PaigeFTW: ‘Episode Gladiolus’ Is Lame
A few things fell by the wayside in the Great Persona Madness of 2017 — and by that I mean I ignored just about everything that wasn’t Persona 5.
One such title was the first of Final Fantasy XV’s three DLC side stories, Episode Gladiolus ($4.99 standalone). Each focuses on one of Noctis’ friends during times in the main story that they separated from the prince. With Episode Prompto set to drop in a few weeks, I thought I’d finally check in to get a taste of what to expect.
I should have apparently expected a lot less.
This poorly explained adventure finds muscle-bound Gladio, still smarting from his embarrassing mid-game loss to Ravus Nox Fleuret, embarking on a mostly solo quest to fight legendary swordsman Gilgamesh to absorb some kind of special power that has no discernable effect on his later behavior in FFXV. Said quest is part of a grand tradition of royal family retainers that no one has ever mentioned before, nor will again.
It does not help matters that Gladio is by far the least interesting of FFXV’s main characters. The taciturn marshal Cor, who accompanies Gladio in the DLC, is much more interesting and, of course, not well utilized.
Gameplay-wise, Gladio uses big, heavy swords and a bulky shield; moves at approximately half the speed of Noctis; and gets to use none of his cool, magic-infused trickery. He spends the entirety of the DLC running through an aggressively linear map and fighting.
In short, it was pretty awful. The weaknesses in FFXV’s storytelling are on full display here (the episode adds absolutely nothing to the overall game’s mythos, nor does it do Gladio’s character any benefit), and the visceral joy of its gameplay doesn’t translate when all you have to work with is a tank.
This does not bode well for Episode Prompto, but there remains hope that the game’s best-developed character can pull off the save. I bought the season pass, so I’ll definitely have a report later…
