Final Fantasy XV was an excellent game in nearly every aspect; however, the Episode Gladiolus DLC is a departure from the base game and not in a good way. Instead of RPG elements such as questing and dungeon crawling, you control the ridiculously-large-sword wielding Gladio through a series of boss encounters. The game controls much like a poor man's Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry, and often you feel like the controls aren't precise enough to preform the actions the game is expecting of you. You will be caught in constant animation lock while swinging your sword, and due to all attacks being on the circle button, it is annoyingly easy to do the wrong move, such as accidentally throw your sword and leave yourself wide open to a counter attack.
That being said, the DLC isn't all bad. The background story for Gladio is interesting and decently told, and during the game's hour-long campaign, the control issues don't matter because it is easy-- even on normal difficulty. It is not until I attempted score attack or the final trial-- both of which are optional, where I wanted more precise and responsive controls to reliably complete the tasks the game was giving me. At $5, the price for this DLC isn't bad and may be justifiable if you want more backstory for Gladio and don't care about having to slog through some terrible combat. Just don't be surprised when you are frustrated by the more difficult modes available.
The Good:
- The background story for Gladio is interesting and decently told.
- The hour-long campaign is easy, so the bad combat never really gets in the way.
- It is only $5.
The Bad:
- Imprecise and sluggish RPG controls are shoehorned into an action game.
- The bonus modes are frustratingly difficult due to the poor controls.