The next downloadable content for Final Fantasy XV is slated to arrive on June 27. Called Episode Prompto, the DLC was first teased during E3 2017 last week and will be accessible on the season pass or purchased separately for $5 when it becomes available. Players will assume the role of Prompto Argentum in a story set between the time he is pushed off the train in Chapter 11 and his rescue in the Imperial capital during Chapter 12.
As seen during last week’s show, Prompto’s solo adventure will play like a third-person shooter as he wields weapons such as a handgun (default), a sniper rifle, a bazooka, a machine gun, and more. He will also have a few melee attacks complemented by grenades for taking out enemies from afar. This adventure will also require some stealth for positioning Prompto into better locations to attack.
Based on the E3 2017 teaser, Ardyn Izunia is keeping Prompto hostage at the first Magitek production facility. But the gunslinger won’t be locked up within its walls for long, as the teaser revealed Prompto outside in the white, bitter cold riding a snow speeder and taking on enemies and even a huge dragon-like beast called the Bandersnatch.
Aiding Prompto in his escape from the facility will be Aranea Highwind, who will be capable of performing link-strikes with Prompto. For those new to the Final Fantasy XV game, she is the captain of the Niflheim Empire’s Third Army Corps 86th Airborne Unit who serves as one of the bosses and eventually as a party guest. She wields a lance along with an A-1 Class Powershield and more.
According to Square Enix, Prompto “heads off to the place of his birth to uncover the truth of his mysterious origins.” Adding to that, the E3 2017 tease revealed a man with long, white hair saying, “now you finally come home to Nifelheim, my son.” That, of course, is the Magitek-backed military empire/nation, aka enemy territory.
Prompto’s solo adventure follows the game’s first DLC, Episode Gladiolus, released in March. As the name implies, it focuses on Gladiolus Amicitia (Gladio) and tells what happens when he leaves the main story during Chapter 7 and returns later with a fresh scar on his face. He parted from Noctis and his band of followers to grow stronger and serve as a better guardian.
That said, Gladio teams up with Cor to undergo the trial of Gilgamesh. However, the DLC’s overall design consists of combat through linear corridors, seasoned with monsters throughout, mini-bosses, and a fight with Gilgamesh at the end. This episode takes just under two hours to complete, an adventure many felt was underwhelming.
Final Fantasy XV hit the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 29. The Season Pass costs $25 and includes both episodes along with the holiday packs and booster packs. It will also include Episode Ignis whenever it becomes available and a multiplayer expansion called “Comrades.” Without the Season Pass, both episodes cost $5 each.
Check out our review of Final Fantasy XV.
