Final Fantasy XVI

 PlayStation 5
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8567 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6,528 out of 8567
  2. Mixed: 693 out of 8567
  3. Negative: 1,346 out of 8567
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  1. Talitor
    Jul 18, 2023
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As a huge fan of the series, this entry was yet another letdown. I'll try to go through it as short as possible as pros and cons:

    The pros:
    -Very good graphics, although performance isn't great. I'd recommend going for the 'graphics' mode, since the 'performance' one can't hold a stable framerate to save your life. It's really jarring to look at.
    -Stylish combat, although it does get pretty repetitive by the half-point
    -A lot of "content" (which is also a con, more on the quotation marks on the 'cons')
    -High production value, with decent voice acting. You can tell the game was made with good hardware and talented people.
    -A few memorable boss fights

    The cons:
    -The story. It's actually quite interesting when you look at the setpieces, but the execution simply doesn't hold up. The pacing is very poor, and after fairly surprising first good two hours the story takes a backseat, and all the filler content starts taking place. Also, the game pulls a massive "your princess is in another castle" by capturing the female lead not one, not two, but three freaking times. It got old the second time.

    -The music. I didn't expect to be so disappointed by FF soundtrack, but I honestly cannot remember any tracks of this game, and music was always very important part for me about these games. The music is simply not memorable nor particularly noticable, but rather that epic orchestra which is just backing up the fights and the scenes.

    -The content. There is a lot to be had, with the main story easily taking close to 20 hours. Add another 20 for all the hunts, side-quests and another playthrough with possibly harder difficulties. The issue here is that the content is mostly not interesting. The side-quests are often XIV-style (you know, the MMORPG of the series) styled fetch quests with plots that actually don't provide for interesting stories to tell, but rather VERY generic stuff.

    -The dialogue. This one is probably related to the content as well, but the dialogue is written in a manner where everything has this weird, very slow pace which seems to question the intelligence of the listener. This goes as far as to have some incredibly cheesy, corny lines (which isn't that unusual in the series, but here they went way overboard). The dynamic between characters is like something generated by two robots without any real emotions, other than the biggest emotional parts of the game, which are at least voice acted well.

    -The UI is XIV copy.

    -The fighting. It actually feels like a lot to take in at first when they start introducing new Eikon abilities, but after getting a grasp of it all the battles run exactly the same without any real strategy. Despite being flashy, it feels almost as like a step up from FFXV: you do actually have to put more consideration into your inputs, but it simply isn't too interesting once you actually figure it out.

    -The Eikon battles. Now, I actually enjoyed the parts where you fight the Dominant before they turn into Eikon, but these battles seem to go on forever. You literally "slay" (the game even says so) the same boss 3 times. I get that these are supposed to be the main pull of the game, but surprisingly fighting as your own Eikon is pretty much the same stuff you do as Clive: but simply on a bigger scale. The principle is exactly the same.

    -The antagonist. There are quite a few, but only a single major one. The problem is that none of these have enough impact on your journey to actually make them interesting, and the game has a weird refusal to do unexpected things and kill off characters when they most definitely should have died. The antagonists simply are too weak, and I'm getting massive FFXII vibes here (and they are not good).

    -The leveling/character upgrades. The loot system is absolutely pointless, as you get the good upgrades regardless via gil that you get automatically (of which amount is also greatly inflated), and the upgrades are also extremely minimal (we're talking about a few %, which means like a couple of actual hits in a fight). The abilitiy upgrading is also doing very little to enhance the gameplay or give actual weight to the customisation. It is by far the simplest FF in regards to this.

    -The ending. I mean, it ended pretty much the way you expected from the very beginning of the game, but I was still expecting it to subvert these expectations. It actually ended up being even more simple form of the ending that was very predictable. It's a little bit emotional, but it fails to deliver on those high emotional notes the game is supposed to hit.

    Considering I was very disappointed with XII, XIII, XV and XVI, I feel sad to say this may have been the last time I buy FF title on launch. Call me nostalgic old fool, but the magic, the emotion, the joy and the fantastic atmosphere of the old dames is long gone. I believed the reviews, but after 100%'ing the game, I cannot believe the game has scored as high as it has    … Expand
  2. gun661
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    It's sad to see they actually and purposefully tried to copy Games of Thrones' style. Especially in the case of Final Fantasy... that's even more disheartening than FF16's story itself. So many big games and other works of fiction try to copy that style nowadays. Because of this, it very much isn't a bold shift.

    To me, a "guy from the Europe", Final Fantasy 1-10 were great in offering    It's sad to see they actually and purposefully tried to copy Games of Thrones' style. Especially in the case of Final Fantasy... that's even more disheartening than FF16's story itself. So many big games and other works of fiction try to copy that style nowadays. Because of this, it very much isn't a bold shift.

    To me, a "guy from the Europe", Final Fantasy 1-10 were great in offering another point of view from another culture. Despite coming from the other side of the world, these stories hit close to home and inspired me to trust my friends and believe in kindness. I felt connected despite the cultural differences. "You're not alone", a central message of FF9. Final Fantasy games didn't intrigue me by trying to imitate western narratives about the disconnect and mistrust between people in an attempt to get larger market shares. Final Fantasy games were answers to the question of how to overcome mistrust.

    I don't get why so many think these grimdark stories are "mature" and "based more in reality". It's just as real and mature as pink fluffy unicorns, just the other way round. It's what 12-year boys hitting puberty might think of what "brutal grown-up stuff" is like. "Look at how tough I am, playing such a game." But even grown-up kids seem to buy into these stories full of mistrust, backstabbing, and needless violence. If these stories are deemed mainstream entertainment nowadays and (young) people start to believe that they imply "realism", oh boy, that's the real dark stuff of our societies taking the risk of going completely bonkers.

    I remember playing Doom when I was twelve. Man, I did feel badass. But it wasn't very mature. In contrast, Games of Thrones takes itself way more seriously and is carried by an edgy, cynical, almost neurotic interpretation of human society ruled by sociopaths that never really did grow up. You could argue that yes, that's social criticism, and yes, there are sociopaths running wild in contemporary politics. But that's not really entertaining. Just as the mentality that most other humans are evil, you "have to fight dirty" to "survive" and mistrust every other person, especially your nearest acquaintances, is neither an insightful nor a helpful moral of the story. It just builds upon another rather bleak ideology. Especially in the context of social criticism.

    I had hoped Square Enix would stay true to themselves instead of seeking similarity, reinventing themselves with a fresh and different take and a level of maturity on par with the old Final Fantasies - all way more mature, authentic, and profound than this installment.    … Expand
  3. Daniel_Campbell
    Jun 28, 2023
    4
    I'm super happy that most of the fanbase loves this game...but I honestly can't bring myself to like it.

    I was excited after seeing all of the positive buzz but I am super disappointed in the final product. It's like they have all of the ingredients except for one... Fun. The game is impressive and so many ways except for the gameplay. It could be some of the most bland and uninspired    I'm super happy that most of the fanbase loves this game...but I honestly can't bring myself to like it.

    I was excited after seeing all of the positive buzz but I am super disappointed in the final product. It's like they have all of the ingredients except for one... Fun. The game is impressive and so many ways except for the gameplay. It could be some of the most bland and uninspired trite I've ever encountered in a AAA game. The environments, music, SFX, ect. All that stuff is great... But, the actual game part sucks. Everything cool that happens in a fight is literally handled with a QTE. Like it's 2006 or something. There's entire boss fights that are 90% super long cutscenes with QTEs. I seriously have no idea what game all these reviewers were playing.

    And this is completely glossing over the fact that they give you these "cheat" items at the start of the game that completely trivialize combat. Items that automatically pull off the optimal combos, auto dodge attacks, auto heal you, etc. There's literally no incentive NOT to use them. At the start of the game they've ask you if you're okay with action, or if you'd rather just enjoy the story. Even if you pick "Action" they STILL give you the items. The story started off strong, VERY clearly trying to copy Game of Thrones. Hell, there's even a Dire Wolf that was "found on a journey from the northern region". But after a few hours it turns into Final Fantasy melodramatic drivel. Deaths mean nothing, huge plot holes, confusing character dialogue, etc.

    There are various "eras" of Square history. There's the 2D classics, the early 3D offerings, the "1000 spin-offs" era, and now we appear to be in the "VFX" era. I certainly hope you like sparks, smoke, explosions, and other various VFX. Because you're going to see them EVERYWHERE in combat. To the point where you can barely see what is happening on screen sometimes.

    Overall the game is pretty...but that's all. It's all flash, no substance. A high budget version of a bargain bin action adventure.    … Expand
  4. Ndonnine
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    Just let your girlfriend play and you watch cuz this is just a joke. They spent 6 years making cut scenes and forgot to make the game.

    In reality, you should want to keep turning this game on and playing... But you may never finish it or find the will to turn it on. Lets be frank: this isn't a game. It's a game of thrones ripoff cinematic story with a few action combat scenes that you    Just let your girlfriend play and you watch cuz this is just a joke. They spent 6 years making cut scenes and forgot to make the game.

    In reality, you should want to keep turning this game on and playing... But you may never finish it or find the will to turn it on.

    Lets be frank: this isn't a game. It's a game of thrones ripoff cinematic story with a few action combat scenes that you control.

    There's basically no exploration. You maybe play 1/7th of the actual the game. The rest is cut scenes. Combat is over simplified... So much that it's impossible to die. Weirdly, you can make the game even easier by adding newbie rings... No clue why you would.

    There's so bad arse cut scenes with some big things that you basically hit r1 or square.... And these cut scenes battles take WAY TOO LONG.

    If I have to hit x then hold r2 to open another door I'm going to throw the game in the trash. Any reason a dev does something like this is: they are daft and lack any knowledge of gaming.

    Equipment is stupid- you just buy new crap everytime you go to a town.. no real variety or even a need to update your gear. It's thoughtless. Yes, the graphics are good 90% of the time. Sometimes the character models drop textures - super weird.

    Voice acting is mostly good....    … Expand
  5. Doan
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    The Good:

    1. Graphics - This is also a con, as SE focuses far too much on graphics, while neglecting other aspects of their games 2. Audio - Music, Voice Acting, & Sound Effects 3. Combat* - With the exception of controlling Torgal, which is horribly implemented The Bad (Essentially, everything not mentioned above): 1. Unimmersive - UI clutter and invisible walls everywhere.    The Good:

    1. Graphics - This is also a con, as SE focuses far too much on graphics, while neglecting other aspects of their games
    2. Audio - Music, Voice Acting, & Sound Effects
    3. Combat* - With the exception of controlling Torgal, which is horribly implemented

    The Bad (Essentially, everything not mentioned above):

    1. Unimmersive - UI clutter and invisible walls everywhere. 95% of doors in the game serve no purpose and cannot be used. Windows are constantly popping up which disrupt gameplay, every time a quest is completed, or a new mainline quest starts, or upon level-up, or upon defeating enemies, etc. FF16 feels like any other AAA game: Don't think for yourself to progress the game, simply chase the objective marker around the world until the credits roll.
    2. UI Clutter (Kills immersion) - Quest icons and objective markers are constantly floating around the screen like annoying little bugs. Everything in the game is indicated with brightly-colored and/or animated icons. The Quest Tracker is persistently onscreen with no option to hide it. Damage numbers and enemy health bars cannot be disabled.
    3. Linear - FF16 gives FF13 flashbacks. This is not a good thing.
    4. Quick Time Events - These should be non-interactive cutscenes, so the player can sit back and enjoy the great cinematics, instead of mindlessly mashing whatever button appears on the screen. Nobody likes QTE.
    5. Overly-simplistic Equipment System
    6. Motion Blur - Cannot be disabled
    7. Visually-noisy Combat - During combat, so many obnoxious visual effects are occurring, which makes it difficult to see what is happening. This makes it difficult to focus on the correct enemy and time attacks/dodges
    8. Poor Performance - FPS frequently drops, resulting in noticeable stutters and choppy gameplay
    9. Lame Sidequests (Kills immersion): Side quests require zero thought, as you simply chase objective markers until the quest is complete.
    10. No sense of exploration or discovery - Everything is thrown in your face, as if your are a moron (Kills immersion): Side quests are marked on the map and with floating icons onscreen, items in the environment are large, brightly-lit, & animated, coffers are marked with an icon which can be seen through walls, etc.
    11. Combat - Most of the combat is fun and engaging. The one terribly-implemented combat aspect is controlling Torgal. To control Torgal, you must swap between two different onscreen menus: One for using healing items, and one for issuing commands to Torgal. This is just dumb. You should not have to choose between either using healing items _or_ controlling your AI companion. Torgal should act completely autonomously. If anything, Torgal should have cooldowns which are occasionally activated by the player, but Siccing, Ravaging, and Healing should be fully automated. The accessory which does make Torgal behave this way should not exist, as this is how Torgal should behave by default.
    12. Slow Menus - Menus are animated, so it takes an unnecessarily long time to open, close, and navigate between menus
    13. Lame Eikon Fights - Eikon battles look good, but there is zero challenge to them. They should have just been cutscenes the player could sit back and just enjoy watching.    … Expand
  6. X-File
    Jun 29, 2023
    4
    Is this even a FF game? Pretty much nonexistent gear and item system. Combat is screwy, two ability slots to use for all those skills. Yes, you can "queue up" four more and rotate through them, still screwy. Fights are short and easy. The story is so linear, you might as well be walking down a hallway. No chocobo music while riding! They have crossed the line here. What game is this?
  7. BMBender
    Aug 4, 2023
    4
    Somehow, SqE made action combat more boring than endless cut scenes ( of which there is a mind numbing amount) If you think game of thrones was the hight of creative endeavor and are willing to sit through it again with name changes you may like the story. IM kinda waiting for a news report of Martin and/or HBO suing SqE over this. Prob 5 or more hrs of dialog is literally lifted wordSomehow, SqE made action combat more boring than endless cut scenes ( of which there is a mind numbing amount) If you think game of thrones was the hight of creative endeavor and are willing to sit through it again with name changes you may like the story. IM kinda waiting for a news report of Martin and/or HBO suing SqE over this. Prob 5 or more hrs of dialog is literally lifted word for word.

    Production value is obviously high, however polishing a turd is still a polished turd.

    There is no rpg
    There is no adventure There is no exploration There is no FF Protip: pop Got into your DVD, grab a PS controller, every 5/10 minutes randomly mash square and L1 for a couple minutes. You have now "played" FF16 and saved yourself $70    … Expand
  8. Adgalo
    Aug 15, 2023
    4
    I don't get where dows all this praise come. Graphic wise, it doesn't look bad, but its nothing to write home about, and performance is a problem. If it looks just ok, renders at just 1440p, I should expect 60fps, and it barely maintains 30...

    Voice acting is ok, but lipsync is really bad and the characters look really stiff and cheap animated during conversations. The soundtrack contains    I don't get where dows all this praise come. Graphic wise, it doesn't look bad, but its nothing to write home about, and performance is a problem. If it looks just ok, renders at just 1440p, I should expect 60fps, and it barely maintains 30...

    Voice acting is ok, but lipsync is really bad and the characters look really stiff and cheap animated during conversations. The soundtrack contains some good compositions, and some important bosses have their own epic track. Problem is, for every other moment of the game, a generic song is used, without any kind of dynamic adaptation, and a lot of times, the music doesn't fit what is happening...

    Story is mediocre. There are a lot of characters, and when you start the game many of them look like may be important, but all of them end their participation in the game without any real development or weight in the narrative (there's just a couple of exceptions, and even then, they are not that well developed).

    Gameplay... See, I don't mind change and experimentation with combat, and this one starts being funny and looking espectacular. This doesn't last long, as you end up smashing attack button and spamming the Eikon abilities. You can dodge and block enemy attacks, which adds a little bit of flavor, but combat ends up being terribly repetitive. Eikon combats look espectacular... and that's it.

    Sidequests are an absolute chore. Fetch this and combat that ad nauseam, without any kind of real narrative involved. Some of the latter one contain more story and throw some light over some characters, but they look and feel cheap nevertheless.

    A half assed game, that starts strong and quickly becomes boring... Everything in it screams mediocrity.    … Expand
  9. NihylBaxter
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    Oh boy am I disappointed in this game. Except from the boss fights everything is shallow, too easy, pointless, boring, unfinished and repetitive. This really seals it for me, Final Fantasy is officially dead to me. It’s a shame I paid so much money for this and I would rather watch a let’s play and skip the boring parts! I mean I played a main dungeon drunk and with one hand an one eye andOh boy am I disappointed in this game. Except from the boss fights everything is shallow, too easy, pointless, boring, unfinished and repetitive. This really seals it for me, Final Fantasy is officially dead to me. It’s a shame I paid so much money for this and I would rather watch a let’s play and skip the boring parts! I mean I played a main dungeon drunk and with one hand an one eye and was able to do it. Even the praised combat system is just way too simple and easy. The side quests are a joke ( fight 3 normal enemies for what you take max. 5 mins and get materials you have +50 of it already with which you can’t do anything because you already have everything. There is no flow because you have to stop all the time and everything is slow and needs extra steps to confirm or whatever. I have so many complaints about little things which makes this game just a chore to play for me. Fuxk this game seriously. At the end you are just pressing forward walking through areas where exploration is pointless because you will just find potions and materials you already have enough of to another cutscene to then fight pointless, easy enemies till you arrive at a bossfight which at the end is just an interactive cutscene. This was false marketing and I’m literally mad right now that I bought this crap.… Expand
  10. SimonExMachina
    Jul 7, 2023
    4
    Please watch SkillUps review. The guy is on point. This game is 70-75% non interactive cutscenes, the rest is an outdated, brainless action game. No RPG mechanics, no chalange, no freedom or player agency. Game is very linear and even when there's an open area there's absolutely no reason to explore. Mission and level design are as basic & repetitive as it gets. Combat is flashy but soPlease watch SkillUps review. The guy is on point. This game is 70-75% non interactive cutscenes, the rest is an outdated, brainless action game. No RPG mechanics, no chalange, no freedom or player agency. Game is very linear and even when there's an open area there's absolutely no reason to explore. Mission and level design are as basic & repetitive as it gets. Combat is flashy but so easy there is no depth or strategy to it.

    Story was ment to be a dark fantasy tale inspired by Game of Thrones but it's juvenile, cheesy anime shlock. Just because there's violence, sex and profanity doesn't make it mature. It's a childs idea of what an adoult story is. Ther's no depth on nuance here, just over the top stupidity.

    To top it all of the performace is framerate mode is horrible - the game never hits a stable 60fps and runs at a low resolution with extreme motion blure to hide it.    … Expand
  11. T4l0n
    Aug 31, 2023
    4
    This game is such a step backward for the series: there's no exploration, there's no airship, there's close to no rpg mechanics, NO MANA, ...

    Say what you want about FF15, yes it was unfinished and rushed but it took risks and had a great vision about the future of the series, FF16 is is an average action game masquerade as a Final Fantasy.
  12. WithFieryTruth
    Sep 11, 2023
    4
    I tried to post an in-depth review for this game, but the coding on the Metacritic website is as bad as always and gives me a 403 error whenever I try to post it. I guess I'll make a shorter one and hope it's accepted.

    The story, characters and soundtrack are all great, but the combat system is one of the worst I've ever had to endure throughout my life as a gamer, mainly for one    I tried to post an in-depth review for this game, but the coding on the Metacritic website is as bad as always and gives me a 403 error whenever I try to post it. I guess I'll make a shorter one and hope it's accepted.

    The story, characters and soundtrack are all great, but the combat system is one of the worst I've ever had to endure throughout my life as a gamer, mainly for one reason: enemy HP.
    Basically, every enemy in the game has a ridiculous overabundance of health, especially the bosses. It doesn't really add to the challenge of the game; it's just there to artificially prolong it.
    The situation is so bad that the button mashing that is required makes my hand physically hurt to the point where I deliberately have to take breaks from playing just to recover from the pain. This is the first game I've played since Track & Field on the NES where this has happened, and that should say something about how awful it is.

    Do yourself a favor and just watch a Let's Play of Final Fantasy XVI instead of playing it yourself.    … Expand
  13. Anthor
    Jun 27, 2023
    4
    Un mal rendimiento puede convertir una obra de arte en una puta mierda injugable. Y este ha sido el caso de Final Fantasy XVI. Un título con un diseño espectacular y un combate demoledor destrozado por su propio rendimiento atroz. No sólo viene con una resolución mediocre para los tiempos que corren sino también con un frame drop infumable. Su modo rendimiento es tan malo y está tan malUn mal rendimiento puede convertir una obra de arte en una puta mierda injugable. Y este ha sido el caso de Final Fantasy XVI. Un título con un diseño espectacular y un combate demoledor destrozado por su propio rendimiento atroz. No sólo viene con una resolución mediocre para los tiempos que corren sino también con un frame drop infumable. Su modo rendimiento es tan malo y está tan mal optimizado que lo hacen intragable. Las caídas de la tasa son inaceptables y el motor no sabe mantener ni de broma los 60fps estables que debería. No hay por donde cogerlo. Es una mierda de build la del lanzamiento. Viendo a obras maestras como Forbidden West o el Ragnarok, mucho más complejos que este, visualmente superiores y con un rendimiento excelente en PS5, demuestran que aquí Square Enix no ha estado al nivel de la consola ni mucho menos. No ha dado la talla.

    Final Fantasy XVI es basura como programa y no está en condiciones de ser vendido. Quien niegue esto es directamente un necio, como medios comprados e incompetentes regalando 9s y 10s a diestro y siniestro. O no tienen ojos en la cara o no saben ni de lo que cojones hablan. Y hay que decirlo bien alto para que se enteren tras explotarles en la frente: El rendimiento es el 50% de una obra y la build de lanzamiento de Final Fantasy XVI es inaceptable por ello. Ahora que Square Enix se ponga a trabajar en serio para arreglarlo que buena falta le hace. Es lo que deben hacer y rápido. No sea que ya no tenga salvación por tardar demasiado.    … Expand
  14. Belafonte
    Jul 17, 2023
    4
    Be aware that this is a straightforward action game with no RPG elements. The game is not great overall. There are fantastic boss fights with seamless feeling between real game and cinematics. But between these fights, the game is so boring unfortunately. horrible sidequests, no customization...Story is better than previous FF but it still far from the maturity of Games of thrones or gamesBe aware that this is a straightforward action game with no RPG elements. The game is not great overall. There are fantastic boss fights with seamless feeling between real game and cinematics. But between these fights, the game is so boring unfortunately. horrible sidequests, no customization...Story is better than previous FF but it still far from the maturity of Games of thrones or games like witcher or last of us.… Expand
  15. Taitaloscriba
    Jun 27, 2023
    4
    This isn't final fantasy. This is Devil May Fantasy. Total disappointment. It has now become an action game where you don't need a strategy but just press random keys.
  16. fearthemost
    Jun 23, 2023
    4
    The combat system is the worst part of this game. they removed many elements from previous games that made Final Fantasy a good game. After 5 hours of playing I was already bored with this battle system. All you do in this game is attack, dodge and make combos. There is no strategy. An important point for me in any Final Fantasy title is the spell system and here there is no relevanceThe combat system is the worst part of this game. they removed many elements from previous games that made Final Fantasy a good game. After 5 hours of playing I was already bored with this battle system. All you do in this game is attack, dodge and make combos. There is no strategy. An important point for me in any Final Fantasy title is the spell system and here there is no relevance to spells at all, they are just ranged attacks. There is no white magics, no support magics, no controllable party, most items are absent. The combat is boring and tedious.
    The map exploration is limited and the locations are not connected. The sidequests are all boring. I like the story and music.    … Expand
  17. Erickqe
    Jun 27, 2023
    4
    Tiene muchas misiones que se sienten como si fueran secundarias, los graficos no son tan tan buenos para que tenga caidas de framesen el gameplay y el gameplay es bueno las primeras 2 horas depsues se siente q con solo tocar botones se pasa todo el juego,
  18. BloodAndWine
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    For being such a story heavy game (half the playtime is cutscenes) it has severe pacing issues. For every hour of interesting story, there is another hour of padding of what feels like bad fetch quests that were rolled into the main quest.

    The combat can be fun at first, but by the end I was ready for the game to end as it became stale and repetitive. Diesn't help that the game is very    For being such a story heavy game (half the playtime is cutscenes) it has severe pacing issues. For every hour of interesting story, there is another hour of padding of what feels like bad fetch quests that were rolled into the main quest.

    The combat can be fun at first, but by the end I was ready for the game to end as it became stale and repetitive. Diesn't help that the game is very easy. Since you only play as one character, there is no real variety. RPG mechanics feel entirely tacked on. Gear is boring. Loot dropped by fights is mostly irrelevant and exists solely to fill up your inventory.

    The game is very linear. It's level design goes from hallways to "open" fields, but the open areas have nothing in them. There is nothing interesting to find via exploration. Areas exist merely to be scenic. Too much time is spent going from one bland, muddy town to another.

    Most of the cast is quite bland and uniteresting with the exception of Cid. Overall character designs are lacking and visually boring. Interaction between the cast feels thin. The game seems heavily inspired by Game of Thrones except only superficially so. In trying to present itself as "mature" it ends up coming across incredibly forced and contrived (often corny but not in a fun way), and the attempt at being grounded plays against the strengths of the series.

    The music is very good.

    Overall, i didn't like it. Really disappointed. Game doesn't have much to it. It has some cool fantasy scenes, but it's bogged down by fetch quests, paint-by-numbers political intrigue and bigotry plotlines, too many mundane settings, repetitive combat, filler cutscenes, an empty world devoid of exploration and cool gear, a gloomy cast of characters with generic designs and dull personalities, and no real parties end up making the game a lonely and derivative experience.

    Also, the way sprinting works is dumb, motion blur is excessive, and the inability to turn off the auto-follow camera is annoying. Luckily the later two will be patched. And people giving the game a bad score doesn't mean you can write off their criticism as "review bombing". Sometimes people don't like things. No one ever fusses about the hordes of mindless 10/10 reviews.    … Expand
  19. Camzillasmom
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    I played each Final Fantasy game since the early 90ties and enjoyed FF15. After playing Final Fantasy 16 for more than 8 hours, I have to say that I am concerned and disappointed about how superficial the series will become if it continues on this path.

    The story is okay, the graphics beautiful and the fights can be complex but else than that, it plays and feels more like a visual novel    I played each Final Fantasy game since the early 90ties and enjoyed FF15. After playing Final Fantasy 16 for more than 8 hours, I have to say that I am concerned and disappointed about how superficial the series will become if it continues on this path.

    The story is okay, the graphics beautiful and the fights can be complex but else than that, it plays and feels more like a visual novel with hack and slash elements then a complex Final Fantasy game that I have gotten used to from the past.
    The Side Quests are the shallowest I have completed in any FF game consisting of go fetch, find, fight, take back with no interesting twists or well hidden items. For me, just not enough effort by the developers...
    Clive's encouraging sentences towards his companions during fights is limited to 3. So after hearing "Get them boy" or "You know what to do, boy" various times in a fight with tons of encounters that I have to fight through... - I just want to turn off the sound all together.
    The corridor-like areas feel empty, dead and there is not much to discover. The shops only sell 3 potions, so they reduced the content overall.
    Outside towns it's even worse - sometimes you have to go through an area various times to do the Side Quests and hearing Clive say, after you've passed the vinyard area at least 3 times before: "This must be the vineyard" is just ridiculous!
    We all know, the Final Fantasy series can produce visual masterpieces, but I would have liked to see a better future of Final Fantasy in FF16 - one that has - apart from a gripping story - life with interesting Side Quests and a surprising, complex world.

    While FF15 was bursting with side activities like fishing, cooking and chocobo races - which were not mandatory and could totally be avoided by pure action lovers - at least it was those activities that put life into the game. FF16 contains only 3 "activities" which alternate and mix up until the end of the game interrupted by Cut-scenes: Walking - Hack'n'Slash - Shopping. This may be enough for others but certainly not for me and it really doesn't deserve a higher rating than FF15.    … Expand
  20. check2wice
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    I hate that holding hand tutorials and way too much cutscenes. This doesn't feel like a final Fantasy
  21. luiznark
    Jul 19, 2023
    4
    Gráficos muito bons, porém perfomance fraca. Tem muita queda de FPS, achei a jogabilidade travada. Tem uma história que é boa mas tem muita cena, em que gera a impressão que você mais assiste do que joga. Além disso, jogo muito fácil, os inimigos são vencidos com muita facilidade.
  22. DutchPotato
    Jul 14, 2023
    4
    Would maybe be interested in slogging through the painfully dull story if the combat wasn't also equally uniteresting to due to how painfully easy the game is. After Yoshi P bragged about how the game was finished months ago and wouldn't need a day one patch you would think the games performance would be able to atleast hold a somewhat consistant 60fps in what is supposed to be a fastWould maybe be interested in slogging through the painfully dull story if the combat wasn't also equally uniteresting to due to how painfully easy the game is. After Yoshi P bragged about how the game was finished months ago and wouldn't need a day one patch you would think the games performance would be able to atleast hold a somewhat consistant 60fps in what is supposed to be a fast paced action game but I guess that's simply expecting too much from this team. Probably the only good thing about the game are it's visuals and the games impressive boss fights. The sheer spectacle of these fights combined with an outstanding soundtrack make these fights feel truly epic, they're also some of the few fights in the game that don't immediately melt to mindlessly spamming your abilities and actually seem fairly well balanced for the games mechanics, unlike regular and "elite" enemies which make up the majority of the games combat. Unfortunately they're too few and far and simply aren't worth putting up with the meandering busy work the game puts in between them.… Expand
  23. KojimaWhisperer
    Jul 26, 2023
    4
    Wow i was very hyped of this because i thought yoshida is the god of final fantasy. But XVI is bad, even XV and FF13 is now better in my eyes. Where is the RPG in this Game everything feels fake.
  24. Suter
    Jul 6, 2023
    4
    I'm 12 hours into this game, and I am immensely bored. While this game is absolutely stunning graphically, the characters, plot, and setting is immensely underwhelming, generic, and forgettable. Why does the main character have to be royalty? This was already done in FFXV and now we have it again? There is absolutely NOTHING relatable or truly likeable about any of the characters.I'm 12 hours into this game, and I am immensely bored. While this game is absolutely stunning graphically, the characters, plot, and setting is immensely underwhelming, generic, and forgettable. Why does the main character have to be royalty? This was already done in FFXV and now we have it again? There is absolutely NOTHING relatable or truly likeable about any of the characters. ChatGPT could easily create a better storeyline with charismatic characters and much more interesting elaborate backstories. The plot is thin, and oftentimes I just don't see the point to any of it. Playing FFXVI feels like a chore. This very well may be the worst FF game I've ever played.… Expand
  25. Voltaire1776
    Jun 23, 2023
    4
    Final Fantasy 15 was better, and that's saying something because 15 wasn't good.
  26. newjks
    Jun 27, 2023
    4
    FF13 - you have 1 town, still have some RPG element
    FF15 - you have 2 towns, RPG elements start fading
    FF16 - you don't have any RPG elements, no city to explore, cities are the dungeons, towns are laughable with almost no interior.
    Is a better ff than 13, 15 though

    Where did the development funds go?
  27. Joruto88
    Aug 4, 2023
    4
    The game is very boring, the side quests(bring 3 meals to people, fetch something) are primitive. The fights are simple, bring down the posture, unleash special attacks and repeat. Defeating some random wolfs and crabs takes about as much effort and time as defeating a Dominant with demigod lke powers. The maps are narrow corridors connecting battle arenas with 5 enemies. The cutscenesThe game is very boring, the side quests(bring 3 meals to people, fetch something) are primitive. The fights are simple, bring down the posture, unleash special attacks and repeat. Defeating some random wolfs and crabs takes about as much effort and time as defeating a Dominant with demigod lke powers. The maps are narrow corridors connecting battle arenas with 5 enemies. The cutscenes after boss battles are interrupted wit victory screens. There is no exploration, loot is useless.… Expand
  28. Valgarv
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. HISTORIA:
    Antes de que saliera el juego ya se comentaba que la historia es muy "Juego de tronos" y realmente en lo único que se parece a GOT es a su última temporada.
    El arranque de la historia da a entender que hay muchas subtramas, con muchos personajes involucrados, con un contenido más profundo, maduro hasta que el juego avanza lo suficiente para dejar de lado toda esa idea del principio y pasar a algo mucho más simple, infantil, alargado superficialmente y sin carisma.
    El juego tiene un problema serio con sus personajes y el protagonista no se salva en absoluto. Clive es un personaje soporífero, sin carisma, sin personalidad y que no logra empatizar para nada. Los personajes "secundaríos" carecen totalmente de importancia, de carisma, son personajes sin personalidad con nulo trasfondo ( incluso Cid ).
    La narrativa tampoco ayuda nada, donde quieren contarte la historia utilizando mediante cinemáticas y si quieres profundizar algo más tienes que leerte el códice y esto es una chapuza, una falta de tacto a la hora de querer contar su lore.

    GRAFICOS:
    En este apartado hay que comentar el mal rendimiento que presenta el juego en ambas modalidades, con bajadas importantes de FPS y una falta total de configuración donde puedas quitar ese blur abusivo insoportable.
    El juego tiene unas cinemáticas muy épicas, con combates muy vistosos llenos de efectos y en ese sentido está muy logrado.
    Artísticamente me ha parecido feo y sin personalidad, es como si hubieran usado assets de otros juegos del estilo y los hubieran pegado en el mapa.
    Las texturas son correctas, nada sobresaliente, con un uso abusivo de blur para tapar errores y marear al jugador y con una iluminación/sombras muy pobres.
    Hay poca variedad en los rostros y muchos personajes se parecen demasiado. Los expresiones faciales fuera de las cinemáticas son pésimas y propias de un juego de hace 10 años.

    JUGABILIDAD:
    Una de las características básicas de la saga Final Fantasy es que su núcleo pertenece al género JRPG/RPG ya sea por turnos, por gambits, action, táctico, etc.
    FF16 se presenta como un Final Fantasy Action-RPG y es una mentira como una casa. Mucha gente pretende llamar a esto "evolución" cuando en realidad es que no han tenido ningún pudor en eliminar la esencia, el núcleo, el género propio de su saga a cambio de ser más comercial ( que no es lo mismo que evolucionar ), demostrando el poco amor propio y el poco respeto que tienen por lo suyo.
    Este juego ya NO es un jrpg, ahora es un hack&slash, un bloockbuster e incluso un beat 'em up muy cinematográfico con un sistema de batalla sencillo y sin nada de profundad, sin debilidades, elementos, atributos, estrategia donde usas fuego contra fuego y hace lo mismo que si usaras viento, aquellos elementos propios de un jrpg/rpg y que ahora ya no tiene.
    La progresión del personaje ( pues solo podemos manejar a uno ) es tan insulsa e insignificante como el combate, con 3 chorradas que puedes comprar o mejorar a base de lo mismo ( ataque, defensa ) donde carece de importancia.
    Las misiones secundarias son puro relleno, misiones de recadero propias de los MMO. El mundo está vacío, sin nada oculto por encontrar ( independientemente de que sea lineal o no ), no hay exploración y los items que puedes recoger te los ponen enfrente de la cara.

    SONIDO:
    Final Fantasy siempre destaca en este apartado y en este FF16 también pero no tanto como en otras entregas. Sinceramente el ost no es tan memorable como en anteriores FF.

    En conclusión, he perdido la poca confianza que me quedaba con Square Enix. Que tiempos cuando era la marca referente para jugar un jrpg/rpg de calidad.    … Expand
  29. fuerstrainier
    Jun 29, 2023
    4
    Looking at these positive ratings here I am really surprised. I played around ten hours now and think I will abandon the game entirely, although I love the franchise, even the latest entries. This "game" is in my mind not only not an RPG but not a game at all in my mind. I am not sure why I as a player am here for. The game constantly interrupt me after a single button click.
    The world has    Looking at these positive ratings here I am really surprised. I played around ten hours now and think I will abandon the game entirely, although I love the franchise, even the latest entries. This "game" is in my mind not only not an RPG but not a game at all in my mind. I am not sure why I as a player am here for. The game constantly interrupt me after a single button click.
    The world has nothing in it to explore, which is a slap in the face after coming from Elden Ring. The combat system is rudimentary at best and the leveling system is none existing.
    I really wanted to like this game, but after I fell asleep while playing, this entry in my beloved franchise clearly doesn'value my time enough to go on.    … Expand
  30. BloodstarvedB
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    I played all FF and over 400d playtime in ff14. This ff16 is an overall dissapointment to me. FF single player saga died after ff10. In 16 theres way to many cutscenes
    Boring loot
    Boring weapon visuals and upgrades of gear Areas look nice but feel empty Fighting at first feels like wow, but after 1hour of levelling up, you level up for nothing. Theres little nice skills and no magic to put    I played all FF and over 400d playtime in ff14. This ff16 is an overall dissapointment to me. FF single player saga died after ff10. In 16 theres way to many cutscenes
    Boring loot
    Boring weapon visuals and upgrades of gear
    Areas look nice but feel empty
    Fighting at first feels like wow, but after 1hour of levelling up, you level up for nothing. Theres little nice skills and no magic to put skill points into. Only into your summons
    You also dont have a party, only 1 main char that is also Boring AF.
    Theres no thunder3, fire3, firage, no holy, no ultima, no meteor or poison, no flare, no nothing. Only a few summons wich each 4 skills. Yet again, 79euro waisted.    … Expand
  31. YewishJetti
    Jul 13, 2023
    4
    This casts aside decades of an open world RPG based title for a character action game with linear game progression. If your expecting a game that keeps you engaged and looking for secret side content this will leave you disappointed. The cinematic interruptions constantly disengages you from the game play, and the linear fights remove any hint of exploration.
  32. Kitoalarco
    Jun 28, 2023
    4
    Algunos críticos deben jugar otro juego, pues para nada es perfecto y para nada de 10...juego poco creativo, repetitivo.
  33. Dannymarz
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    I’m not happy with the performance mode. Story is pretty bland too. Wish they’d stick with turn based style combat.
  34. jessystonil
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    Eh it's alright, but I can't help but think a lot of critics are afraid to criticize Yoshida and FF, we saw this same mentality with people not being truthful about the shortcomings in FFXIV. They tried to sell it to us as the greatest MMO of all time, above all the competition when in reality it literally just used WoW as a model and just did everything half assed and had one of the mostEh it's alright, but I can't help but think a lot of critics are afraid to criticize Yoshida and FF, we saw this same mentality with people not being truthful about the shortcomings in FFXIV. They tried to sell it to us as the greatest MMO of all time, above all the competition when in reality it literally just used WoW as a model and just did everything half assed and had one of the most basic overworlds that doesn't even inspire you to want to go explore in MMO history. And also some of the poorest class diversity and combat, with the latest expansion being a glorified cutscene simulator with terrible tailing quest. We're seeing the same handholding with this game. Why do we baby Japanese developers especially square? Why do we give them a pass for outdated mechanics, weak dialogue while we pick apart EVERYTHING in western games, even when said western games are pushing their respective genres forward. Western reviewers need to stop coddling Japanese devs and be straight with them. I know the gaming industry has an infatuation with Japan. But that does not mean everything they put out must be worshipped like it's the second coming. They won't improve if you keep praising even the crappy aspects of their games.

    Another thing Square in particular needs to get better at, and this was a problem with XIV as well. Stop utilizing other peoples cultures from India to the Middle East whilst not actually portraying those people. Everyone always jumps down western developers throat over representation or appropriation, yet here Square is constantly utilizing non-western nation's cultures whilst portraying the people of said cultures all eurocentric. This same thing happened in the Endwalker expansion in XIV where they took influence from India in one of their zones, but they had everyone looking like they walked out of Sweden. Give Japanese developers the same energy you give western devs when they do this.    … Expand
  35. Bleudl
    Aug 3, 2023
    4
    I've played a lot of rpgs and other games in my life and after finishing this game 3 weeks after release, I can say that this entry was just bad. It was way too easy. The world traversal is bland. It's a brainless combat system. I did enjoy ifrit vs titan. But that's about it. Beginning of the story was good. Then it falls flat later. Overall, the game was developed with laziness thatI've played a lot of rpgs and other games in my life and after finishing this game 3 weeks after release, I can say that this entry was just bad. It was way too easy. The world traversal is bland. It's a brainless combat system. I did enjoy ifrit vs titan. But that's about it. Beginning of the story was good. Then it falls flat later. Overall, the game was developed with laziness that focused on beautifying the world but not much about gameplay mechanics in combat or outside combat. They could've gotten elements from GoW with it's traversal and hidden gems. Don't believe in posts from when the games just released. Smh… Expand
  36. Conmanus
    Aug 30, 2023
    4
    So disappointing. This game is very boring. I actually find my mind wandering while playing the game. The world feels pointless and dead. The gameplay is far too easy and braindead with no way to up the difficulty. The 'performance' mode runs like crap- literally looks/feels like a 30fps game. Quests are simply npc's saying "go see ___", walk 30 steps, press x to talk to npc, walk back toSo disappointing. This game is very boring. I actually find my mind wandering while playing the game. The world feels pointless and dead. The gameplay is far too easy and braindead with no way to up the difficulty. The 'performance' mode runs like crap- literally looks/feels like a 30fps game. Quests are simply npc's saying "go see ___", walk 30 steps, press x to talk to npc, walk back to first npc. Everything about the way this game plays is paint-by-numbers and goes beyond boring into the realm of irritating.

    I'm usually into narrative-driven, cinematic games, and since that's what people kept saying was this game's strength, I spent the $95 CAD... I feel ripped off. This game proves to me that a big cinematic story doesn't save, or even help, when the gameplay and tech aspects are this boring/bad. Even the demo section made the game seem like it had some promise because they obviously put more time into polishing it- but soon after you pass that section you'll notice things like character models, cinematics, and sidequests drop off dramatically in quality. This feels like a game an indie studio would make in 2015, but with plagarized high-budget cinematics spliced in every 30 seconds to pad it out.

    I wouldn't like this game if it had been made by a small team of indie devs, but the fact that Sqaure Enix and CBUIII made this with the budget they had does make me hate it a little more. This is because they have no excuse for how lazy this game feels. i feel like the writers of the game really tried to do their job, but everyone else on the dev/publisher teams just couldn't care less. Square Enix sucks, and I should have known better. Why would I pay $95 to a company whose last release was Forspoken!? Because I thought CBUIII had some integrity.

    The people giving this 10's are either devs who worked on it or their family and friends. No one could play this for more than 6 hours and not be bored to tears.    … Expand
  37. iBallz
    Aug 22, 2023
    4
    I am very big fan of the Final Fantasy Franchise and I usually love the storytelling of the games and always strong visual effects in sequences.

    But since I startet this game on stream, me and the community got bored very quickly by the massive amount and lenght of the cutscenes. The side missions rarely add anything to the story and feel like extra dialogue and cutscene material,    I am very big fan of the Final Fantasy Franchise and I usually love the storytelling of the games and always strong visual effects in sequences.

    But since I startet this game on stream, me and the community got bored very quickly by the massive amount and lenght of the cutscenes.

    The side missions rarely add anything to the story and feel like extra dialogue and cutscene material, only to prolong the game.

    The good things are the great graphics, the at least decent story and gameplay fells fresh.

    But at the end of the day it feels like watching a movie with interactive options from time to time.    … Expand
  38. Melle1000
    Jun 27, 2023
    4
    Story is okay. Graphic and performance are not great but not gamebreaking. But this gameplay loop is so boring i fall asleep playing this game after Work. What happens to the great roundbased fighting system???
  39. vigilanteOito8
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    Como fã e jogador de FF desde os ps1, eu fiquei muito decepcionado com esse rumo que a franquia tomou. O 13 e 15 são jogos fracos. Esse 16 tem uma gameplay muito, muito simples. só apertar quadrado, depois cenas.
    Desempenho horrivel.
    Square Enix já era, vai ser vendida nos proximos anos.
    Patetico.
    Vou dar um 4 pela historia.
  40. Brimborium
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    Metacritic, one of the last popular websites where users can somewhat freely share their rating of a game. And yes, here you can still find honest reviews, not like the "brutal honest reviews" of social influencers hyping the game on youtube or the "professional reviews" in which the lines between journalism and PR have long been crossed. Just read some of the critical reviews giving FinalMetacritic, one of the last popular websites where users can somewhat freely share their rating of a game. And yes, here you can still find honest reviews, not like the "brutal honest reviews" of social influencers hyping the game on youtube or the "professional reviews" in which the lines between journalism and PR have long been crossed. Just read some of the critical reviews giving Final Fantasy 16 a low rating here on Metacritic - at least the ones with a few written paragraphs.

    Thankfully, people can still voice their discontent here. It's a small thing without much significance. Just a reality check that "you're not alone", there are still people that see through all the marketing, social influencing, and PR stunts, see the game for what it is.

    But nope, can't have that. PR took over the internet almost entirely. Only some hours later then, PR-defences rolled up, social influencers and "gaming websites" claimed FF16 had been "review bombed" by "haters" and "trolls", standing at 6.8. Users wouldn't share the unanimous glorification of FF16, another "GOTY contender" just like the several dozen hyped games preceding FF16 in 2023. Twitter-crusaders were invited to launch a counterattack in the name of justice, resulting in 10/10-reviews containing one-liners, made by new accounts with no single other review, hyping the last non-glorious score up again.

    Review of Final Fantasy 16: Many other reviews with a low rating perfectly sum up my impressions with the game, stating reasons that are comprehensible and transparent. So I confine myself to a summary: Disregarding the epic cutscenes, all of the core Final Fantasy elements are gone, completely lost, what remains is just smoke and mirrors. They tried to make FF16's story similar to "popular" stories like that of Games of Thrones, aren't even trying to cover it up. Considering gameplay, it's a competent but generic action game without any substance that tries to cater to people who "grew up with FPS and GTA games", as the producers openly stated in an interview, as if people didn't play any other games. Like, you know, if people want to play an action game they could just play a game series that is known for its good action, like Devil May Cry. If people want something similar to Game of Thrones, there's a million other copycats out there. Ironically, with Baldur's Gate 3 they went the opposite direction, made a turn-based copycat out of a great real-time game that you could pause.    … Expand
  41. Cenofgravy
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    While it’s not the final fantasy I grew up on in the slightest bit. It is definitely the style final fantasy should run with if they choose to not ever make a turn based Final Fantasy again, the story, characters, THE MUSIC! THE BOSS FIGHTS!!! easily in my top 3 of final fantasy games ever
    .
  42. Zacks17
    Jul 1, 2023
    4
    "Hell is paved with good intentions".
    This game trying so hard to do good things, but none of them are memorable.
    You'll play once, and never launch it again.
    That is sad, because now we compare the FF games with titles like "Ys" or "Tales of", and historically, there were light years away.
  43. pablolrferreira
    Aug 10, 2023
    4
    The game has incredible graphics, but the mechanics are shallow and poor for a Final Fantasy game. Some battles are longer than necessary and make the game repetitive. The world of this Final Fantasy is beautiful, however, it’s so empty. So, I regret buying it.
  44. chevychiller
    Jul 24, 2023
    4
    Final Fantasy 16's greatest strength is its visuals, but it relies on them so heavily that it usually feels more like a movie, than a video game. FF16 is chock full of unnecessarily-long, constant cutscenes which break your engagement. The "gameplay" loop is 30 minutes of dialogue/fetch quests, followed by 15 minutes of action battles, and a choreographed boss fight (which also includesFinal Fantasy 16's greatest strength is its visuals, but it relies on them so heavily that it usually feels more like a movie, than a video game. FF16 is chock full of unnecessarily-long, constant cutscenes which break your engagement. The "gameplay" loop is 30 minutes of dialogue/fetch quests, followed by 15 minutes of action battles, and a choreographed boss fight (which also includes cutscenes throughout its climax). What RPG elements are present feel shallow and meaningless. There are very few customization options for equipment, or character builds. This game would have been better off as a spinoff, not a main series title.… Expand
  45. IMO_
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    4 might be generous. Poor performance on fps mode makes game hard to see because it’s so choppy. Boring exploration and combat. Empty world, nothing interesting to find and no reason to explore. Enemies are sponges, battles are way too long for no reason. I found myself running away from encounters because they are so boring. The side quests are so bad not sure why they even bothered. This4 might be generous. Poor performance on fps mode makes game hard to see because it’s so choppy. Boring exploration and combat. Empty world, nothing interesting to find and no reason to explore. Enemies are sponges, battles are way too long for no reason. I found myself running away from encounters because they are so boring. The side quests are so bad not sure why they even bothered. This game make 15 look like a absolute ff masterpiece. So disappointing they didn’t stick with FF7 remake combat system. I’m not a turn based fan but this is not engaging action combat. I wish I could get my money back and I’m mad at myself for supporting this new direction for FF.… Expand
  46. DraegenBreath
    Jun 27, 2023
    4
    Final Fantasy XVI is a decent action combat game with minimal RPG elements, a linear progression, but really good graphics. The graphics cause me to get dizzy when I play though and so unfortunately is not for me. If you like Devil May Cry or God of War you will probably like this game. If you only like the classic turn based Final Fantasy games, this probably isn’t the game for you.
  47. Alucaste
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    战斗过于单调，且没有特别好的魔法技能。 帧率过低，加上动态模糊，简直没办法顺利游玩。玩了1小时眼睛已经很累了。这不是PS5性能该有的效果。我很怀疑SE的技术能力，或者游戏是否测试过，卖500多块的游戏，竟然做成这样，人物的脸膜僵硬。说话除了满屏幕的光污染看不到其他优点。真想退款。希望SE能够认真对待，尽快解决这些问题。装备系统和分支任务也是问题太多。战斗过于单调，且没有特别好的魔法技能。 帧率过低，加上动态模糊，简直没办法顺利游玩。玩了1小时眼睛已经很累了。这不是PS5性能该有的效果。我很怀疑SE的技术能力，或者游戏是否测试过，卖500多块的游戏，竟然做成这样，人物的脸膜僵硬。说话除了满屏幕的光污染看不到其他优点。真想退款。希望SE能够认真对待，尽快解决这些问题。装备系统和分支任务也是问题太多。
  48. tchouprine
    Sep 3, 2023
    4
    A good game marred by a terrible optimization. Decided to give a fair two months for devs to come up with some good fixes, only to be utterly disappointed by the complete lack of any. And it's not even multiplatform, come on!
    UPD 03.09.23 – still stutters, don't believe the hype (if there's any)
  49. Syrax2022
    Jul 1, 2023
    4
    It's like an unfinished game. Long and boring and can't skip the boring scenes, you can only wait and input some stupid QTE and continue waiting.
  50. RPG_Fanatic
    Jul 19, 2023
    4
    Excuse my English,played for 42 hours and stopped.
    I have been a fan of FF since the first one and i am sad to see what the FF RPG has become over the years.This new game is more button mashing than RPG,in which there is no strategy.The game play is ridiculously easy and has little RPG,sub quests ridiculous.I will never forgive the developers for turning the RPG FINAL FANTASY into Hack    Excuse my English,played for 42 hours and stopped.
    I have been a fan of FF since the first one and i am sad to see what the FF RPG has become over the years.This new game is more button mashing than RPG,in which there is no strategy.The game play is ridiculously easy and has little RPG,sub quests ridiculous.I will never forgive the developers for turning the RPG FINAL FANTASY into Hack 'n' Slash generic game.
    Although sad and disappointed with this 16.it at least has good music and story.
    : (    … Expand
  51. Outzz
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    This is the last stage of the degradation of the FF game series. Apart from a good storyline, there's nothing left. Now it's an interactive movie for casual players, not a numbered part of the Final fantasy game series.
  52. hyperreality-
    Sep 7, 2023
    4
    The game is just a massive slog. There's like a handful of good moments, and the remaining 50 hours is just painfully boring. the side quests are trash, the story derails into nonsensical jrpg tropes mixed with a below average shonen, the side characters are neglected (especially jill), the villains are uninteresting and extremely annoying, Clive gets no development after the 10 hour mark,The game is just a massive slog. There's like a handful of good moments, and the remaining 50 hours is just painfully boring. the side quests are trash, the story derails into nonsensical jrpg tropes mixed with a below average shonen, the side characters are neglected (especially jill), the villains are uninteresting and extremely annoying, Clive gets no development after the 10 hour mark, exploration is nonexistent, combat is too easy even on FF mode, RPG systems are pathetic and tacked on, etc.

    Worst FF to me. the 4 points come from the crystalline dominion section of the game, and shiva and odin's eikon abilities.    … Expand
  53. Tjr0741
    Jun 23, 2023
    4
    Not Final Fantasy. Definitely not a JRPG it feels like more of a mix between a hack n slash and adventure game. If you're a huge Final Fantasy fan like me, you probably won't like this. Had it been named something else, I'd have probably rated it a 6 or 7, the fact that it doesn't play like a final fantasy or feel very much like one causes it to lose points. Other than that it's just an OKNot Final Fantasy. Definitely not a JRPG it feels like more of a mix between a hack n slash and adventure game. If you're a huge Final Fantasy fan like me, you probably won't like this. Had it been named something else, I'd have probably rated it a 6 or 7, the fact that it doesn't play like a final fantasy or feel very much like one causes it to lose points. Other than that it's just an OK game. The story and music are good, but besides that the side quests are boring, the PS5 performance is terrible and constant stutters and fps drops are distracting in frame rate mode while in graphics mode the ghosting is almost unbearable, it's very linear, fighting system is OK but requires very little strategy or talent, there is very little character customization, no party system, I could go on, but thats the important stuff. Basically it's hard to even call this an RPG. I'm probably about halfway through and I'm not really enjoying it.… Expand
  54. EchoSPG
    Jun 23, 2023
    4
    I've read some people saying to judge this game for what it is and not what it isn't. Well what it is is a Final Fantasy game that is missing a lot of stuff I enjoy about Final Fantasy, so there you go.

    I can only wonder what FF17 is going to be like if this is a hit. Will we be calling in air strikes and attack dogs? Maybe shooting hookers? I really think I'd rather be playing FF13    I've read some people saying to judge this game for what it is and not what it isn't. Well what it is is a Final Fantasy game that is missing a lot of stuff I enjoy about Final Fantasy, so there you go.

    I can only wonder what FF17 is going to be like if this is a hit. Will we be calling in air strikes and attack dogs? Maybe shooting hookers?

    I really think I'd rather be playing FF13 than this, and that's a thought I'd have believed to be impossible to have up until now. What a waste.    … Expand
  55. JoeChip85
    Jun 23, 2023
    4
    This is no Final Fantasy ... but rather a Devil May Cry? Cheap GOT copy? Mostly mediocre action game...
    I don't even know where to start. Let it be said, I am a huge Final Fantasy fan and have played them all. My favorite video game series. So it almost hurts to give a warning for this game.
    At least, if you're expecting a Final Fantasy. Sure, the series has evolved, and I'm not expecting    This is no Final Fantasy ... but rather a Devil May Cry? Cheap GOT copy? Mostly mediocre action game...
    I don't even know where to start. Let it be said, I am a huge Final Fantasy fan and have played them all. My favorite video game series. So it almost hurts to give a warning for this game.
    At least, if you're expecting a Final Fantasy. Sure, the series has evolved, and I'm not expecting a turn-based battle system or who knows how many other traditional things of the series here. But what is served up here is simply disappointing.
    I would just like to point out some of the biggest criticisms.
    - Graphics not worthy of a PS5. The performance mode can't even hold the 60 FPS. There are always beautiful sceneries, but overall character models very often look wooden, faces mask-like, and the environments poor in detail, gray and boring
    - they tried GOT but its just boring, confusing
    - battles are unbalanced. Exp is worthless. Sometimes easy enemies of from an 2 minute fight give more exp than a Boss fight. Leveling is useless.
    - No humor anymore, what Final Fantasy has always been about
    - the world is for the most part simply inspired by the Middle Ages. No more own newly created fantasy worlds like in the other parts. No effort has been made here. You constantly walk through some ugly castles, it's just sad. Many cities look the same, just gray and dreary. - In the game there is just fighting, and the opponents endure so much, so that such a fight just lasts a quarter of an hour. "Bullet Sponge" is what they call it in shooters. Then comes another eternal sequence and you can run around for five minutes. Fighting, watching eternally long sequences. No tactics are necessary, just stamina because the enemies have no end of life force. Just press the buttons, dodge boss enemies sometimes. Sometimes you get the feeling that they wanted to use the Souls series, which is in no way successful.
    - I personally couldn't sympathize with any of the protagonists.
    - German synchronization seems inappropriate. Lips out of sync and sometimes the character's mouth doesn't move at all when someone speaks. I don't expect this in a multimillion dollar game from Square Enix called Final Fantasy.
    - the game "moves" funny. It all kind of reminds me more of a Double A game. A lot of it seems unpolished. You can also see the origins of the developer who made the Final Fantasy 14 online role-playing game.

    On the positive side, I can say that the story is sometimes interesting, and you want to know more. Also, some of the staging seems cool, though at the same time completely over-the-top and silly and more reminiscent of a monster beat em up game.

    The short version of the conclusion is that it is simply an action game, without having anything to do with a role-playing game or Final Fantasy. If you just want fat action and bombast, you might be satisfied, but then often annoyed by the sometimes simply eternal cutscenes, which are also kind of boring.    … Expand
  56. XVIDreamKiller
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    Utterly disappointing performance and visual quality. Constant fps drops below 45 fps. And 720p during combat tf? we didn't see 720p until the end of ps4 era with games like Hogwarts legacy, cyberpunk etc. Hard to believe that critics are giving this game a 8 or 9. I don't think it's a hardware issue since this is not even an open world game, other games like HFW have better visual qualityUtterly disappointing performance and visual quality. Constant fps drops below 45 fps. And 720p during combat tf? we didn't see 720p until the end of ps4 era with games like Hogwarts legacy, cyberpunk etc. Hard to believe that critics are giving this game a 8 or 9. I don't think it's a hardware issue since this is not even an open world game, other games like HFW have better visual quality and also run at better fps. This game is just poorly optimised for the playstation 5. The graphics mode is also unplayable due to the terrible motion blur. 4/10 until they improve performance.… Expand
  57. carnivalchariot
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    Painfully mediocre, the Eikon battles are cool and the first half of the game has an interesting story, but then it just completely falls off with the introduction of the final villain.
  58. omnislack
    Jul 23, 2023
    4
    Everything this game does, other games just do better.
    The fans being happy with this kind of mediocrity is the reason why FF will not reach the heights of the likes TLoU, GoW, RDR, or Soulsborne.
  59. Kogaxoan
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    While the game looks nice, and it's wonderful to see the series return to its fantasy roots with less emphasis on sci-fi or modern settings, it came so close to being something outstanding. The hack and slash style of game play just isn't Final Fantasy for a lot of fans who have been playing the series for decades. I understand that the series has been shifting more and more in thatWhile the game looks nice, and it's wonderful to see the series return to its fantasy roots with less emphasis on sci-fi or modern settings, it came so close to being something outstanding. The hack and slash style of game play just isn't Final Fantasy for a lot of fans who have been playing the series for decades. I understand that the series has been shifting more and more in that direction as of recent titles and its just a shame to see something that was so special to me change into a generic action game in a market overstuffed with them.… Expand
  60. Lopjop
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    Not exactly what I was expecting. Very linear, mobs simple, gear meh, crafting system... nothing really there. Abilities meh no depth really. No party system.. this is my biggest gripe I loved having my party members in the past games. I enjoyed the story and the MC but the game just kinda left me feeling Meh..
  61. eather1082
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    I played the game till the end. 45 hours.
    I think this game tried to incorporate the best parts of other games and movies and it didn't all work.
    There are some interesting parts. But it is by no means a masterpiece.
    You can't count on 0 or 10 points for reviews. If you have played the game to the end, you will know that a score of 4 to 6 is about right.
  62. LunaAzzurro
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    Do you like tutorial messages? Cause if you don't, you're gonna have a bad time.
    I'm about 3hrs into the game and I'm still getting messages telling me how to do things or what something does. These aren't your optional kind of popups, they pause the game and take over your screen automatically every time. Fighting a boss with a new mechanic, well let's just explain how to do that    Do you like tutorial messages? Cause if you don't, you're gonna have a bad time.
    I'm about 3hrs into the game and I'm still getting messages telling me how to do things or what something does. These aren't your optional kind of popups, they pause the game and take over your screen automatically every time. Fighting a boss with a new mechanic, well let's just explain how to do that mechanic even though you've done a similar one before...but this ones a different button.

    The button mashing isn't all that bad in my opinion, but the abilities leave a lot to be desired. From what I've seen they have 1-2 tiers aside from not learned. I can't imagine there's more since they always say "MASTERED" at what I assume to be the final level of the ability. It does have a variety of things to learn as you go through the game though, gaining more to learn as you get through the story.

    I enjoy story based games with a lot of cinematic stuff for me to watch, but many people don't want this and I can see why others are upset about it. I do enjoy the cinematics but even I have to say they probably should have eased up on them and given more gameplay.

    I saw someone else compare the levels to FF XIII's hallway levels, and I don't disagree. Though these feel worse. At least in XIII there were small pathways that made it more maze-like. This just has big obstacles that you go around.

    The FPS is terrible. I have the game set to prioritize framerate and it still feels like it's running around 30-40FPS most of the time. I have the game running from the internal SSD in the Ps5, there is no reason this game should not be running at the very least 60FPS almost constantly. Instead, I have the complete opposite.

    I like the story a lot when it's not being interrupted by tutorials, but it doesn't entirely feel like an FF series game. At the same time that's not a bad thing, it's much more adult themed and less kid friendly.

    If this game was released as another title without all of the FF theme's we're used to it would have been a flop. The only reason I want to even finish it is my love for the series and the hope I'm clinging to that it will improve and the tutorials will eventually stop.    … Expand
  63. Zangetsu08
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    As a long time final fantasy fan I am disappointed in what the franchise has become the last true final fantasy was X I have played all entries. As for 16 I would say strangers of paradise is more of a final fantasy then this game spells are limited almost non existent the gear pool is very limited and the game is ridiculously. The graphics are stunning I give you that its just a shameAs a long time final fantasy fan I am disappointed in what the franchise has become the last true final fantasy was X I have played all entries. As for 16 I would say strangers of paradise is more of a final fantasy then this game spells are limited almost non existent the gear pool is very limited and the game is ridiculously. The graphics are stunning I give you that its just a shame the world feels empty

    At lot of reviews I'm seeing are giving this game a 10/10 I can only believe they are reviewing this game as standalone new tile and not what Final fantasy truly was.

    Please for the love of God go back to your old roots and they type of game your fans truly loved here's hoping that the rumors are true regarding the remakes of 9 and 10 if this what main line final fantasy games will remain then unfortunately I'm going to have to walk away from the greatest game series of all time    … Expand
  64. DSterling
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    Decent game, doesn’t feel like a Final Fantasy main game. More a spin off of some sort. It has the original FF troupes with Chocobos, moogles, Summons but the combat system feels like a they struggles to match previous troupes from FF and are forcing them into the game. Side questing is lacklustre and unenjoyable, levelling up/grinding doesn’t feel rewarding, gearing and equipment feelsDecent game, doesn’t feel like a Final Fantasy main game. More a spin off of some sort. It has the original FF troupes with Chocobos, moogles, Summons but the combat system feels like a they struggles to match previous troupes from FF and are forcing them into the game. Side questing is lacklustre and unenjoyable, levelling up/grinding doesn’t feel rewarding, gearing and equipment feels forced. Doesnt feel like it has any replayablity. Just feel like the charm and love that went into the old games is gone and this is a game to bring fans into the series by flashing great graphics. Main character feels like a squall clone. Very linear game play. You tricks you into thinking it’s open world but it isn’t at all. Decent game but because it has the FF tag it’s disappointing. Feel like it’s time to stop think Square will come through this time and just let it die.… Expand
  65. Lightning_Tail
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    O Jogo tem uma história razoável, o gameplay é legal, porém 02 coisas que são um problema,

    1° Game totalmente linear, você não consegue explorar e farmar 2° Você só pode jogar com o Clive, tem qie ter uma variedade de personagens pra se jogar, para poder variar na gameplay, fica extremamente massante jogar apenas com 01 personagem Esses dois pontos em questão, tem um peso muito grande    O Jogo tem uma história razoável, o gameplay é legal, porém 02 coisas que são um problema,

    1° Game totalmente linear, você não consegue explorar e farmar

    2° Você só pode jogar com o Clive, tem qie ter uma variedade de personagens pra se jogar, para poder variar na gameplay, fica extremamente massante jogar apenas com 01 personagem

    Esses dois pontos em questão, tem um peso muito grande pra mim, em resumo ele não é o pior FF (esse trofeu fica com o XV) mas torna ele um jogo decepcionante, eu sinceramente esperava muito mais, pra mim ele é um game medíocre.    … Expand
  66. Amarysso
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    "A great opportunity wasted".
    I start from the most obvious problem of this new chapter: the combat mode. I stopped enjoying the brand particularly since it moved to action-type gameplay, but even if you want to postpone this, the fact that you can only mesh one key to finish the game says a lot about the care reserved for this new chapter. The skill corollary is very poor and very little    "A great opportunity wasted".
    I start from the most obvious problem of this new chapter: the combat mode. I stopped enjoying the brand particularly since it moved to action-type gameplay, but even if you want to postpone this, the fact that you can only mesh one key to finish the game says a lot about the care reserved for this new chapter. The skill corollary is very poor and very little customizable, making the experience quite tedious and repetitive.
    Although this is a game, unfortunately there is very little enjoyment of this aspect. FFXVI is a beautiful feature film with wonderful visual effects and excellent music, but which lacks real moments of pure gameplay, weak in the lack of RPG elements that made the franchise unique. The party system does not exist and the only character you have a minimum of control over is the protagonist, making the various secondary characters mere puppets of presence.
    Grinding and side missions are useless, you can easily follow the main quest alone to get to the ending without too much difficulty.
    We go back to the origins with the lore based on crystals in a medieval world, but it is not enough to save a botched and disappointing plot, from many points of view. The villains are empty and without any real purpose and the secondary characters are only fit to the small portion of the story they experience first hand, making them immediately forgettable.
    The pace of the game starts fast and pressing, and then disappears behind very long corridors that lead nowhere, endless and unskippable cinematics where nothing is added to the plot and where not even the last game elements that are presented (such as bounties) can save the game from its bitter and disappointing ending.
    Overall, only the environmental lore (which however is rendered useless in its final explanation) and the music are saved. I wish I could say the storyline is a strong point, but sadly that's not the case. It could have been much more, but instead...    … Expand
  67. Vaillant_
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    Final Fantasy sans une once de RPG.. Un gameplay redondant... Des quête secondaire sans saveur.. Mais pour qui s'adresse ce jeu ? Une licence de RPG qui se tourne de ses fans de la première heure. Une orientation action et scoring mais sans la profondeur ni la difficulté d'un God of War, Devil May Cry ou d'un Bayonetta. Une belle maturité dans l'histoire et les dialogues et des mises enFinal Fantasy sans une once de RPG.. Un gameplay redondant... Des quête secondaire sans saveur.. Mais pour qui s'adresse ce jeu ? Une licence de RPG qui se tourne de ses fans de la première heure. Une orientation action et scoring mais sans la profondeur ni la difficulté d'un God of War, Devil May Cry ou d'un Bayonetta. Une belle maturité dans l'histoire et les dialogues et des mises en scène digne des meilleurs production (heureusement pour un AAA d'un des plus gros Studio) Mais un level design et un game design remplis de faille et même parfois d'une pauvreté affligeante pour un jeu d'une t elle licence.… Expand
  68. Jimmyspleen50
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    At first game was cool combat felt fast and responsive, story was good but then I got to tittan. Garuda was an amazing fight but titan I wouldn’t force that fight on anyone. Getting up to this point I was already getting really bored of the game wishing I could just watch it like a movie but I bought so I’ll finish it… nope titan fight was so bad and long I’m done with this game and peopleAt first game was cool combat felt fast and responsive, story was good but then I got to tittan. Garuda was an amazing fight but titan I wouldn’t force that fight on anyone. Getting up to this point I was already getting really bored of the game wishing I could just watch it like a movie but I bought so I’ll finish it… nope titan fight was so bad and long I’m done with this game and people should stop to realize all the flaws instead of giving it a 10/10… Expand
  69. darrell1991
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As for someone who played FF games since the late 90s until FF15, this doesn’t feel like a final fantasy at all. You cannot summon any eikons or aeons/espers. Instead, you just channel their powers. I fell in love with summoning these helpers/summons before but it’s suddenly gone in FF16.

    The battle is dull and quite boring. It’s mostly smashing square and triangle most of the time.

    It’s really lacking any RPG and FF elements that we, long time FF fans, used to have before.

    Maybe I won’t finish this game. And until Square Enix goes back to its FF roots, I won’t be buying FF17.    … Expand
  70. coic
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Adjustment on the 10hr review: Final Fantasy 16 is badly written. That Bahamut fight was a ridiculous and stupid reminded of power rangers but at least power rangers knew their audience. I gave yoship and his team the benefit of the doubt with endwalker due to their concentration on this game but holy **** man respect the legacy of the game. Bad. Really bad.… Expand
  71. Blkmoblin
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    I really wanted to like this game and it had a strong start but only after about 10 hours of gameplay it became the most bland and basic game I've played this year. The hype surrounding this game baffles me. There's nothing unique or especially great about literally anything in this game. The combat is just smashing square and using abilities on cooldown. Super repetitive and requires noI really wanted to like this game and it had a strong start but only after about 10 hours of gameplay it became the most bland and basic game I've played this year. The hype surrounding this game baffles me. There's nothing unique or especially great about literally anything in this game. The combat is just smashing square and using abilities on cooldown. Super repetitive and requires no real strategy. Crafting is completely pointless as you can hardly ever craft new things. You don't have to farm any resources for crafting either because you always have 10x more than you need any time you can craft weapons or gear. Exploration is pointless as well. There are no collectables to find and every area generally looks the same. Side quests are all fetch quests and the only thing you get most of the time is more crafting materials that you don't need for doing them. The main story is just ok, but the comparisons I've heard to Game Of Thrones and Witcher are inaccurate. The voice acting is great and the graphics are decent but unfortunately that's not enough to carry this game, especially at $75 price point. This feels like an early PS4 game. I think the ppl giving this 9s and 10s are just huge FF fans. So if you're not, I would skip this title as it is extremely weak imo. I am about 20hrs in and I am planning on returning it to GameStop.… Expand
  72. LucasCaelum
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    This game is horrible and I am regret to preorder this. It is horrible in the sense as follows:-
    1) the battle is horrible wrong and boring. FF is always surrounded by magic element but in ff16 the element doesn't matter. There is no different from fire, ice, thunder. Everything is just a small colourful ball. All you need to do is just dodge and spam like crazy waiting the monster to    This game is horrible and I am regret to preorder this. It is horrible in the sense as follows:-
    1) the battle is horrible wrong and boring. FF is always surrounded by magic element but in ff16 the element doesn't matter. There is no different from fire, ice, thunder. Everything is just a small colourful ball. All you need to do is just dodge and spam like crazy waiting the monster to staggered and repeat till the end of this game.NO STRATEGY INVOLVED AT ALL!!
    2) The most disappointing part to me is the limit break. What this **** of limit break in this FF16?? Seriously? a glowing fire sword??? which deal small amount of damage??! where is the omnislash, lionheart, etc limit break??.
    3) Lastly, zero customisation of equipment. Just choose the higher number and spam dodge till the end.
    4 marks!! A product that like a lazy kid passup his homework on deadline with full of errors and copy the eork from others without looking at the subject.    … Expand
  73. Sardon
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    4/10 for Beautiful visuals (best I've ever seen), Decent story, good voice/acting, and good music. I was SOO excited during the first couple of hours, then my disappointment started rising while continually wondering "it'll get better soon!", but it never did.

    Other than that, there really is no "game" here. It's like a really long movie where you need to pick up the controller and mash    4/10 for Beautiful visuals (best I've ever seen), Decent story, good voice/acting, and good music. I was SOO excited during the first couple of hours, then my disappointment started rising while continually wondering "it'll get better soon!", but it never did.

    Other than that, there really is no "game" here. It's like a really long movie where you need to pick up the controller and mash buttons once in a while, then put it back down.
    You walk through a tunnel with NO exploration, no choice in gear, no use for any of the crafting stuff you pick up, no use for money, no variety in combat.. It's like an infant's book that you read where you push buttons once in a while to make funny animal sounds to add interaction. Won't deny that the book/story is interesting, but I'd really like an actual game to play in there.    … Expand
  74. Silverstu
    Jun 26, 2023
    4
    Graphics A++
    Story A++
    43yrs old, played every single Ff game… No party play F
    Not being able to summon F
    Battle system hack and slash F
    I know FF13 gets a lot of heat but best battle system I’ve ever seen. Just amazing Wish they would utilize FF4 characters or something along that story line.
    Yes you can change eikons but class- F
  75. Crispytok
    Jun 28, 2023
    4
    Disappointing Final Fantasy game.

    Barely a rpg, no party, no customization, no exploration, really boring bare bones combat.
  76. Victoron
    Jun 27, 2023
    4
    Lo he jugado en play 5 y solo tengan cuidado de meterle mucho vicio, al menos te avisa cuando se calienta, fuera de eso está muy genial, hace tiempo era para que Square Enix se ponga las pilas con la saga, ojalá que logré la notoriedad suficiente para que le den el cariño que se merece la saga, y aliente a que se hagan Remakes de los títulos olvidados como el 5 y el 6, sin nada más queLo he jugado en play 5 y solo tengan cuidado de meterle mucho vicio, al menos te avisa cuando se calienta, fuera de eso está muy genial, hace tiempo era para que Square Enix se ponga las pilas con la saga, ojalá que logré la notoriedad suficiente para que le den el cariño que se merece la saga, y aliente a que se hagan Remakes de los títulos olvidados como el 5 y el 6, sin nada más que agregar estoy muy contento con esta entrega, por favor Square Enix, mucho cuidado con tus decisiones.… Expand
  77. shrodin
    Jun 27, 2023
    4
    There are a number of fundamental issues with this game that detract from the role-playing elements, sense of adventure and exploration, and emotional investment. During my playthrough I did not feel compelled to explore the world as there is nothing meaningful in it (and with the game telling you exactly where to go at all times, you don't need to explore). I began to skip side questsThere are a number of fundamental issues with this game that detract from the role-playing elements, sense of adventure and exploration, and emotional investment. During my playthrough I did not feel compelled to explore the world as there is nothing meaningful in it (and with the game telling you exactly where to go at all times, you don't need to explore). I began to skip side quests altogether as they did not add anything to the experience (no exciting treasure to find, no interesting character development, etc.). And combat was trivialized after reaching a certain point very early in the game.

    There is some fun to be had with the boss encounters and some of the story bits. There is political intrigue, plots and subplots, and grittiness, but these are all fairly shallow and don't quite scratch the itch like FFT or GOT.

    Extremely disappointing overall: 4/10

    Breakdown of pros/cons below.

    Main Issues:
    1. Quest Design & System:
    The quest design and system removes the need to explore the world to find interesting interactions or characters. All designed content will be apparent through the infamous ( ! ) covering your map with who to talk to and where to go to complete it. This includes the main story. When you go to a new town or a new zone, you can simply B-line to the objective without fear of missing out.

    The side quests add nothing to the game. These are your normal kill monsters, collect herbs, deliver to NPCs, talk to NPCs, etc. style of quests.

    2. Items & Treasure:
    Treasure boils down to gil, crafting mats, potions/high potions, accessories, and occasionally music. Crafting mats are given very freely so there is never a need to go hunt the world for rare materials nor are they exciting to receive. At any given point in the story, you're only going to be able to choose to craft or upgrade one item in each slot: weapon, bracer, belt. You will not be constrained by limited materials or gil in this regard or have to choose between multiple options.

    3. Difficulty:
    FF16 starts off with a nice level of challenge. Most likely due to the controls being new and only having a small number of abilities to use. Once you unlock three Eikons, however, the game's difficulty drops significantly. With 3 Eikons equaling 6 abilities total, you're generally able to cycle the abilities non-stop. Non-boss fights become trivial.

    4. RPG Elements:
    They are there, but very shallow. Character "builds" boil down to choosing 3 Eikons from a pool of 8. Items do not add any diversity. Weapons and armor simply add attack or defense/life. Accessories come in a couple varieties: decrease a specific Eikon ability cooldown, increase a specific Eikon ability damage, or miscellaneous (xp%, gil%, damage%).

    5. Final Fantasy Charm
    This is a weird one to elaborate on, but there's just something missing. Yes, the game has all the FF tropes like moogles, marbols, coeurls, etc, but they all feel lifeless. The game is very much one note: serious. Final Fantasy usually does a great job of walking the fine line between humor/wackiness and a deeply emotional story. This game completely falls on its side.

    What FF16 has going for it:
    1. Bosses
    Boss fights are the highlight of the game for sure. Some of the encounters were some of the most exciting in all of the FF series. I wouldn't have minded if the game was 100% boss rush with no other small encounters between.

    2. Artstyle/Music
    The graphics, artstyle, and music are what you would expect from the FF series. Definitely a cut above the rest.

    3. Characters
    There are some genuinely interesting character arcs throughout the story. Not all characters quite land, but the main players are what kept me engaged enough to finish.

    4. Story
    The story is great, but has its pacing issues. There are a lot of ups and a lot of spots that drag on and on.

    5. Combat
    Dodge and parry combat is always satisfying (just wish it presented more challenge)    … Expand
  78. noexist
    Jun 27, 2023
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Let's start with the good parts:
    The OST is phenomenal, I'll be buying it because of how good it is. One of the best music in FF series. The battles are also interesting change. There's also many of interesting characters but..

    and here're the worse parts
    while the characters are interesting, most of the fate of the characters is ...not good. So anyone who plays games for the characters and the story having a happy end, should double check if they want to play it.
    The story don't have a lot of twist. It's all pretty much straightforward and predictable from start to finish. I'll be more surprised with characters living than them dying every minute. It came to this point that a moment that was supposed to be emotional made me immune and numb to it. I felt nothing because of how many deaths Yoshi-P decided to include in this game. I stopped caring about the characters fate

    The ending ..is not done in a good way. It's sad that they took ideas from FFXV for the ending and by this I mean, how bad it is.

    There's a weird blur in the game that can make you dizzy sometimes. I played with the "graphics" setting, so I don't know if it only exist in this setting. When monsters (most of the time the flying ones) are far away from you, it looks like they're moving in 15 FPS.
    In one scene it was very obvious the FPS dropped below 30 FPS

    I don't think I'll be interested in FF17 if the atmosphere is going to be similir to FF16. I play games to uplifting me but this game sadly did the opposite. I'm a long time FF fan, so this saddens me to be honest
    It's not a bad game per se and if someone loves games like this, they're going to love it    … Expand
  79. Larpion
    Jun 28, 2023
    4
    The game is more cutcene than game
    When it relinquishes control to the player it is for 1-2 hours tops before another lengthy set of cutscenes are played. With really unfun and unengaging bossfights with ifrit that are boring and unengaging with damage sponges for enemies
  80. gin003
    Jun 28, 2023
    4
    I have never been more disappointed in a final fantasy game. Maybe that is why they have given free demo, they know it will hook people because the start of the game is really good. Whole game is 80% watching cut scenes and 20% playing the actual game. Can we really call it an ARPG when most of the time we are just watching cutscenes?!? LOL

    Battle System 4/10: it's ok and fun at start    I have never been more disappointed in a final fantasy game. Maybe that is why they have given free demo, they know it will hook people because the start of the game is really good. Whole game is 80% watching cut scenes and 20% playing the actual game. Can we really call it an ARPG when most of the time we are just watching cutscenes?!? LOL

    Battle System 4/10: it's ok and fun at start then gets really boring after some time. We just mash skill button once on cooldown and keep pressing evade and surely we will win. Where is the mana limitation when using skills? Where is the summons in battle? Ff7 remake battle system is much more fun than this. i thought they are going to make battle more interesting since they approach an ARPG style but hey, i am mostly watching cut scenes anyway LMAO.

    MSQ: 10/10 is actually pretty good.
    Side quests: 4/10 are fetch quest and killing mobs. i thought it is gonna be more innovative than that. Some side quests are actually good if it involves story characters though. i love the mini bosses scattered in map though they are really easy to kill because HEY!!!! Im just spamming all my skills, even the S tier mobs is not challenging. Plus we dont need to waste our time on fetching side npc boooooooring quests!!! Didn't you learn from the FF7 remake problems, its a copy cat of this.

    Mixed feelings with this game. it makes you excited in the main story then makes you sad and bored while doing some other things. Gets Repetitive after 20 hrs and feels like you're doing the same stuff. Tells you there are new things learned but not really. i can tell why some old players are really disappointed in this game. it is because they didn't get to play the game they love in a final fantasy game (no complex battle system approach, reall no summons in battle !?!?! at least make some skill limitations with judt having mana or add new mechanics after x amount of combos you can perform a special move) this is a wash up devil may cry approach.    … Expand
  81. tcastle
    Jun 30, 2023
    4
    I’ve “played” about 10 hours. I say “played” because 7-8 of those hours have been never ending cut scenes and dialogue. Intensely boring.
  82. phlow
    Jul 1, 2023
    4
    TL;DR: Your enjoyment of the game heavily depends on the question whether or not you like the battle system. If you don't like and you are only interested in the story, than skip this game and watch a "game movie" on youtube. Nonetheless I would wait for a sale, 40€ sounds about right for this.

    Fair warning ahead, I do not like the more action oriented approach of FF16, initially it was    TL;DR: Your enjoyment of the game heavily depends on the question whether or not you like the battle system. If you don't like and you are only interested in the story, than skip this game and watch a "game movie" on youtube. Nonetheless I would wait for a sale, 40€ sounds about right for this.

    Fair warning ahead, I do not like the more action oriented approach of FF16, initially it was quite fun but the more I played I found it less and less satisfying. To their credit, there are certain items you can equip which make it some aspects of the battle system easier (combos / evasion) but they can also turn the game into a quasi auto battler. The main reason I finished the game is the story and because I payed 80€ for it.

    Much has been said about the story and the world. Yes, it is darker and grittier than usual and it starts out good, but later on it feels stretched and a bit bloated. The story is linear and your choices do not affect the world. The ending of the game is ... well ... the first thing I did was to type "ff16 ending" into google to find out if there is more. It is not, which is quite disappointing. The game continues a trend in which you spend dozens of hours in a game, a world and characters and once the main objective is achieved the game just end. No need to show how your actions influenced the world and characters in it. There is a small after credits scene but that does not replace a proper epilogue, especially not this one (you could interpret the scene in a way, that the entire story is just a fictional story in the world of Valisthea).

    The side quests are mostly your usual kill and / or fetch quests. There are some really good side quests, which tell an interesting story. Some reminded me of the character quests from Mass Effect 2, but unlike in Mass Effect 2, they do not affect the story in any way.

    The voice acting is a hit and miss. Overall it's ok, there is no outstanding good performance (but there are outstandingly bad ones for some minor side characters). In general the voice acting feels a bit flat, and some casting choices are questionable. The performance of the main cast is mostly ok. One thing I feel, I have to point out is the game is completely voiced until it is not. In the Hub areas, you can go to characters and talk to them. Some of them have some dialogue options and those are not voiced, even if the character is voiced otherwise. You get a wall of text and sometimes the character says the first words of a sentence. This is not a bug, this is intentionally and I don't understand why they did. It is nothing major but I find it strange and it kills the immersion.

    The graphics are good, I played in "graphics" mode because I am ok with the 30 frames (60 would be nice, but stable 30 are ok). Framerate is mostly stable with some drops here and there. The depth of field and motion blur is a bit much and leads to some artifacts like ghosting and some issues with the depth of field around the hair, which is most notable during close-ups. During battles there are a lot of particles effects, to much if you ask me. There are so many that is it hard sometimes to distinguish what is actually happening, e.g. aerial blast creates a huge particle effect and you are unable to see what is happening inside, which is bad, because some enemies are not lifted in the air and can still attack you and the effect persists for a ~20s or so.

    Regarding the level design, I actually like the smaller scale level design. Yes sometimes it is very linear but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I am tired of those huge but empty and overbearing Ubisoft Open-Worlds. On the other side, the levels are quite small and they still do feel empty and not alive. The hubs are actually quite nice.

    For me the game has zero replayability, but for those who enjoyed the battle system, there is a New Game+ and the arcade mode.    … Expand
  83. AkariTim
    Jul 4, 2023
    4
    FFXVI really frontloaded some awesome moments to hook players, but in the end, it ended up delivering a half-hearted action game that feels like a blatant rip off of Game of Thrones and Devil May Cry.
  84. Hocine95200
    Jul 3, 2023
    4
    Le jeu est assez simple, l’histoire un peu compliquée a comprendre, certaines cinématique ont des ralentissement de frames. Un peu trop de nudité et d’insulte a mon gout mais bon, beaucoup de scenes de combats répétitives. Sinon pour le positif les musique sont excellentes, les combat avec ifirt, bahamut, phoenix etc sont super, la ps5 offre de beau graphismes, on prend quand meme plaisirLe jeu est assez simple, l’histoire un peu compliquée a comprendre, certaines cinématique ont des ralentissement de frames. Un peu trop de nudité et d’insulte a mon gout mais bon, beaucoup de scenes de combats répétitives. Sinon pour le positif les musique sont excellentes, les combat avec ifirt, bahamut, phoenix etc sont super, la ps5 offre de beau graphismes, on prend quand meme plaisir a y jouer ( fini en 3 jours) le scenario donne aussi la larmichette. Au final j’avoue avoir pris un grand plaisir a jouer a ce nouveau volet surtout en tant que fan de ff depuis les annees 90 … Expand
  85. ste59w
    Jul 3, 2023
    4
    Played since FF7 and here are the main points to why i scored it a 4.

    Exploration is pointless - Doesn't appear to be any point to exploring, the maps are pretty linear for the majority and those that are a bit more open just don't have anything in them. I expect that if i detour from the main path i'll more often than not come across a shiny item or interesting fight like in every    Played since FF7 and here are the main points to why i scored it a 4.

    Exploration is pointless - Doesn't appear to be any point to exploring, the maps are pretty linear for the majority and those that are a bit more open just don't have anything in them. I expect that if i detour from the main path i'll more often than not come across a shiny item or interesting fight like in every other FF game. Not here.

    Side quests are repetitive, unrewarding and boring - Not sure how they got this so wrong. It's not exactly a secret what makes a side quest boring and not fun, yet they seem to have followed this blueprint to the letter.

    Additional content - every other FF game has had interesting additional content. E.g in FF15 you got to do up your car, partake in fishing, go on hunts etc. In FF7 you had the gold saucer, in Ff8 you had a card game to name but just a few. In ff16 you have monster hunts but because of the below points that also suffers.

    Items/Gear/Upgrades - Just feels so meh. 1 type of weapon which is a sword, upgrades happen frequently so you never really feel like you achieved anything. There is never any choice to make with weapons and armour, you just wait for the game to supply you with the upgrade at predetermined intervals. The only thing you need to care about is whether the damage or armour number is higher than the one you are currently using, which it will be every time.

    Combat - no depth at all, no interesting choices to make, no real tactics needed. If you can dodge at the right time and press square, you can beat the game easily. A real head scratcher considering the combat system used in FF7 remake would have be great here. Having 1 character to control would have been fine if there was some depth there, but taking depth away was a confusing move.

    Story/Gameplay - I had high hopes after the demo. I described it as final fantasy for adults, which was something that really excited me. Game of thrones style grit and story in a final fantasy package, amazing! Unfortunately the story goes downhill fast and the sheer amount of story content and watching cutscenes or boring dialog made me not care very quickly and proceed to skip just so i could actually play the game. If i wanted a movie i'd watch a movie.

    Graphics - they are good and probably the only redeeming feature. Had no issues with FPS or crashing so it feels polished. But you can't polish a turd and expect success.

    Overall, i'm really disappointed. As other long time fans have said, this isn't a final fantasy game anymore. And what makes it even more disappointing is just how great it could have been.    … Expand
  86. Dunknaggets
    Jul 3, 2023
    4
    By attaching Final Fantasy to the title, Square Enix has tricked many gamers into believing this to be a 10/10.

    Does it have high production value? i.e. voice acting, music, story, art design, etc. -Yes. Does the combat feel fun and rewarding? -Fun yes, rewarding maybe not so much. Does the world feel immersive? Does it feel interactive? -The world (story) is fully realized. But you    By attaching Final Fantasy to the title, Square Enix has tricked many gamers into believing this to be a 10/10.

    Does it have high production value? i.e. voice acting, music, story, art design, etc.
    -Yes.

    Does the combat feel fun and rewarding?
    -Fun yes, rewarding maybe not so much.

    Does the world feel immersive? Does it feel interactive?
    -The world (story) is fully realized. But you don't really interact with it directly.

    Is the game polished? Performance steady?
    -Bugs/glitches don't happen, if at all. But you're basically watching a movie so they don't have a lot of opportunities to occur. Performance is not great. Frame rate is pretty all over, and most of the character models aren't really "next-gen" even during cutscenes.

    So in reality, this is a mediocre game with an army of die-hard fans waiting to eat it up. If this title was developed by a different studio, and had no relationship to any past titles, it would not be getting the praise it is.

    This is not a bad game. But it is definitely not a great one.

    Really, FFXVI is an interactive movie with okay combat. If you look at the game like that, it's pretty good. But if you look at it like it (should) be looked at, it's not that fun. It gets tiresome walking around, it gets tiresome fighting the same enemies, with nowhere cool to discover or anything interesting to find. It gets very repetitive as far as gameplay is concerned. The story is the only thing that keeps moving, and even that can get a little drawn out after awhile.

    I find it shocking that so many people can be pulled into a stupor and think this game is a GOTY contender. You think pointless equipment options and mundane items are GOTY worthy? You can't even change how Clive looks. He eventually puts on that stupid Castlevania outfit and you get to look at that for the next 30 hours. This game feels like they wanted to do much more but everything got cut.

    For example, characters keep handing Clive these "Seals" which show he has the person's favor, allowing him to be accepted by the local population. But these seals don't unlock anything. You can now start a side quest from a local npc, but you couldn't even talk to them before receiving the seal so it's not like anything changed. Maybe the seal lets you get past a gate, into a new area? No, that's just story locked. The seal is a just a story beat which serves that purpose. It's so dumb, the game always makes this point to make you feel like you're accepted into the community now but it's doesn't even feel necessary. People comment on the mark, but that's it. But it's not like you actually talk to people. They're just side quests and main quests.

    To me, these "Seals" represent the overall feeling this game has. It feels empty and incomplete. It feels mundane and pointless. It feels like a very old game (PS2 era) with fancy graphics and modern flair.

    Will you find enjoyment in FFXVI? Probably. I enjoyed playing it, for the most part. But did it feel like a 10/10? A GOTY? Not even close.

    FFXVI is to action RPGs as Time Crisis is to first-person shooters. All on rails.    … Expand
  87. BraidzMC
    Jul 3, 2023
    4
    It's basically Final Fantasy 13 all over again, but this time even worse with fancier graphics.
    15 for all its flaws, even on launch, was a much better game than this. And felt more modern than whatever this dated junk is.
    Whoever at PlatinumGames said this was their Magnum Opus was on copium too, we saw better combat in the 2000's by DMC3 and we've had better cinematic QTE moments in    It's basically Final Fantasy 13 all over again, but this time even worse with fancier graphics.
    15 for all its flaws, even on launch, was a much better game than this. And felt more modern than whatever this dated junk is.
    Whoever at PlatinumGames said this was their Magnum Opus was on copium too, we saw better combat in the 2000's by DMC3 and we've had better cinematic QTE moments in gaming since Uncharted 2. The Titan Fight is the only thing we see come close to anything on the scale of your typical God Of War/Bayonetta/DMC style game, and it is let down by extremely basic QTE commands and a framerate that cannot keep up with what is happening on the screen.
    The story moves at a snails pace and there is cutscenes all over the place that could have just played out in game (EG: Cid trips over on a bridge, This is shown via a 3-4 minute cutscene with tedious gaps between each and every sentence as if the voice acting was all done line by line without any actual cohesion)

    Dead IP.

    FF7 Remake is their Obi-Wan Kenobi in New Hope    … Expand
  88. NeptuneAria
    Jul 5, 2023
    4
    Oh no, it's a shame what has happened to the series. I'm glad that more people are falling out of the honeymoon phase and critiquing the game with more realistic scores. 10/10 should be nowhere near this game. The story isn't bad, but it's not this revolutionary epic that we see in some of the commentary since the game's release. The characters are charismatic, yet, they lack the diversityOh no, it's a shame what has happened to the series. I'm glad that more people are falling out of the honeymoon phase and critiquing the game with more realistic scores. 10/10 should be nowhere near this game. The story isn't bad, but it's not this revolutionary epic that we see in some of the commentary since the game's release. The characters are charismatic, yet, they lack the diversity the series is known for. Not a lot of tactics in the combat either, which I never thought I'd say for an FF game. The graphics are very pretty and cinematic. Even so, that alone doesn't win me over. A proper score for this game is 5-7. Mine is a 4, because of the lack of actual Final Fantasy in this Final Fantasy game.… Expand
  89. Temsik
    Jul 6, 2023
    4
    A action hack and slash game skinned as a Final Fantasy. This may be the game that was imagined by the creators when making previous FF games, however it is not what FF fans have followed the series for.

    overall it fells as if this game had an action battle system, and a extremely complex story and the development time was spent on graphics. After those elements were completed other    A action hack and slash game skinned as a Final Fantasy. This may be the game that was imagined by the creators when making previous FF games, however it is not what FF fans have followed the series for.

    overall it fells as if this game had an action battle system, and a extremely complex story and the development time was spent on graphics. After those elements were completed other things were added to try to fit into an action RPG category.

    The good:
    Graphics are very good, could be argued as the best graphics for a game.
    Voice acting is very good and professional.
    The active lore system is a great addition to get additional information.

    The Bad:
    No elemental importance negating strategy and no magic system with the current magic being laughable.
    No party system and any members damage assistance is minimal enough to not be noticed.
    The story is so overwhelmingly complex, notes are needed in order to keep up... hench the creation of the active lore system.
    Equipment is an afterthought as if it was previously set to auto upgrade as the story progressed and then changed at the last moment.
    Treasure chests and items were an afterthought and can be skipped completely.
    Using the rings for those who didn't want the action battle system turns the combat system into a single button masher battle system and makes the game un playable. This also locks the player into no being able to use accessories.

    Overall if you like the graphics and are interested in the story, watch it on streaming or YouTube while doing something that is actually entertaining.    … Expand
  90. Pionator
    Jul 19, 2023
    4
    Muy repetitivo el juego dura 50 horas de las cuales hay como 20 horas de cinemáticas. El combate se resuelve todo apretando cuadrado y R1 a veces y si quieres ni eso. No vale la pena su jugabilidad es horrible.
  91. Kegs
    Jul 13, 2023
    4
    Barely a RPG and only related to FF aesthetically.

    Action is good, story is compelling and presented well. Everything else around it is extremely shallow and disappointing. Beautiful world that is empty, RPG elements are barebone if nonexistent, side quests that are more fit in a MMO, equipment is very superficial and means nothing. Played best if you ignore everything and only play    Barely a RPG and only related to FF aesthetically.

    Action is good, story is compelling and presented well. Everything else around it is extremely shallow and disappointing. Beautiful world that is empty, RPG elements are barebone if nonexistent, side quests that are more fit in a MMO, equipment is very superficial and means nothing.
    Played best if you ignore everything and only play the main quest.    … Expand
  92. squarepant
    Jul 16, 2023
    4
    Kind of shocking really. I didn't know they still made games that were (not really exaggerating) 75% cutscenes with cheesy QTEs and where the only interaction with the environment is press button to duck under or squeeze through things. The first hours are pretty excruciating with the amount of walking down hallway to next cutscene that happens. Action combat seems to be the big sellingKind of shocking really. I didn't know they still made games that were (not really exaggerating) 75% cutscenes with cheesy QTEs and where the only interaction with the environment is press button to duck under or squeeze through things. The first hours are pretty excruciating with the amount of walking down hallway to next cutscene that happens. Action combat seems to be the big selling point here, but for me it's kind of meh. Trash mobs can just be button mashed to death. Bosses and big monsters are a little more engaging, but only a little. They should probably just drop the RPG pretense entirely, since the numbers go up more or less on a set schedule and the gear is basically handed to you in an extremely straightforward way. It's not a bad system, just not enough to keep me interested if the rest of the game is me just sitting through a movie and occasionally carrying things back and forth for NPC side quests. Maybe it's my fault, but I shouldn't have played this right after Tears of the Kingdom. My immediate thought upon seeing beautiful vistas and grand environments are of how they're basically static paintings and there will be nothing to explore or discover there. I need a little more engagement than press R2 to open the door.… Expand
  93. Orionstar
    Jul 20, 2023
    4
    I honestly have a very high expectation for this game. I’ve been a fan of Final Fantasy since the 90s. Saw my sibling played 8 and fall in love with 9 and 10. Played through the older FF using DS and still playing the online one. I even played 15 on launch day.

    This game, although did not disappoint me as much as 15, was still a disappointment. Maybe it was my expectation, but knowing the    I honestly have a very high expectation for this game. I’ve been a fan of Final Fantasy since the 90s. Saw my sibling played 8 and fall in love with 9 and 10. Played through the older FF using DS and still playing the online one. I even played 15 on launch day.

    This game, although did not disappoint me as much as 15, was still a disappointment. Maybe it was my expectation, but knowing the person who did Dragon’s Dogma do the battle, as well as story by the person who did Heavensward, I was expecting more, especially a flesh out story.

    The story, for me, is pretty much unforgivable. They promoted it as mature and dark, but what I found was superficial themes and focus on nudity for that “look at us, we are so mature we have r-rated scene”. Instead of Game of Thrones, maybe they should have look into Evangelion more and Akira to have a deeper philosophy, especially since a lot of it is anime inspired rather than some ‘realism’.

    The pacing is awful and the game is 80% cutscenes. It is a failure as a game itself. It doesn’t have much customisation or just gameplay. We went from point A to point B, fight a boss, watch cutscene, and repeat. I found myself bored and tired. Theres no reward for exploration as well, no hidden dungeons to tell extra lore. All lores + details that actually add depth and development to the main story are in side quests for some reason. Side quests that the developer said was optional. No sprint button and OMG no auto run for chocobo!? Like we have to hold R2 for the chocobo to sprint. Like why?

    I do like the characters but the story beats are awful. I think I can forgive the lack of gameplay but I can’t forgive the story. I feel FF strangers of paradise have a better story and twist than this. The ending is emotional but I cant shake off the superficial storytelling. They should have edited the story / direction of the game more.    … Expand
  94. Blockism
    Jul 22, 2023
    4
    I don’t understand how this game is receiving such high ratings… Are we playing the same game? Yes there are some cool moments and battles but overall the game feels disjointed. The story is weak, I feel no connection to the characters and when you’re not smashing buttons you’re just running to the next thing. Why am I running to a character 10ft away to continue dialogue from a cutsceneI don’t understand how this game is receiving such high ratings… Are we playing the same game? Yes there are some cool moments and battles but overall the game feels disjointed. The story is weak, I feel no connection to the characters and when you’re not smashing buttons you’re just running to the next thing. Why am I running to a character 10ft away to continue dialogue from a cutscene telling me to run to another point on the map? It just seems lazy. There’s no motivation to replay this game.

    I really expected more from a Final Fantasy game. For me, this isn’t a true Final Fantasy game. It is a game trying to be Final Fantasy (and missing the mark completely) after binging game of thrones.    … Expand
  95. Zanzoltan
    Jul 30, 2023
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So, I spent a lot of money on this game, only to find out the game was as empty as it gets.

    Music was good, graphics were good, but gameplay was TOO EASY, to the point that by the 30 hours gameplay I stopped using completely potions or items.

    There was no use of getting new equipment, unless you got it from the Blacksmith after defeating some boss on the hunter board (Which I used to do, each time a new one would appear, since those were the only challenging monsters you could fight after 40 hours into the game).

    The story, is almost a carbon copy of Tales of Arise, but with minor differences and generic tropes (FF: Slaves are used for their magic powers = TOA: Slaves are used for their Astral Energy. FF: There are 5 Crystals in 5 kingdoms = TOA: There are 5 master cores in 5 Kingdoms. And I could go on and on). But, alas, it's not as good as Tales of Arise, which in that game, once you get to the end of the story and beating the 5 Kingdoms it opens up a new story. In this one, you just fight a one last boss, some silly explanations, "sad" ending, curtains.

    Yeah, this is not a game I recommend for $70+taxes. Once you see it on sale for $40, perhaps.

    But, it's an empty game. Barely 100 hours of "gameplay" (I put that between quotes, because once you get the Phoenix Wings, Garuda Tornado and the Bahamut Ray, the game ends. Everything gets beaten in less than 5 minutes. Most fights or scenes, last more than 5 minutes thanks to the dialog and cut-scenes. No joke).

    I don't recommend this game honestly. If you want to play the same game, but with better characters, a better more enriched story and better gameplay, do play Tales of Arise. It's the same story...and no, I'm not joking. FFXVI just added the Eikon fights to the story. That's it.

    OHHH! and as a PS: You only play with Clive the entire game. You can't change characters nor give orders to your companions. Only to the Wolf that accompanies you. Which...I barely used, after I found out monsters died with three powers...    … Expand
  96. Shigure69
    Aug 5, 2023
    4
    Este comentario é com a esperança que algum dev ou trabalhador da SE leia. A tradução para portugues pt br esta orrivel... é serio principalmente em algumas side quests.... entendo um pouco de japones e me viro bem com ingles e é horrivel ouvir uma coisa e ler algo q nao tem nada a ver.... serio a tradução de ff7 remake foi otima não entendo como podem ter falhado tanto assim com ff16...Este comentario é com a esperança que algum dev ou trabalhador da SE leia. A tradução para portugues pt br esta orrivel... é serio principalmente em algumas side quests.... entendo um pouco de japones e me viro bem com ingles e é horrivel ouvir uma coisa e ler algo q nao tem nada a ver.... serio a tradução de ff7 remake foi otima não entendo como podem ter falhado tanto assim com ff16... parece q quem trabalhou ta tradução estava pouco ligando para seu trabalho...
    De resto o jogo é bom, nao é aquilo tudo, mas pelo menos é divertido. A historia seria bem melhor se a tradução nao fosse tao zuada...    … Expand
  97. alqpwoeirutyghd
    Aug 8, 2023
    4
    Bummed about this one. I was wowed by the demo but I deleted the game from my library at the 30 hour mark. Poorly animated dialog sequences that's cringe worthy when it attempts to be edgy. Motion blur that made me feel nauseous and the gameplay grew to be a repetitive chore past the 20 hour mark.
  98. buyersremorse
    Aug 9, 2023
    4
    I'm 25 hours into this game and I have no choice but to give up. I could force myself to finish but I've definitely hit my threshold, it's just too boring. I've played 6, 7, 8, 9, 10/2, 12, and 15 and this one is the worst of them all. There is nothing here. Exploration is pointless because the vast world only exists for you to fight the same small roster of enemies over and over again,I'm 25 hours into this game and I have no choice but to give up. I could force myself to finish but I've definitely hit my threshold, it's just too boring. I've played 6, 7, 8, 9, 10/2, 12, and 15 and this one is the worst of them all. There is nothing here. Exploration is pointless because the vast world only exists for you to fight the same small roster of enemies over and over again, so they can drop 2 gil and crafting ingredients for a crafting system you'll NEVER use once. There's no gear loot to really speak of, no minigames, superbosses or collectables. The world is one big barren content wasteland, you're not going to be stumbling into any secrets, dungeons or fun diversions here, just crafting ingredients as far as the eye can see. Elemental affinities are gone, as are status ailments, oh, and magic only exists in the form of a single reskinned projectile depending on your Eikon flavour of choice. No party system either, just a couple of NPCs and a dog that follow you around silently. You'll forget they're even there. Story "high points" are always followed up by hours of mind-numbing busywork for poorly animated NPCs who task Clive with bread deliveries and menial labour. The sidequests are honestly terrible, like they're something out of 2009, and even if there WAS interesting lore behind them, you're going to be too uninterested to care/notice because of the terrible presentation and coma-inducing dialogue. The discount DmC combat is fun at first but grows very routine since you just demolish enemies 24/7 with no effort whatsoever. You can string together endless combos and for your efforts maybe you'll be rewarded with a 5% exp boost and fractionally more crafting ingredients than normal.

    Don't throw away your money like I did.    … Expand
  99. Catombomb
    Aug 11, 2023
    4
    unfortunately i didn't have that much fun with the game. The character design and the world feels very generic and lifeless. Maybe next time Square Enix
  100. AdrianOfSweden
    Aug 29, 2023
    4
    A technically well-made game that suffers from how depressing, dull, and sluggish it is. Everybody is depressed. The main character is depressed. The ending is depressing. There is no fun in the game to make up for how dull the world is. Enemies are bullet sponges and you very early find a pattern to deal with bosses that makes any new encounter repetitive. There is no way to explore andA technically well-made game that suffers from how depressing, dull, and sluggish it is. Everybody is depressed. The main character is depressed. The ending is depressing. There is no fun in the game to make up for how dull the world is. Enemies are bullet sponges and you very early find a pattern to deal with bosses that makes any new encounter repetitive. There is no way to explore and power-level, and you are drip-fed sidequests and rewards that give you slightly better equipment now and then. There are team mates, but they cannot be controlled, and barely do any damage. The cinematic parts of battles have so many effects that it's hard to tell what's going on.

    It's almost as if Square Enix tried to pull a Nier: Automata and Elden Ring (both very good at being melancholic yet fun at the same time), and forgot what makes an FF game Final Fantasy, or how to make an RPG in the first place.

    I spent 64 hours from start to finish, and pretty much regret from bothering finishing it. Being presented with a New Game+ option at the end was almost an insult.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2023
1
#1 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2023

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 146 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 134 out of 146
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 146
  3. Negative: 0 out of 146
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 22, 2024
    100
    Final Fantasy XVI is an excellent game in every way. If you're a fan of the series for the stories and characters, you won't go wrong here, and if you've avoided the series for, say, turn-based combat, the sixteenth installment offers the perfect opportunity to get started with this legend of the gaming industry. [Issue#329]
  2. Riot Pixels
    Oct 30, 2023
    73
    This is a solid RPG/action game. Some elements of the game are unusual and fresh for single-player parts of the Final Fantasy series, but some are too dull and rudimentary.
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  3. PLAY
    Sep 17, 2023
    90
    New numbered FFs are good again. Stunning to look at, with new, punchy combat, and a great yarn, it is, if anything, too focussed, lacking a bit of the weird. [Issue#30, p.78]
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