If you think of the main cast of Final Fantasy XV as a prototypical boy band, blond gunslinger Prompto fits snuggly into the cute, goofy archetype. He jokes constantly throughout the game, hums tunes in the middle of battle, and never misses a chance to take a selfie. In a lot of ways, he’s the heart of the game, the lovable character who helps round out the rest of the crew. But in “Episode Prompto,” the second major add-on for FFXV, we get to see a different side, a more serious action experience with Prompto at its center. It’s a great chance to jump back into the vibrant world of FFXV — and delve into a brief chapter that feels like nothing else in the rest of the game.
Warning: this review includes light spoilers for Final Fantasy XV and “Episode Prompto.”
“Episode Prompto” takes place during the events of FFXV, when Prompto finds himself thrown from a moving train into a desolate, frozen tundra. Separated from his companions, he trudges through the snow, and eventually comes across an Empire facility that uses a powerful substance known as magitek to create its army of soldiers and monsters. As you’d probably expect, the episode follows Prompto as he attempts to find his way out of the factory, while uncovering various Empire secrets along the way.
Whereas the core of FFXV takes the form of a fantasy role-playing game, “Episode Prompto” feels more like an escape sequence from a blockbuster action movie. Much of this has to do with Prompto’s choice of weaponry. Instead of using swords and magic spells, he has a variety of firearms at his disposal. Initially it both looks and feels strange, almost like you’re not playing a Final Fantasy game at all. But the gunplay fits surprisingly well with FFXV’s combat; it still has the strategy inherent to RPG combat, as you’re chaining together different types of attacks, but with a unique twist that comes from having to aim and fight large waves of enemies. It probably wouldn’t be satisfying enough to prop up an entire game, but it works well enough in this short burst of an experience. The episode also includes perhaps my favorite boss fight in all of FFXV, a tough battle against a cyborg monkey.