"manages to turn a previously interesting, but oftentimes one-note villain, into a sympathetic figure". Hirun Cryer from USGamer was less positive, faulting Ardyn's overarching characterisation and saying Episode Ardyn's narrative undermined the work done during the anime tie-in. USGamer enjoyed Ardybn's handling in the DLC as it provides a proper focus to the character, while finding its gameplay more enjoyable than the previous DLC'S, Prompto. Destructoid stated that while Ardyn was kept as a mysterious and interesting villain in Final Fantasy XV, the DLC manages to properly explore his past especially how he destroys the Kingdom of Insomnia and found that his immortality is well translated to gameplay. Eurogamer Italy said Episode Ardyn prioritises fan service at the expense of narrative coherence. Fanbyte called the DLC "How to Build a Bad Guy" based on the development and depth Ardyn receives through this chapter. He was compared to the figure of an Antichrist due to how he was cursed despite being an immortal to the point of calling him "twisted" and noted it made the final fight between him and Noctis easier to understand. HobbyConsolas also enjoyed the crossover from Assassin's Creed involving the usage of Ardyn. Darin De Paul's performance as Ardyn was also praised by RPGFan for properly portraying his suffering in the DLC which was also noted by the site to have emotive scenes for the title character. Digital Spy in general liked Paul's works comparing Ardyn to Samuel Hayden from Doom. References Fictional characters with healing abilities Fictional advisors Fictional murderers Fictional swordfighters in video games Final Fantasy characters Final Fantasy XV King characters in video games Male characters in video games Male video game villains Video game characters who use magic Square Enix protagonists Video game bosses Video game characters introduced in 2016 Video game characters who can teleport ja:ファイナルファンタジーXV#ニフルハイム帝国