Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen Review (Karmotrine)
Overall, I think this was a fairly decent DLC. Not too dragged out, although the intro section before the Tower felt a bit contrived story-wise. The additional lore is cool, and the final boss was a ton of fun and actually put up a fair amount of challenge for me, which is a stark contrast to most of the bosses in the game. The music is also fantastic - as a Final Fantasy XIV player I appreciated the musical callbacks to certain elements of that game sprinkled throughout this DLC. Echoes' final boss battle theme is also probably tied for my current favourite (although at time of writing I have yet to complete the game, so I can't say how it fares vs the final boss' theme, but it has currently beat Titan for the top spot).
I think that £8/$10 is a little steep for the amount of content on offer here though. The entire DLC is around 2 hours long, although it may be longer depending on skill levels as a couple of the bosses can wreck you fast if you're not quick to learn. If you've cleared some of the tougher hunts in the game like Svarog and the Behemoth King, you'll probably be fine, but make sure you've got a decent build beforehand. The DLC itself basically consists of a linear questline in the Hideaway and across Rosaria before entering a brand new linear dungeon - some excellent gear and accessories can be acquired here, and completion of the DLC along with collecting all the goodies throughout unlocks an exceptional weapon for use. Beyond that though, there isn't much to write home about.
The content here is good but I can't help but feel that a fairer price for what's on offer here could've been maybe something around £5/$6.50. It's not a ripoff but it's just a little steep for what it is - for those doing a casual playthrough it may be worth a skip, and for those looking for some extra content it may be worth getting the full Expansion Pass instead, as it's a bit of a fairer deal to get both, and from what I'm told there is quite a sizeable chunk of content in the Rising Tide, including an expansion to the Eikonic Ability selection. For those looking for just a quick and clean, high quality piece of content, then it's up to you whether you think £8 for a linear dungeon into an admittedly very good bossfight is worth it.