Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin follows in the footsteps of games such as Nioh and Dark Souls, providing a challenge for players willing to take a risk and take on high-powered enemies. However, it appears new DLC content leaves behind players who just want to experience the continuation of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's story.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin offers four difficulty modes: Story, Action, Hard, and Chaos. As the name suggests, the Story difficulty allows players to progress through Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's story with easier enemies to battle. Action acts as the game's normal difficulty, and it's the intended mode for a first playthrough. Hard difficulty presents a challenge for action game veterans as enemies are stronger, and the player takes more damage during combat. The final difficulty in the base game, Chaos, is unlocked after finishing the first playthrough. In addition, Chaos mode features new gear called Artifacts, which prove to be essential for the new DLC.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's Trials of the Dragon King DLC introduces a new difficulty mode called Bahamut, which is even more of a challenging experience than Chaos. The new DLC is only accessible through the Bahamut difficulty since it awards players with currency to challenge the new stages. The Bahamut difficulty also increases the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's max gear level as really high-leveled gear is necessary to take on the Trials of the Dragon King DLC.
Many players on Reddit and social media platforms are frustrated with the requirement to access the Trials of the Dragon King DLC. Since the DLC is locked behind the Bahamut difficulty, story-focused players may not be able to play the new content. Furthermore, experienced players must retread old ground and grind in order to access the new Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin DLC. Square Enix did not specify the requirement in promotional material, leading many to discover it for themselves after purchasing the DLC.
Although the DLC is meant to be a challenge, the difficulty requirement prevents many paying customers from accessing the new content. The situation causes confusion and frustration for players, leading to different expectations for future DLC content. As a result, some players feel that Square Enix only accommodates highly-skilled players with the new DLC.
The situation regarding Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's DLC may be rectified through a future patch. However, it requires the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin community to act together for change. Square Enix should listen to feedback in order to keep its player-base happy while continuing to offer engaging and challenging content.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: GamesRadar+