Final Fantasy XV or anybody looking for a light MMO-like Final Fantasy experience, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. The combat, graphics, and music are great, but I'll take the mainline Final Fantasy XV experience any day over this commendable but mediocre side game.

Primary Version: Final Fantasy XV Comrades (Xbox Series X)