I want to start this review by emphasing that I don't think this expansion is perfect.

I've no intention of glazing the game or making it sound like some of its criticisms aren't entirely valid and justified. Because they are.

Which is why I want to start with it's criticisms first.

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• A DECENT BUT FLAWED STORY
  Similar to Stormblood, half of Dawntrail's story feels like it's entirely separated from its other half. And much like Stormblood, the transition between the two doesn't work well.
  
  I enjoyed the lore and new societies introduced, but not much actually happens to push the narrative forward in any compelling way until nearly half ways through the 4th zone. Its best story beats and standout moments occur in the second half of the expansion.
  
  I like most of the new characters too - Wuk Lamat, Koana and Bakool Ja Ja especially -but it's hard to deny that their constant presence in the story cuts into Krile and Erenville's deserved character moments. The inclusions of the Scions throughout also feels largely superfluous; either have them matter to the story or let them stay home.
  
  
• BLAND JOB HOMOGENISATION
  This one is especially frustrating to me because it didn't used to be this way, and it never has to be. Jobs used to have a lot more noticeable differences and unique abilities between them, but streamlining has simplified things a bit too much.
  
  Astrologian especially gets worse with every expansion, and some tanks being able to solo bosses feels like something that just... shouldn't exist.

• GREAT DUTIES, TRIALS AND RAIDS
  Duties, raids and trials have gotten a significant increase in challenge in Dawntrail. Mechanics are more complex and not paying attention absolutely will get your killed.
  
  It's not a ludicrous increase in difficulty by any means, but you can no longer sleep through mechanics like you could in Endwalker, for the most part. That was such a baffling design choice for rhef expansion.
  
  
• VERY STRONG PATCH CONTENT
  With one small caveat; Occult Crescent is a great idea in theory and Phantom Jobs are fun, but it has some major designs issues around pacing and variety that I think makes it inferior to both Eureka and Bozja. However, I've enjoyed everything else we've gotten a tonne.
  
  I don't even care about wrestling, but the wrestling themed raids are fantastic and the story for it has been silly and fun. The FFFXI Alliance raids are novel, if a bit easy. Stellar Exploration ia rewarding and constantly updated. Lastly, Pilgrim's Traverse is easily my favourite Deep Dungeon ever added to the game.
  
  The amount of rewards offered and effort required to earn them is higher than it was in Endwalker as well.

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Dawntrail doesn't reach the heights of FFXIV's best expansions - Heavensward, Endwalker and Shadowbringers - but neither is it an irredeemable mess that destroys the legacy of the franchise, or even as weak as the beginning and end of Stormblood were.

It has plenty of valid strengths... and some flaws that hold it back.

However, I enjoyed 7.3's story a lot, and I'm interested to see where things go next. I also genuinely think 7.3 is one of the best patches the game has ever gotten, with so much content and so many rewards that I can barely even keep up with it all.

I'm excited for the game's future, despite some of its recent fumbles.

I bought Zenith about a year and a half ago, with the understanding that I was financing the development of a VR MMO.

Recently, the devs announced that they'd be transitioning Zenith to a small scale F2P multiplayer experience. I was okay with this. I know game development is hard and not all ideas are financially sustainable. I was fully onboard to support this change...

...until I learned that the devs were deleting constructive criticism about these changes. Entire threads with politely expressed ideas from people who has already financially supported Zenith were simply being removed.

(none of these comments were mine)

Even worse, it was then discovered that the same people were up being banned from the game for leaving negative reviews. I will likely be banned myself, just for posting this.

When you build a multiplayer experience, your community is everything. In and out of the game. Nurturing that is your biggest priority, other than developing the game itself. The devs seem hellbent on destroying what little goodwill they still had left however.

Without a thriving community, without people to champion your game and convince others to join them to play it... you have no game.

Devs, please remember this when your game is dead and you're financially broke, because you were busy actively killing your community.

Edit: As of July 2024, the game is dead. Called it. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I wish I could adequately explain why playing Tetris Effect: Connected in VR is one of the most transformative gaming experience that you'll ever have in your entire life, but I lack the words to do so.

With every passing day the winds might blow stronger.
And Carry us away but we will hold on to
Joy to light the way to keep the reminder
That love does not escape...

At its most basic level, Tetris Effect is a visual treat, elevated by the beautiful synesthesic blend of audio and visual fusion that characterises all of Enhance's and Tetsuya Mizuguchi's games. This on its own would be enough to make it a must buy, but Tetris Effects - much like Rez and Child of Eden before it - elevates itself so far beyond simply being a visually appealing experience.

Beyond the stones and the seas
The sun and the breeze.
The stars and the galaxy.
Beyond the time that we take
The days that we make.
I'm always gonna to be with you.

Tetris Effect is a profoundly thoughtful experience. I never thought I'd be saying that about a Tetris game either, but here we are, and here it is.

From the very first level of the Journey mode, Tetris Effects demands you pay attention to its message. It's one that's difficult to ignore; from the earliest days of human existence, to the millennia of cultural diversity that have grown out of it, beyond the hustle and bustle of city life and beyond the dim glow of galaxies light years beyond our reach... love is the one universal constant that keeps us all connected.

Even if each of us are miles and miles away
We'll build a bridge from our love.
To come back home again.

Add a VR headset into the mix and you'll be surrounded by this message in a way that can only be conveyed through experiencing it directly. Every pulse of every beat overwhelmes your vision and your senses, burrowing their way through your eyes and into your cerebral cortex, demanding to be internalised and understood... and absolutely no drugs are required to enjoy it.

What could you be afraid of
If I'm right here with you?
You know everything will change
Show me what you are made of,
'cause I'm always with you.
Come on, we could leave today

You might fairly assume this is just some experimentation in an otherwise simple game, but these themes exists throughout every single element of Tetris Effect.

Effects Mode presents a globe of the earth, with everyone whose played the game flying around it, expressed through their own unique avatar, pulsating in time to the music. Every week, this mode opens up a community event, wherever everyone can come together to unlock new avatars for everyone.

Look at this world we're made for.
Come with me, we'll take tomorrow.
Everything you want is waiting for you
Take it in, the light surrounds us.
Perfect love is all around us.
Everything you need is waiting for you,

And it still doesn't end there. "Connected" mode contains what I legitimately believe is the greatest mode ever added to a Tetris games - a 3 way cooperative game against increasingly challenging AI, where successful play leads to all 3 Tetris boards connecting together to create a screen filling horizontal board on which you all play together to decimate the AI.

It's utterly sublime.

Please play Tetris Effect.
Then go outside and touch some grass.
Then come back and play more Tetris Effect.
Preferably in VR.

This is one of the greatest games ever made.

I went into Lost Words with few expectations, at the recommendation of a friend. I knew that it was written by Rhianna Pratchett, but beyond that I had no preconceived notions about what to expect or how the experience would play out.

Its a simple game by design, but this isn't a criticism against it. Lost Words has a very specific story that it wants to tell, and it focuses on no more and no less than it needs to in order to tell that story.

As the name suggests, you have to find words to complete the writing that appears before you. This ultimately boils down to carrying the right words onto the right places on screen to activate events, but the game constantly comes up with novel, unique ways to approach this, and the experience is paced well enough that it always remains fun.

And the story it has to tell is a beautiful, sincere and heartfelt one. I won't go into specifics on that, because it's better to experience it for yourself, but it's a story that I think all everyone will be able to connect with strongly, no matter who you are or the life experience you've had.

Highly recommended.