Final Fantasy XV: The Dawn of the Future

Final Fantasy XV was a game and franchise I was never really interested in, but I got the game gifted to me, after which I played it and fell in love with it anyway.

The game itself went through development hell, and changed stories and concepts multiple times so much that the initial trailers have nothing to do with how the actual game turned out. The story therefore, lacks a bit in some places. I do however really love the character work which makes me more easily forgive those.

The game had two rounds of DLC, each consisting of four episodes. Unfortunately, the second round was cut short, and only Episode Ardyn made it. This book contains what they had planned for what they never got to make. (Though it also includes the Ardyn Episode).

As a fan of the game, this was super interesting to read, and it was a joy to see that it really got the character's voices right. As this novel was originally Japanese, it could have been easy to just do a straight translation instead of making it fit the English version and characters of the game.
And I gotta say, getting to read Noctis' thoughts during the final battle is very much a punch in the gut.

As with Episode Ignis, the story here includes an alternative ending.

Another cool thing: concept art! I had to load up the file on a computer to get to really look at it all in color and to read the little notes that the development team wrote. At the end of the book, there's an entire chapter filled with cool art of things they had planned to do or were ideas that they might have done. And then for some reason there's a bunch of designs for placemats and coasters :D

Very recommended if you like the game!