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. InfinumKitsune
    Sep 12, 2023
    7
    The story was great and the mechanics were... interesting. The overall issue I had with the game is the same issue that most AAA games, especially those coming out of Square Enix lately (mind you this is my favorite studio and favorite franchise of all time), it's more of a movie than a game. There is lackluster exploration with little no reward for. Back to the mechanics, whileThe story was great and the mechanics were... interesting. The overall issue I had with the game is the same issue that most AAA games, especially those coming out of Square Enix lately (mind you this is my favorite studio and favorite franchise of all time), it's more of a movie than a game. There is lackluster exploration with little no reward for. Back to the mechanics, while interesting, they lacked any real substance. I have a love for magic in my fantasy games and there is that element in the game, but honestly it's so underwhelming. Square said they would return to their roots with this game and in a lot of ways, they did, but not enough. This cinematic beauty still leaves a lot to be desired.… Expand
  2. Bigboss_3zoz
    Sep 11, 2023
    7
    Square keeps playing with the formula until the game lost its identity.
    Unfortunately there is no RPG elements in the game anymore Weak exploration Weak customization Button mashing fights that are repetitive, I no more put any thoughts in the fights like a real Final Fantasy game
    Really disappointed of hoe square keeps experimenting in the game while they had the winning formula
  3. Lukishere
    Sep 10, 2023
    7
    I love FF from the very beginning, don't get me wrong - I like this game BUT sometimes feels empty and the copy pasted sidequests are really a issue... I love the story, lore and music! I hope in the future with the DLCs they could improve performance and add more value! :)
  4. BigKidPlays
    Sep 9, 2023
    6
    The demo was the best part of the game in hindsight. The rest of the game is so slow, with so many cut scenes, dialogues, long mission completed screens, slow traversal, etc, and it's all made worse by so much filler and useless side quests. Somewhere in here is a decent story (but with a lacklustre ending) with some fun, mindless combat but it's just bogged down in a slog of content thatThe demo was the best part of the game in hindsight. The rest of the game is so slow, with so many cut scenes, dialogues, long mission completed screens, slow traversal, etc, and it's all made worse by so much filler and useless side quests. Somewhere in here is a decent story (but with a lacklustre ending) with some fun, mindless combat but it's just bogged down in a slog of content that doesn't matter. And yes the side quests are that bad... some of the worst I've ever seen. The positives of the game just can't outdo the negatives.… Expand
  5. Patio_Brian
    Sep 9, 2023
    6
    Pros:
    - amazing graphics and cinematics
    - thrillingly epic boss battles - enjoyable, action heavy combat system - some nice music Cons: - boring world and characters - generic and predictable story - boring and repetitive missions and mini dungeons - boring artistic design with dull colour palette I was really looking forward to this new chapter in the Final Fantasy series. The last game    Pros:
    - amazing graphics and cinematics
    - thrillingly epic boss battles
    - enjoyable, action heavy combat system
    - some nice music

    Cons:
    - boring world and characters
    - generic and predictable story
    - boring and repetitive missions and mini dungeons
    - boring artistic design with dull colour palette I was really looking forward to this new chapter in the Final Fantasy series. The last game was refreshingly different but enjoyable and I hoped this new game would continue the tradition. I thought that the medieval setting and the mature rating were good signs and so I allowed myself to get my hopes up for the game. Even the early reviews of the game were all positive, so I purchased the game ready for an excellent experience.

    It started out strong with an impressive opening and I was impressed by its new action heavy battle system. But then after a few hours playing the game's incredibly dreary tone and boring characters began to get to me. I found it hard to emotionally invest in such flat characters and so the actions in the world all had less impact. Despite the game constantly showing off the horrors of its world, the dull characters prevented me from feeling the intended emotions. My hope was that if I kept playing either the tone would lighten up or at least the characters would become more interesting. But that did not happen and I finished the game feeling underwhelmed, despite a fun and epic final boss battle. This game reminded me about how important decent writing is for a game that has a play time of over 30 hours.    … Expand
  6. on3st4b
    Sep 9, 2023
    6
    The game is beautiful graphically, combat is flashy and looks nice at the start at least.
    The main story is boring and cliche, you can see everything coming from miles away.
    Side quests are a joke to say the least. Pick items, deliver them to an npc an the camp, go back for the reward. Combat system or the luck of it, just pick 3 eikon abilities and spam them, makes no difference, you    The game is beautiful graphically, combat is flashy and looks nice at the start at least.
    The main story is boring and cliche, you can see everything coming from miles away.
    Side quests are a joke to say the least. Pick items, deliver them to an npc an the camp, go back for the reward.
    Combat system or the luck of it, just pick 3 eikon abilities and spam them, makes no difference, you will win every fight with that tactic. You just need to spam your buttons and you win.
    Eikon battles are boring and use the same spam the 2 abilities and do a combo every now and then. The battles are way too long, its like watching a bad anime and hitting/spaming the buttons every now and then.
    There are no RPG elements in it, crafting system is useless and not required, leveling system is non existing.
    You just gain a level and attributes are automatically assigned.
    To sum up my thoughts, the game is very linear, lacks RPG elements/mechanics, the story is cliche..
    I'm ~20 hours in and every time i run it i start wondering "why am i doing this ?"

    6/10    … Expand
  7. Thanos616
    Sep 9, 2023
    6
    I really do not understand, why user and critic review are so high. This game is for me, the worst game in FF saga I ever played. The graphics is awful and old, in some occasions it is a dissaster, I could close my eyes and pretend that visual doesn't matter to me, but what I can't really stand is horrible combat system, I don't know how they could release something like that, it's boringI really do not understand, why user and critic review are so high. This game is for me, the worst game in FF saga I ever played. The graphics is awful and old, in some occasions it is a dissaster, I could close my eyes and pretend that visual doesn't matter to me, but what I can't really stand is horrible combat system, I don't know how they could release something like that, it's boring and repetitive as hell. The only one thing I really love about this game is boss fights, and great story, but gameplay and visual is horrible disaster.… Expand
  8. jinnbapho
    Sep 8, 2023
    5
    Boss fights were cinematic, but the story and side missions become a slog very quick. Absolutely 0 RPG elements as well. No real customization or loot at all.
  9. Cxden
    Sep 8, 2023
    7
    ff16 is a welcome addition to the final fantasy lineup taking you on a quest through the medieval time period set in a fantasy world. whilst the combat lacks compared to ff7r the story creates intrigue learning all about the mothercrystals and political state of the world. one drawback of the story was the unnecessarily long cutscenes which took up half of the playthrough wanting to get toff16 is a welcome addition to the final fantasy lineup taking you on a quest through the medieval time period set in a fantasy world. whilst the combat lacks compared to ff7r the story creates intrigue learning all about the mothercrystals and political state of the world. one drawback of the story was the unnecessarily long cutscenes which took up half of the playthrough wanting to get to the next icon fight which was the highlight of the graphical showcase paired with an epic soundtrack. Overall I found the traversal limited to linear world which felt more confined then open and rpg mechanics that felt empty and more linear feeling like a chore to upgrade equipment and no sense of exploration. Side quests felt repeated fetch quests and lackluster story additions.… Expand
  10. KAMANAYEEEEEEHA
    Sep 8, 2023
    7
    Kinda linear but I had fun. Not your typical Final Fantasy but I it’s pretty good.
  11. Pommes
    Sep 8, 2023
    6
    Oooofff... after going through the game by 86%, I finally quit due to exhaustion. The nice graphics and the amazing cinematics really kept me going, but the 'timed challenges' were the last nail in the coffin which I gladly accepted as opportunity to go back to games that are fun and feel less like work. The game is well executed, don't get me wrong, but as expected from an announced AAAOooofff... after going through the game by 86%, I finally quit due to exhaustion. The nice graphics and the amazing cinematics really kept me going, but the 'timed challenges' were the last nail in the coffin which I gladly accepted as opportunity to go back to games that are fun and feel less like work. The game is well executed, don't get me wrong, but as expected from an announced AAA title, the developers didn't take any risks, so they delivered a smooth experience that hurts nobody, so smooth it is sadly really boring for me. Every mission (which is odd for itself for an rpg) follows exactly the same structure, the side-quests are boring as hell, character customisation is really flat and building of an own party is simply not there (most of the time I didn't even knew who as in my automatised party, neither did I care. The developers tried really hard to make the game more mature and dark, I think. I however miss the fat chocobo summons... I hoped for a good FF game but got a slippery devil may cry spin-off with boring 'press two buttons' action focussed combat. I am very sorry my friends, I really wanted to like it, but sadly, I don't. Maybe I have come to the point where I should avoid triple A titles completely and focus on smaller indie titles that are not afraid to take the risk of targeting a smaller audience, but deliver a unique experience.… Expand
  12. xabbott
    Sep 7, 2023
    6
    Great visuals, sound, and overall presentation. However, the gameplay is pretty basic, it's a simple action game. Even if you aren't good at real time combat, you'll be fine if you spam dodge and avoid stepping in fire. The bigger issue is the story and characters were like a basic cable version of Game of Thrones. The boss fights are awesome and one of the only reasons I kept going. I didGreat visuals, sound, and overall presentation. However, the gameplay is pretty basic, it's a simple action game. Even if you aren't good at real time combat, you'll be fine if you spam dodge and avoid stepping in fire. The bigger issue is the story and characters were like a basic cable version of Game of Thrones. The boss fights are awesome and one of the only reasons I kept going. I did every quest and every side quest. A lot of the side quest are bad but some of them are the only good quest in the entire game. I enjoyed FF15 and FF7R more than this and I would only recommend this to die hard FF fans.… Expand
  13. FuniFuni
    Sep 7, 2023
    6
    Stunning visuals, great voice acting and very good soundtrack.
    The story and characters were fine... could have been better.
  14. Ptallica
    Sep 7, 2023
    7
    Eu definitivamente não sou jogador de final fantasy, o jogo e lindo, a história tava boa, a jogabilidade... ok pra boa, mas e muitaaa história, não consegui terminar, sou com 26 horas e com 70% da campanha e não aguentei mais. Vou dar uma pausa e tentar terminar depois
  15. So8
    Sep 6, 2023
    7
    Acheté le premier jour de sa sortie, après des années de développement et un budget alloué conséquent, je vais faire une liste des forces et faiblesses :

    Forces : - Les combats de boss, c'est ce qui fait monter la note. C'est pour moi la grande force, les combats ont rarement atteint ce niveau épique. En particulier deux combats. - Les musiques, certains thèmes sont très bons. D'autres    Acheté le premier jour de sa sortie, après des années de développement et un budget alloué conséquent, je vais faire une liste des forces et faiblesses :

    Forces :
    - Les combats de boss, c'est ce qui fait monter la note. C'est pour moi la grande force, les combats ont rarement atteint ce niveau épique. En particulier deux combats.
    - Les musiques, certains thèmes sont très bons. D'autres ont une boucle trop courtes et deviennent redondantes mais c'est rare. Le parti pris de la musique qui devient un genre d'électro ne m'a pas plu.
    Mais de façon générale ça va.
    - Le gameplay, style DMC, m'a plu, les combos s'enchaînent très bien et visuellement ça envoie.


    Numéro d'équilibriste :
    - Le scénario oscille entre le bon et le moins bon. La fin je l'ai trouvé très bonne et sujette à des interprétations. Cependant je trouve le coeur de l'histoire pas assez développé. Des batailles sur tout le continent à la GOT, et en quelques combats c'est vite expédié...
    - Les personnages principaux sont très inégaux, j'ai trouvé Shiva très fade. Joshua, à l'inverse, est réussi.
    Clive, du mal à m'y attacher...
    - Les graphismes, ça oscille entre le magnifique sur certains plans et sur le dégueulasse sur d'autres plans.

    Faiblesses :
    - La DA, deux ou trois lieux ont mis une petite claque, mais pas plus. C'est pourtant une force des FF. - Les quêtes secondaires infâmes, je n'en pouvais plus, c'est à 90% du temps de la livraison. -Les PNJs, aucun effort. C'est générique est trop ancien. - L'aspect "cinématique" quand ce n'est pas important, c'est vieillot encore une fois. On sent que le budget est passé dans les cinématiques de boss. - La facilité du jeu même en new game +, c'est le FF le plus facile que j'ai fait.
    - Pas de faiblesses/forces chez les ennemis, donc autant utiliser les attaques les plus puissantes.
    - L'aspect RPG, la montée de niveau, les armes et l'arbre de compétences j'ai trouvé ça pitoyable. On sent que ce n'était pas la priorité, voire même pire, ça a été délaissé.

    Le ressenti que j'ai eu c'était les montagnes russes, avec des phases excellentes pendant une heure suivi de deux ou trois de platitude.

    À faire si vous avez la PS5, à ne pas acheter la PS5 pour ce jeu si vous ne l'avez pas.    … Expand
  16. George_Jungle
    Sep 5, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Another disappointing entry since FFXIII and another AAA bumble that shows how far the gaming industry has fallen.
    Visuals are fine I guess though the facial expressions of characters remains unchanged since the PS3 era. Music is mostly good with highs and lows. Story is somehow better since the Devs understood that they don't need to shy away from mature themes and presentation. Still underdeveloped though.
    Characters are mostly empty husks except for Clive and Cid and that is very obvious with Jill that simply exists in the game just for the hero to have the most boring romance ever made in a videogame. The fact that you don't have a proper team like every other mainline entry to follow you at all times doesn't help either.
    Combat is one of its strongest points, indeed plays like DMC but suffers from the fact that it takes too long to acquire new Eikons which give you new abilities to experiment. Areas are either straightforward or some semi open spaces that offer nothing for those who search every nook and cranny. Just empty MMO garbage with a bit of FFXIII feel.
    As for it's best aspect, that is the main story boss battles that look and play gorgeously, even the Eikon battles that don't exactly offer any difficulty or skill to prevail, just spectacle. It's probably the easiest FF I ever played and even action mode(normal) offers almost no challenge at all.
    It's worst aspect and that which infuriated me the most are the unnecessary and immensely boring side quests (around 100 of those, excluding monster hunts) that along with some tedious story moments made progress a slog. Around 50% of the main story I started skipping every cut scene from the side quests. Videogames are meant to be fun above everything else and to me it felt like doing work/chore of the worst kind. Game Devs, we don't need an RPG to be a 100 hours long to think that our money is well spent. With 30 hours of quality we're content, something you don't seem to understand and for that you'll eventually go out of business. Fun and escapism are the key words,got it?

    PS. People who give FFXVI 0-1 are dumb, but those who it 9-10 are window lickers and paid shills and deserve every garbage AAA title that comes their way. As for me this Final Fantasy is the Final nail in the coffin, I've had enough really.    … Expand
  17. jaggerjacks
    Sep 5, 2023
    5
    Final Fantasy 16 has honorable qualities. But I feel it's the most overrated game of 2023. Most of its flaws (and it has many) would never have been tolerated on a game called "Fall of Crystals" and designed by a random studio.

    I love the work that Noaki Yoshida and his teams have done on Final Fantasy 14, but my admiration for them shouldn't blind me to criticism.
  18. ZajebioSSa
    Sep 5, 2023
    7
    The game is very uneven, from the storyline to the quests but still i was nice adventure.
  19. Aceball
    Aug 28, 2023
    5
    How the mighty have fallen, I used to be crazy about final fantasy games but this is the worst of the lot, story is very game of thrones, combat is button mashing and there are far too many cutscenes, it's an empty shell of what a final fantasy game should be.

    When you start it just doesn't feel like a final fantasy game, after a while the boss fights really ramp up and the combat is alot    How the mighty have fallen, I used to be crazy about final fantasy games but this is the worst of the lot, story is very game of thrones, combat is button mashing and there are far too many cutscenes, it's an empty shell of what a final fantasy game should be.

    When you start it just doesn't feel like a final fantasy game, after a while the boss fights really ramp up and the combat is alot more engaging although it just doesn't feel like final fantasy.

    From ff 1 until ff10 ff games had a staple ingredient, an engaging party, deep story, everyone in your party had their own character and a deep story, you synergised with your party. The only thing they did right was the deep story even if it was a bit of a game of thrones rip off It's ok saying every ff game needs to be different but you still need the same basic ingredients to make it an ff game, If this is the way ff games are going I will save my money when 17 comes out.

    Whatever happened to square? I mean the game is largely successful but the difference is ff16 will be forgotten about in 2 or 3 years, ff 7 8 9 and 10 are still talked about more than 20 years later.

    Take a good look at baldurs gate 3, ok yes of course it's an entirely different type of game but what i mean is its very very different from bg 1 and 2 but has kept the basic ingredients that made the originals great, that's why it's 96%, this is currently 87%.

    87% is a good score but that's the difference between good and great.

    It's not 1998 now, we wait 7 years to get a new ff game, 1 doesn't come ever year, we wait 7 years and they release this devil may cry with ff summons and flashy graphics.    … Expand
  20. firstevil87
    Sep 2, 2023
    7
    Ultima Mithos?
    Every time a new Final fantasy is released, we say: "this is the most divisive ever".
    And it is also true here. Never a game had highs so high, and lows so low that rating it is just a matter of taste, rather than objective merits. Let's start with the good: the story! This is the best final fantasy story in a very long time, with characters both memorable and    Ultima Mithos?
    Every time a new Final fantasy is released, we say: "this is the most divisive ever".
    And it is also true here.
    Never a game had highs so high, and lows so low that rating it is just a matter of taste, rather than objective merits.

    Let's start with the good: the story!
    This is the best final fantasy story in a very long time, with characters both memorable and charming.
    The plot gives some "game of thrones" vibes that combine political intrigue with supernatural calamity.
    Regardless of your personal taste, it is undeniable that Square put effort into crafting an unforgettable world.

    But now there is the bad...
    This game doesn't want to be a game, the part when you are in control seem more often then not an afterthought.

    The "meaty" part of the gameplay is the combat and, for a final fantasy, it is very disappointing.
    Turn based combat has been replaces with a devil may cry action swordfest.
    Any resemblance of planning and "tactic" gets thrown out of the window due to a hectic speed and magic effects covering the screen.
    At points you would just button mash randomly because you don't see what you are doing or if anyone is attacking you.

    Worst, there are no status aliments, or elemental damage so any new power is mostly (not always but mostly) cosmetic.
    Personally, I would have preferred a more distinct "look and feel" for any new "power up" (a different weapon?).

    Even worse, the party system has been completely ditched in favour of AI companions that pop in here and there, with no control over their equipment and stats.
    Only Torgal, a canine companion, can be somehow controlled, but it never feels impactful or rewarding or tactical.

    Having said that, when the system clicks, it can be very fun, but not much final fantasy.

    Outside of combat, the game doesn't shine at all, despite having a wonderful world that kills any desire to explore it.

    In conclusion, if what matters to you the most in a final fantasy is the story, this will keep you entertained.
    If you are looking for gameplay and exploration and all the little things that made final fantasy special, I am afraid you will be disappointed.    … Expand
  21. ozumakuma
    Sep 1, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Up until the part where Jill gives Clive her powers I would have given this game a 9, possibly 10 but when they completely sideline her before the final hours of the game, it didn't go down well with me at all. She and Torgal should have been there for everything in the end. Origin was just an annoying plot device ending.… Expand
  22. Garchomped
    Sep 1, 2023
    6
    Sadly this is just "we have god of war at home" with off-brand DMC combat. Also performance is absolute **** in the 60fps mode and the 30fps one genuinely hurts my eyes after more than 10 minutes. 99% of side quests feel like caricatures of MMOs. Levels are ff13 hallways all over again. The gear system is somehow even more braindead than ff15.

    I seriously hope that CU3 never makes another    Sadly this is just "we have god of war at home" with off-brand DMC combat. Also performance is absolute **** in the 60fps mode and the 30fps one genuinely hurts my eyes after more than 10 minutes. 99% of side quests feel like caricatures of MMOs. Levels are ff13 hallways all over again. The gear system is somehow even more braindead than ff15.

    I seriously hope that CU3 never makes another single player FF title.    … Expand
  23. BillyOcean
    Aug 30, 2023
    5
    An absolute slog with no spirit or life. Cutscenes dragging on at literal 25% normal human conversation comprehension speed. The narrow hallways that connect these cutscenes, "the world", might look really nice, but they are absolutely dead. The extremely dated arrangement of enemies makes the whole thing feel cheap. I just barely emerged from a truly sluggish cutscene and I'm about toAn absolute slog with no spirit or life. Cutscenes dragging on at literal 25% normal human conversation comprehension speed. The narrow hallways that connect these cutscenes, "the world", might look really nice, but they are absolutely dead. The extremely dated arrangement of enemies makes the whole thing feel cheap. I just barely emerged from a truly sluggish cutscene and I'm about to just walk over to the next one, and I see three enemies on the way that I could fight or not. This is the game basically leaving its pacing to me instead of curating it and making sure the whole thing has a rhythm to it - you know, a gameplay loop?! I could not be more disappointed. The fighting is good, but that's because they poached the guy who does the fighting good. The disastrous pacing wrenches you out of the world as often as it can and instead of a gripping high fantasy adventure I'm holding off on saving the world to go serve drinks for some lazy npc. This contrast might be something we could excuse for the ps1 era, but game design and narrative design have achieved a level of grace that we have come to expect in the last DECADE. This game is like sand paper to my brain. Makes me love the absolutely weird ffxv even more when compared to this, which is maybe the most vanilla, by-the-numbers action jrpg of the decade.… Expand
  24. AtariPup
    Aug 29, 2023
    5
    I’ve played more than half of the final fantasy games and this one is my favorite. I didn’t want it to be over and I’m still sad that I’m done with the game now, like 6 weeks after I finished it. It’s an incredible game. The story is beautiful. The characters are special and wonderful and the graphics are brilliant. I’m not into the mechanics - I love the story and consider myself a casualI’ve played more than half of the final fantasy games and this one is my favorite. I didn’t want it to be over and I’m still sad that I’m done with the game now, like 6 weeks after I finished it. It’s an incredible game. The story is beautiful. The characters are special and wonderful and the graphics are brilliant. I’m not into the mechanics - I love the story and consider myself a casual player and if you select story mode they give you accessories to be able to skip the technical stuff of the battles. There is something here for everyone. I also love that they reduced the male gaze quite a bit and additionally they gave us some major eye candy with Clive. Thanks for remembering that women play games too SE! Anyway - Best game ever.… Expand
  25. UhtredTheGreat
    Aug 28, 2023
    7
    game bugged and glitched so bad during the first 40 min. The story was rushed it seemed as well.
  26. Symour2
    Aug 28, 2023
    6
    Jeu difficile à noter tant le rythme n'est pas bon. Mon expérience se résume à des moments d'adrénaline ultra fun, à des moments d'ennuis profonds.
    Ce n'est pas un mauvais jeu, mais il n'est clairement pas creusé. Le scénario est plutôt chouette mais mal rythmé, et nous n'avons qu'un seul personnage, dont l'évolution est plutôt très limitée pour un RPG. Plusieurs équipiers peuvent    Jeu difficile à noter tant le rythme n'est pas bon. Mon expérience se résume à des moments d'adrénaline ultra fun, à des moments d'ennuis profonds.
    Ce n'est pas un mauvais jeu, mais il n'est clairement pas creusé. Le scénario est plutôt chouette mais mal rythmé, et nous n'avons qu'un seul personnage, dont l'évolution est plutôt très limitée pour un RPG. Plusieurs équipiers peuvent rejoindre la team mais à aucun moment on peut les contrôler ni même gérer leurs équipements compétences. Ce qui enlève clairement de mon point de vue un pilier d'un FF.    … Expand
  27. Bigbozz
    Aug 27, 2023
    7
    This game makes so much wrong, its insane...
    Mainstream at fullest, it's a **** joke for a final fantasy game. And I am not talking about the combat system. The quest are so bad even for jrpg standard, its really sad.
    This game does not deserve the name rpg, but it also don't deserve the name hack and slash. This game does not know what it want to be. I only can say something positive    This game makes so much wrong, its insane...
    Mainstream at fullest, it's a **** joke for a final fantasy game. And I am not talking about the combat system. The quest are so bad even for jrpg standard, its really sad.

    This game does not deserve the name rpg, but it also don't deserve the name hack and slash. This game does not know what it want to be.

    I only can say something positive about th music and some cutscenes , which are great.    … Expand
  28. BertKA88
    Aug 27, 2023
    6
    A fun game held back by boring, uninspired exploration and level design, as well as terrible, repetitive fetch quests. The fetch quests in the main story nearly broke me. A lot of potential, though, and some great combat and fight sequences.
  29. Vuxendagis
    Aug 27, 2023
    6
    Absolutely stunning graphics. Awesome Eikon battles. And really good story!!

    But Final fantasy is so much more. We we all lovet FF like 6,7,8,9 was not because of graphics. Noy cause of Eikonbattles. I miss the side quests. I miss all the mystery. Theese new FF games are way too easy. A Child could play it. There is alays a questionmark, vivid colors or in this case a dog showing you the    Absolutely stunning graphics. Awesome Eikon battles. And really good story!!

    But Final fantasy is so much more. We we all lovet FF like 6,7,8,9 was not because of graphics. Noy cause of Eikonbattles. I miss the side quests. I miss all the mystery. Theese new FF games are way too easy. A Child could play it. There is alays a questionmark, vivid colors or in this case a dog showing you the way. Every weapon, every armour everything is in front of your eyes in the min quest. There are no chocobos, no open world map, no card games, no fishing. Nothing at all that fills you day besides hunting main quest or obviously easy side quests.

    Better luck next time!    … Expand
  30. frostblooded
    Aug 26, 2023
    6
    A mix between a 9/10 game and 3/10 game. Wish it was shorter and the filler missions were cut out.
  31. LunaresArienal
    Aug 23, 2023
    6
    I can't believe how this game is both the best and the worst FF of all times.

    All exaggeration apart, it really has some fantastic features and some terrible ones, particularly for a game that was shipped in 2023 rather than 2003. The game is fantastic because the story is epic and melancolic, the combat design is great and dynamic (although sometimes repetitive) and the art is    I can't believe how this game is both the best and the worst FF of all times.

    All exaggeration apart, it really has some fantastic features and some terrible ones, particularly for a game that was shipped in 2023 rather than 2003.

    The game is fantastic because the story is epic and melancolic, the combat design is great and dynamic (although sometimes repetitive) and the art is amazing. The eikon battles are really great and memorable video game moments. The dynamic battles were a surprise but quite satisfactory in the end. As a souls player, having to learn patterns and parry / avoid felt familiar.

    The problem is all that greatness comes between a lot of mediocre content.
    Most of the secondary characters are not memorable (to say the least : let's not even talk about female representation). Most of the side quests are really, really lame (come on, so many fedex quests in a AAA game from 2023 ?). Also the bestiary is disappointing, there are just variations of like 10 enemies in the end.
    Apart from the main story, most of the dialogues were just variations of "the world is ending but please help me find my dog", but much longer and more boring. All of the story's epicness is swallowed in dullness.

    Finally, some features just really suck ?

    Two examples that just add unnecessary friction :
    * When you are doing one of those fedex quests and collect three items for someone, when you have them, the game opens a pop-up menu where you have to manually click each of those three items, to end the quest.
    * Some doors (probably to change zones and load the new zone) require that you push R2 for a couple of seconds.

    I really had trouble reaching the end of the game because of all the friction and boring moments but I HAD to reach the final battles and the end of the story.    … Expand
  32. Chrisanity
    Aug 23, 2023
    6
    Where do I begin here, having loved the FF7 part one remake I have been looking forward to this game. I’ll start with the positives, the story was immersive with great graphics on the cutscenes and great voice acting. you grew a bond over time with the characters, the main objectives were clearly marked and progressed the story appropriately, and although I saw instances where cheery musicWhere do I begin here, having loved the FF7 part one remake I have been looking forward to this game. I’ll start with the positives, the story was immersive with great graphics on the cutscenes and great voice acting. you grew a bond over time with the characters, the main objectives were clearly marked and progressed the story appropriately, and although I saw instances where cheery music was playing when something tragic or intense was happening during a few cutscenes or right after the cutscene it was great music for the most part. The eikon battles had me feeling like I was controlling a power ranger megazord so that was pretty fun and exiting. -As much as I tried loving this game I simply found too many things that I personally didn’t enjoy, I couldn’t explore the beautiful world as much as I wanted too since there was no incentive to do so! You would find like 2 Gil in a corner of a map or a few steelsilk after defeating a tanky creature.
    -The side missions are absolutely mediocre, take plates of food to 2 people… take apples to 3 people. I couldn’t believe how lazy and uncreative these missions were written into the game, there’s a handful of decent ones but for the most part they’re terrible.
    -The combat was somewhat new and refreshing at the beginning but I didn’t really feel any reward for defeating a majority of the bosses in the game, instead of making them challenging to fight it feels as though they just slap more HP on them.
    Overall the game consists of watching a 30 minute cutscene then you fight a few enemies in between, do/or don’t do some terrible side quests, reach your new destination/objective and watch another 10 minute cutscene. Rinse and repeat.    … Expand
  33. northstarraven
    Aug 22, 2023
    5
    I was excited at first, but then I was met with cut-scene after cut-scene. Foul mouth, and out of place voice acting. The quests were MMO busy body quests. The game was linear and basically Devil may cry with summons. They took way to much influence from Game of Thrones. Performance mode ran terrible. Looks pixelated in battles. Made me second guess my PS5 purchase.
  34. Zfong4
    Aug 22, 2023
    5
    The demo was the most interesting part of the game. Bought the game and hated virtually every minute of the repetitive game - from lacklustre game of throne wannabe main quest line to stupidly dumb fetch quests. Major regret!
  35. cyberneticbliss
    Aug 20, 2023
    6
    Not as deep, nor as captivating as other entires in the franchise. The set pieces sure are pretty though.
  36. Valmont88
    Jun 25, 2023
    7
    Final Fantasy XVI reaches very high peaks of excellence, the story is memorable, deep and engaging and the gameplay is fun and stimulating despite being wasted due to the type of context in which it was inserted, as a gamer I am satisfied but as a fan of Final Fantasy unfortunately I have threw in the towel. The RPG element is unfortunately reduced to the bone if not non-existent, it isFinal Fantasy XVI reaches very high peaks of excellence, the story is memorable, deep and engaging and the gameplay is fun and stimulating despite being wasted due to the type of context in which it was inserted, as a gamer I am satisfied but as a fan of Final Fantasy unfortunately I have threw in the towel. The RPG element is unfortunately reduced to the bone if not non-existent, it is therefore impossible to create any type of build with equipment and weapons that simply do not have special or status or elemental characteristics but are limited only to increasing the attack stat, the open maps are very visually stunning but they are completely empty and dead areas devoid of any sort of secret or point of interest or hidden rewards much less hidden unique dialogue characters etc. Crafting and leveling have turned out to be totally useless because the weapons and equipment are given to you at the next Boss fight or bssta buy them from the merchant on duty. it absolutely doesn't push you to experiment and that's a real shame because it's tremendous fun. In short, the game is enjoyable as a title but does not even have the shadow of its RPG component or mechanics dedicated to weapons and accessories and this is never lacking in a Final Fantasy. Unfortunately I have to repeat myself as a gamer I consider myself quite satisfied but as a fan of Final Fantasy we are really far from the glories of the past despite the fact that giant strides have been made compared to the XV without any doubt.… Expand
  37. Reudi
    Aug 19, 2023
    7
    if u take it overall.. its better then ff15 but if i take just the first 60% of ff15 its worse... so ye.. idk what i can give this game :D :D it is better or worse then ff15 ??
  38. Lidso
    Aug 19, 2023
    7
    FFXVI is a devolution away from a strategic turn-based JRPG adventure into a cinematic romantic dramatic conversation simulator with occasional button mashing action battles sprinkled in. Compared to older FF titles, the overall story, environment, and theme seems rather tame to the epic imagination of the previous entries in the series. You will most likely find yourself spendingFFXVI is a devolution away from a strategic turn-based JRPG adventure into a cinematic romantic dramatic conversation simulator with occasional button mashing action battles sprinkled in. Compared to older FF titles, the overall story, environment, and theme seems rather tame to the epic imagination of the previous entries in the series. You will most likely find yourself spending countless hours doing MMO type messenger boy side quests and wondering if your time is being well spent.

    Many of the combat mechanics ideas are borrowed from other action adventure games and don't really add anything unique to the gameplay element. There is little room for customization or building your character as most items are better than their predecessors. Many elements of the game are repetitive and honestly a bit boring. Much patience will be required to complete this title.

    However, the environments seem well designed and the graphics for most areas are great with much detail and atmosphere. While some of the NPCs seem to be often too generic, the primary characters seem to be very well designed with detail to their persona. The cinematics of most of the battles including the boss battles are extremely well done and bring the excitement back to the game as what is mostly advertised in the trailers. Key moments in the main quest line do make the overall story more interesting and create more of an immersion of real world symbolism. Some dialog lines are great and will be moments to remember.

    Overall, I don't feel like FFXVI lived up to the older titles in terms of greatness. However, if you are looking for a passive FF title with great cinematics and long dialog sequences then get ready to invest about 50-60 hours to complete this title.    … Expand
  39. MetaKuwlbeans
    Aug 18, 2023
    6
    So many terrible decisions gameplay wise. The combat is fun until you realize you can beat every enemy the exact same way. No status ailments. No element weaknesses. Far to many cutscenes for a boring story.
  40. gingersnap225
    Aug 18, 2023
    6
    I've played FF games since I could hold a controller in the early 90s and this was one of the biggest disappoints to me. I enjoy action games, I enjoy RPGs, and I enjoy dark fantasy stories, but I don't enjoy a mediocre attempt to mash the three together to 'modernize' a series by doing none of them justice.

    FF16 had a coherent story, I'll admit that, but it fell short of other similar    I've played FF games since I could hold a controller in the early 90s and this was one of the biggest disappoints to me. I enjoy action games, I enjoy RPGs, and I enjoy dark fantasy stories, but I don't enjoy a mediocre attempt to mash the three together to 'modernize' a series by doing none of them justice.

    FF16 had a coherent story, I'll admit that, but it fell short of other similar dark fantasy stories. It obviously wanted to be GoT but instead came up with a story that ignored the amazing world building erected around it. This world has a lot of interesting ideas and people, but the story decides to focus on flat characters who don't have a range of emotion and it constantly ignores the bigger picture in lieu of shallow political intrigue. The second half of the story completely ignores the day-to-day perils the branded face that was built up in the first half to instead focus on a power of friendship saves the world feel. Not to mention that the story doesn't even take the time to consider how pivotal of an event the loss of a mothercrystal would be to any average peasant's livelihood.

    The RPG elements might as well not have existed. I liked the first 5-10 hours where I was still unlocking and messing around with the base abilities, but those quickly dried up and you are only left with a slow trickle of new Eikon abilities. By end game, there's hardly any variability in the skills you obtain and you are left with defeating every enemy in the same manner. Not to mention that your 'stats' upon levelling up were meaningless and each new weapon or armor you obtain is always objectively better than the last. There's no choice in play style, no builds, and no replay value here. Once you learn that you can precise dodge everything the game has nothing left to give.

    What I was hoping for was what previous FF games gave me; namely, a deep RPG system, lots of choice in builds/weapons/abilities, and satisfying game play that made want to just play the game to have fun. Instead, there was too much focus on the cinematics and the gameplay only served as a buffer between cutscenes.

    The largest fault in my mind is that the best battle took place halfway through the game, and nothing else could hold a candle to its epic proportions - certainly not the final fights. Each Eikon battle was a high for the game, but putting up with the other 40+ hrs of half-baked mediocre RPG did not make it a worthwhile experience.    … Expand
  41. tjholowaychuk
    Aug 18, 2023
    5
    I’m a long time FF fan, I grew up with the series but this one is just not good unfortunately.

    The characters are bland, the setting is uninteresting and lacking the typical FF charm, level design is linear and bland, world traversal is bland (just a map), music is ok but sometimes just annoying and pretentious, performance is bad, graphics are mediocre unless you’re in a cutscene. The    I’m a long time FF fan, I grew up with the series but this one is just not good unfortunately.

    The characters are bland, the setting is uninteresting and lacking the typical FF charm, level design is linear and bland, world traversal is bland (just a map), music is ok but sometimes just annoying and pretentious, performance is bad, graphics are mediocre unless you’re in a cutscene. The only good thing I can say about this game is the enemy designs can be quite nice, and the boss battles are decent, and some cutscenes are really epic and stunning.    … Expand
  42. steffox
    Aug 18, 2023
    6
    I played FFXVI has a action game (not a FF) but even so, I'm really contrasted about it... And sadly nothing much will be remembered.

    1) The main story is good... not epic. Some scenes could have been better thought (like the fight against Odin) 2) The gameplay is cool but... Once you find the right abilities then... You stick to it and never change you strategy in battle. Battles    I played FFXVI has a action game (not a FF) but even so, I'm really contrasted about it... And sadly nothing much will be remembered.

    1) The main story is good... not epic.
    Some scenes could have been better thought (like the fight against Odin)

    2) The gameplay is cool but... Once you find the right abilities then... You stick to it and never change you strategy in battle. Battles repeat themselves and become kinda annoying.

    3) Where's my elemental damages gone? Fire VS Fire is okay?

    4) Enemy variety is super weak! Soldiers, Wolfs, spiders, and some reskins/color swap. It's terrible! (Elden Ring did an amazing job on that front)

    5) On a technical level, this game feels old.
    Ok it has fast loadings but everything else is dated : No dynamic weather, no night/day cycle, hyper static cutscenes...

    6) Very limited equipment management... You just buy the new sword and off you go.

    7) I did all the sidequests and... Oh boy they are BAD ! Around 60% of my playtrhough I just skipped
    all dialogs and run like hell to the next fight or place where I need to press X for 3 seconds.

    8) The world is annoying. You spend your time teleporting from one checkpoint to the closest to your destination. No sense of real world.

    9) The battle music is cool. All the other musics are... well I don't know... I don't remember any!

    10) The gameplay loop is always the same: You talk to npc, follow a path, kill monsters, teleport to destination, rince and repeat.

    11) Oh and Clive receiving pins from every NPC is just ridiculous! (Take this and they'll let you through... every time!)

    12) ... (I'll stop here... you get the message)

    The only positive in this game are the Eikons fights. (Bahamut is the best one. Truly epic)

    Developers said that the game was like a rollercoster. But it's more like a boat ride on a calm river where you need to paddle a lot. Then comes rapid waters (Eikons fights) that launch you just enough to pass through shallow waters...

    Played it... ended it... barely remember it.     … Expand
  43. Cc2680
    Aug 17, 2023
    7
    FF16 is An interesting take for the new addition to the FF series but ultimately I found it to be in the middle as far as the series goes.

    The game excels with music and over the top graphic spectacles but I found the games pacing to be really rough. I felt like the story got worse the further It went but overall it’s solid enough. It’s pretty nice graphically but the world felt a bit    FF16 is An interesting take for the new addition to the FF series but ultimately I found it to be in the middle as far as the series goes.

    The game excels with music and over the top graphic spectacles but I found the games pacing to be really rough. I felt like the story got worse the further It went but overall it’s solid enough.

    It’s pretty nice graphically but the world felt a bit boring for a FF game. The combat was fine but it wasn’t a really big point for me since it’s only kind of interesting during the bosses. I’m fine With it but I don’t think The system is super amazing and I felt like this game is often fighting it self.It feels too long for this kind of combat but it wants to avoid your standard rpg elements that you would see in other ff games. I think it would have been better if they just stuck to making it an action game without all the half hearted “rpg elements” which don’t really add anything like the itemization and crafting mechanic that feels there for the sake of it


    I also feels there’s just too many cutscenes or they’re way too long. I realize ff has had a big focus on them since ff7 but those felt way more natural and it’s not nearly as over whelming compared to this game where there’s so many scenes and just constant dialogue.

    I don’t think it’s a bad game but I don’t see it as a great game either. 7 to 7.5 out of 10    … Expand
  44. deceased_goat
    Aug 16, 2023
    6
    Really disappointed with this entry. I was originally going to hold off as I wasn't overly excited by what I was reading during development, but I pre-ordered last minute. There are some great moments within the game, but unfortunately these are a scarcity amongst the monotony of lackluster side content and a world that doesn't engender the desire to really explore. The world also doesn'tReally disappointed with this entry. I was originally going to hold off as I wasn't overly excited by what I was reading during development, but I pre-ordered last minute. There are some great moments within the game, but unfortunately these are a scarcity amongst the monotony of lackluster side content and a world that doesn't engender the desire to really explore. The world also doesn't feel lived in for me - it feels hollow and devoid of interesting characteristics. The new direction on with the action is not one I favoured. I liked the turn based systems of old, the gambit system from XII, and the hybrid system of FFVII remake, but the full on action didn't peak my interest here. Interestingly I enjoyed FFXV's action orientated approach, but XVI just isn't landing. Overall it's another FF ticked off, but I'll hold fire on getting XVII if it takes the same path.… Expand
  45. Wunpleum
    Aug 15, 2023
    5
    Mediocre game. Boring story and gameplay. Okay Graphic. Performance below average.
  46. flobv86
    Aug 15, 2023
    5
    The game is pretty poor overall. Story is interesting, and combat can be nice at times but even for combat, too many fight interuptions on important boss fights that have you lose focus while watching the lengthy cutscenes. Level design is really poor also. "open world" parts are absolutely useless. Big frame drops even on performance and graphics look more like 2013. Max 5/10 for me
  47. Not_too
    Aug 15, 2023
    5
    A good game, and signs of life for the FF series. In the future Im sure its going in the right direction. However there is just simply something missing from FF16 that the old games had. An emotional catalyst or hook thats missing in FF16. As polished and full of great spectacle as FF16 is it fails to reach the heights set by its predecessors. Also the ending is pointlessly ambiguous andA good game, and signs of life for the FF series. In the future Im sure its going in the right direction. However there is just simply something missing from FF16 that the old games had. An emotional catalyst or hook thats missing in FF16. As polished and full of great spectacle as FF16 is it fails to reach the heights set by its predecessors. Also the ending is pointlessly ambiguous and serves to generate more discussion at the cost of story cohesion. Not a huge fan of this move.… Expand
  48. HamletArcher
    Aug 15, 2023
    5
    Beautiful graphics. Great music. Complex story. Some interesting characters but protagonist is boring. The world is gorgeous but filled with NPCs that delivered the same line like in the 90s. Side quests are forgettable. Even main line is filled with fetch quests. Combat is fast-paced a fun for a while but got repetitive. Enemies look spectacular but feel more or less the same. Gone areBeautiful graphics. Great music. Complex story. Some interesting characters but protagonist is boring. The world is gorgeous but filled with NPCs that delivered the same line like in the 90s. Side quests are forgettable. Even main line is filled with fetch quests. Combat is fast-paced a fun for a while but got repetitive. Enemies look spectacular but feel more or less the same. Gone are the days when different enemies (bombs, Marlboro, mech etc) required different strategies. The equipments had no special effect and only differed in stats. Overall not the final fantasy renaissance that I wished it would be.… Expand
  49. Tjprez
    Aug 14, 2023
    5
    I just finished the game and honestly, it was just brutal to get through. I skipped almost all of the story cut scenes after a while because of how boring and invested I was in what was going on. Please bring back ones with open world exploration, secrets and side quest that aren't just me chasing around and collecting things. Have me unlock characters and create my own party. These gamesI just finished the game and honestly, it was just brutal to get through. I skipped almost all of the story cut scenes after a while because of how boring and invested I was in what was going on. Please bring back ones with open world exploration, secrets and side quest that aren't just me chasing around and collecting things. Have me unlock characters and create my own party. These games just aren't fun anymore and this probably my last one that I will buy.… Expand
  50. Cortana34
    Aug 13, 2023
    6
    Not a bad video game, but far from good, unfortunately. So yes, it's beautiful, yes, the combat system is top-notch. But as far as I'm concerned, they've forgotten what makes a game. The pace of the game is, in my eyes, a total failure. Character animations are on the whole pathetic for a game in 2023. I managed to finish the adventure, but it didn't leave any lasting impression on me, andNot a bad video game, but far from good, unfortunately. So yes, it's beautiful, yes, the combat system is top-notch. But as far as I'm concerned, they've forgotten what makes a game. The pace of the game is, in my eyes, a total failure. Character animations are on the whole pathetic for a game in 2023. I managed to finish the adventure, but it didn't leave any lasting impression on me, and I'll easily forget it.… Expand
  51. ShorykenCity
    Aug 12, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game starts out great. The story seems like it’s will be intriguing. The combat is fun but simplistic. I wish Clive had more special attacks that he can unlock. The Eikon battles are the highlight of the game but the actual combat with Ifrit leaves a lot to be desired because he only has his 4 hit combo and a couple of other special abilities. It’s got really boring mashing square for 20 minutes during Eikon battles. I hated returning to the Hideaway after Eikon battles because that’s when the boredom begins. Talking to the same NPCs over and over and over again. Doing mundane tasks for them. I was bored out of my mind. The side quests are the worst. Just the most basic of basic things the devs could think of. Kill monsters, collect dirt, find some guys mail, pick plants for someone. The better side quests don’t reveal themselves until the end of the game and by that time I had made a habit of skipping the repetitive dialogue. And it doesn’t help that the dialogue during the less important moments in the game are presented in the most uninteresting style possible in a game. Just talking heads going back and forth. Just the worst. Exploration and itemization in this game is just nonexistent. I’m not sure why but the game feels like I need 1000 pieces of a crafting item called a “sharp fang”. I always knew that my exploration to the far corners of the map would just lead to that stupid sharp fang. Only a handful of times will you actually find something that’s worth exploring for like a weapon or a piece of armor. It seems so shoehorned in. The game should have just been a complete action game without any of the piss poor RPG elements. Clive kills all the interesting characters and all that’s left is boring Ultima. One of the worst antagonists in a Final Fantasy game. Overall this game just lacks the charm and heart of past Final Fantasy games. I don’t even care about the game not being turn based. FF7R wasn’t turn based and it handled combat and party management well. This game just throws it all out the window. I really hope this isn’t the future of Final Fantasy. I really REALLY wanted to like this game but the spectacle wasn’t enough to save it for me.… Expand
  52. Danilocomin
    Aug 12, 2023
    5
    Eu sou fã da franquia de décadas. E digo com convicção pois acabei de platinar o 16, esse foi o FF mais chato de todos. Simplesmente acabaram com a magia do jogo. Gameplay repetitivo, sem nave pra voar ou mapa para explorar. É um bom jogo, apenas isso.
  53. diLesnock
    Aug 12, 2023
    7
    "People don't like turn based RPGs anymore" - well tell that to the huge player base of the recent Baldur's Bate 3.

    First of all, I don't mind the shift to action as long as it's done right. Take FF7R as example, although a more action-oriented it still kept the essence of FF series including strategy and allowing players to stop and think when things get more complex. Unfortunately,    "People don't like turn based RPGs anymore" - well tell that to the huge player base of the recent Baldur's Bate 3.

    First of all, I don't mind the shift to action as long as it's done right. Take FF7R as example, although a more action-oriented it still kept the essence of FF series including strategy and allowing players to stop and think when things get more complex. Unfortunately, FF16 battle-system lacks depth and challenge. It is a combat formula that requires little to no thought process and thus become monotonous rather quickly.

    I still had a lot of fun with FF16. There are vast moments of awe with stunning boss battles, some exciting Eikon fights and cutscenes. The game is surely intended to be a visual spectacle and it indeed achieves on that. The soundtrack is amazing as expected from a Final Fantasy game.

    However, as a hardcore FF fan I can't help to be less critic about what I would expect from a FF mainline game.

    In FF16 we have an intriguing cast of characters with complex backgrounds, but regrettably underutilized. With no group party, you're spending the greater part of the story playing with a single character accompanied by a dog. As cute as it sounds, in the other hand you don't get too emotionally attached to the characters as they don't accompany you during most part of your journey.

    RPG elements like secret dungeons, interesting equipment, and elemental spells are absent, leaving exploration and character progression feeling shallow. You will never find anything interesting within chests as the best equipment are made by the blacksmith. There are no secret dungeons with secret bosses that would reward you some set upgrade or special items. Talking about items the only ones you'll use in this game are Potions and High-Potions, there are no Phoenix Down as there are no party members, no Antidotes as there are no status effects like poison or haste or anything similar. Therefore, there is no incentive at all to detour your linear path and waste a lot of your time exploring an empty environment just for additional crafting material that you will never use.

    The boss fights are a visual spectacle as mentioned, but in the end, it feels more like a missed opportunity as they mostly drag out too long and present no real challenge. I wish they'd allowed the hardest difficult to be played since the beginning to make these fights a little more interesting.

    FF16 leaves me feeling that it would fit better as a spinoff rather than a mainline game. I don't mind the experimentation but if this is the formula intended moving forward than as a hardcore fan it gets me worried about the future of the series. In the end it feels the gameplay are just there to fill the gap between a movie and a game, because that's ultimately what FF16 feels like, a huge movie with a lot of filler battles in between.    … Expand
  54. alomarin
    Aug 12, 2023
    6
    I had big expectations for this game and, in the end, I kind of hated it.
    I wanted to so bad to finish it and sell my physical copy (which I did).
    The first 3-4 hours are amazing, especially the boss fights, then you have to deal with the silly secondary missions, the boring story and the empty world, ugh…
  55. Zarathustra11
    Aug 11, 2023
    6
    This is the most clear 6/10 game I've played in years. There are so many great ideas in the game that don't get executed as well as they could be.

    Pros: The combat is really fun in the first half of the game. The side quests really add to the world building and offers interesting dialogue. Most cutscenes are really great. As should be expected in a Final Fantasy game. The music. Yeah,    This is the most clear 6/10 game I've played in years. There are so many great ideas in the game that don't get executed as well as they could be.

    Pros:
    The combat is really fun in the first half of the game.
    The side quests really add to the world building and offers interesting dialogue.
    Most cutscenes are really great. As should be expected in a Final Fantasy game.
    The music. Yeah, everyone should know thoa by now.

    Cons:
    The combat becomes really repetitive in the second half of the game.
    There is absolutely no exploration or hidden loot.
    The world feels really empty most of the time.
    The story never hooks you and is a total snore fest in the end.

    I had hoped this would be my game of the year, but sadly it just has too many flaws to get there.    … Expand
  56. visiblelight7
    Aug 9, 2023
    6
    As a 36 year old who played FF7 to FF10 , the demo had gave me hope this game was going to bring back the ''feels'' and yes it did but only superficially and perhaps 50% of it. It shines in it's music and visuals and EXCELLENT story-telling. Even the cast and characters are well done but the game feels like an empty shell. The towns look good on the outside but there is no interiors toAs a 36 year old who played FF7 to FF10 , the demo had gave me hope this game was going to bring back the ''feels'' and yes it did but only superficially and perhaps 50% of it. It shines in it's music and visuals and EXCELLENT story-telling. Even the cast and characters are well done but the game feels like an empty shell. The towns look good on the outside but there is no interiors to the buildings. There is nothing there to explore. The world has no exploration. I love that they didn't go ''open-world". I was so relieved about it, it was a great decision. However, there's also a fine balance of mystery which is completely lacking from the world. There is no exploration because the world is simply a shell to progress the story. It lacks substance. Do you remember Final Fantasy 7's overworld and sense of mystery? Forget that. There's no ''extratowns'' which are there for you to uncover a mystery, find new camarades to adventure with. All this game does right is 1) Story-telling 2) Voice acting 3)Music 4)Ambiance of old-school final fantasy. That's amazing but that's also only 50-60% of a masterpiece. You are still left with frenetic combat with too many spell particles, no depth at all. It's just not satisfying and becomes boring fast. I promise you after 15-20 hours, you will be sick of the combat. Final fantasy 16 is a great 10 hour experience until you realize that it's not bringing you to the next-level. Your anticipations are crushed. You realize all you are going to do is try to mindnumbingly go through from A to B just so you can see the story unfold in it's greatness but sadly that's not enough. It only temporarily or momentarily capture the ''magic'' of Final fantasy 7,8,9,10 but very short-lived and I really think they nailed 60% of it and did a 10/10 job on those(such as story-telling)...but everything else is just there as a shell. It's sadly so boring I am contemplating skipping everything now. I don't find the repetitive combat any fun anymore. I just want to hear the story it has to tell...I'm considering using youtube for all that. That's what Final Fantasy 16 is for me. I regret spending 103$ canadian for it. I wish I was more patient , that's just too much money but I wanted to support the publisher to tell them they were going in the right direction. Sadly, being in the right direction doesn't mean much when 50% of your game lacking the greatness that was at hand. They needed to build DEEPER story intertwind with DEEPER cities, overworld , MORE MYSTERIES.
    Why they cannot recreate the epicness of Final fantasy 7,8,9 ? It's not just the mediocre combat either. There's something substantial missing about the world exploration....and no I don't mean useless fetch-quests or tedious side-quests that waste your time for hours like most open worlds do(which it avoided)...We needed a spaceship and a world that opens to you which have their own cast of characters to ''find''(Remember FF7? NO not the re-make for Gen-Z adhd).    … Expand
  57. DarkAuron90
    Aug 8, 2023
    7
    Millenials will tell you this is the best FF ever made. For me is one of the worst. Don't get me wrong, the game is not so bad. I am 33 and i play FF since i am 12. Im not judging the evolution in action style, it's just that this game is really boring. It has so many cons if compared to the the FF pillars. Huge lack of contents, no mini games, no secrets, the combat system that is greatMillenials will tell you this is the best FF ever made. For me is one of the worst. Don't get me wrong, the game is not so bad. I am 33 and i play FF since i am 12. Im not judging the evolution in action style, it's just that this game is really boring. It has so many cons if compared to the the FF pillars. Huge lack of contents, no mini games, no secrets, the combat system that is great but really usless, the game is to easy and the FF mode it's an excuse to make the game longer. It miss all the RPG components, and there is no effective magic in this game, no parameters. Is too linear, even the crafting is linear as hell and so basic. This game has good particles system, good combat system, good boos fights and a great story and technically it is good but this is by no means enough if compared to the best Final Fantasy games. I feel to much laziness in some comparts of the game and in my opinion the graphic of the 15th is even more enjoyable. Even if the 15th (in the windows edition) with all its flaws in my opinion is more FF and more funny than the 16th chapter. Im not satisfied considering the hype.… Expand
  58. Binyabik
    Aug 8, 2023
    7
    I really wanted to like it but there are soooo many issues.

    It's hardly an RPG besides talking to people it's an action game but: For all the hype around the DMC combat designer the combat is not good enough and doesn't go deep enough to be enjoyable. The combat just doesn't go deep enough and offer enough. Enemies are either too easy (normal mobs) or boring (too much health but    I really wanted to like it but there are soooo many issues.

    It's hardly an RPG besides talking to people it's an action game but:

    For all the hype around the DMC combat designer the combat is not good enough and doesn't go deep enough to be enjoyable. The combat just doesn't go deep enough and offer enough.

    Enemies are either too easy (normal mobs) or boring (too much health but no challenge).

    The same few monster types repeat over and over and over.

    The world is... empty? Like it's FF13 all over again. Sure there are huge areas but they have no purpose. There is nothing to discorver, hardly anything to do. If you are lucky there is a treasure chest somewhere which 99% of the time alone contain crap mats you already have 1000s of.

    All side quests are kill x or collect flowers and 99% of them don't tell an interesting story.

    The crafting system is a joke. Every few chapters you get the newest items, no farming needed ever if you have been killing monsters (besides the 3 best items in the game, which are also more or less handed to you).

    The world as such and the people in it are mostly a..holes. There is no nuance. Everybody either helps "Cid" or is against you. It's all black and white.

    The graphics are nice but too close to FF XIV, same goes for their overall design and aesthetic. That's of course personal taste but I hate it.

    I will stop here but I definitely feel this game has a lot of issues and flaws and doesn't deserve the high rating it received. It's not bad but it's definitely not great.

    There is of course some great stuff in this game. The story at points is awesome. Graphics are mostly good. The soundtrack is amazing. Some boss fights are insane (but way tooo long).

    However for every high and Woah! that was insane there are such deep lows... when i finished the game I was more annoyed and happy to be done with it more than anything else.    … Expand
  59. Rainpresis
    Aug 7, 2023
    6
    One of the most boring Games I’ve ever played……I am a big fan of Final Fantasy since FF7 for PS1….. I played every FF after the 7 on the release and have been always hyped about it. FF16 is a phenomenon, the game have the most epic scenes of all the series and has a great story also…. But everything else is really boring, all NPCs are boring , every dialogue in the game is boring, even theOne of the most boring Games I’ve ever played……I am a big fan of Final Fantasy since FF7 for PS1….. I played every FF after the 7 on the release and have been always hyped about it. FF16 is a phenomenon, the game have the most epic scenes of all the series and has a great story also…. But everything else is really boring, all NPCs are boring , every dialogue in the game is boring, even the main missions that lead to a main quest are boring….. the battle is something else apart, in the beginning is fun, but after 10hrs you just can’t support anymore….. it is a endless square button hit with some variances between, zero strategy…. Just hit that button like crazy…..I thought it couldn’t be worst than FF15, but actually is…. FF15 problem was the lack of storytelling and good cutscenes….. FF16 only have storytelling and cutscenes, nothing more….. probably if you combina the Good parts from 15 and 16 it would be an awesome game….. unfortunately I don’t think square is able to make epic games anymore….… Expand
  60. melchior21
    Aug 6, 2023
    5
    I wanted to love this game. I've been a longtime fan of the series. Final Fantasy 7 remains my favorite game of all time. It honestly pains me to see what the series has become.

    They have stripped away so much of what makes a Final Fantasy game a Final Fantasy game. And for what? They announced that we don't like turn-based or ATB combat anymore, that the series was "too sci-fi", etc.    I wanted to love this game. I've been a longtime fan of the series. Final Fantasy 7 remains my favorite game of all time. It honestly pains me to see what the series has become.

    They have stripped away so much of what makes a Final Fantasy game a Final Fantasy game. And for what? They announced that we don't like turn-based or ATB combat anymore, that the series was "too sci-fi", etc. That's all news to me, because those were all the things I loved about the series. I loved the cyberpunk or steampunk settings of 7, 8, 10, and 13. FFX had the best combat in the series IMO. But we apparently don't like those things anymore.

    And apparently we don't like good storytelling either. I feel like I'm going insane when I see the praise for this story. Have the standards for narrative fallen so far? These writers have never heard of "show, don't tell". Because half the story is quite literally told through Active Time Lore. And the rest of it is ridiculously heavy handed and dumbed down. DO YOU GET IT? PEOPLE TREAT BEARERS LIKE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS? DO YOU GET IT?!??!?

    Hire an actual writer or two. The pacing of the narrative is horrific. So many of the sidequests are pure bloat and could have been cut entirely. The side quests that are all worthwhile and actually add to character depth and narrative occur in the last few hours of the game, long after you might have stopped caring. Put those side quests earlier in the game. There were so many narrative hits that didn't resonate because I was *told* to care about these characters when I should have been *shown*. That's what the great games of this series did so well. We cared when events happened in 7 and 10 because those characters were developed and we got those narrative bits. In FFXVI, we read Active Time Lore and get told about various things we should care about.

    Story isn't the only thing that has suffered relative to previous games in the series. There are about 10 different enemies in this game, all with the same attacks. Compare that to the bestiary of 7 or 8. We're going backwards. Combat is laughably easy, and there is nothing that qualifies as a super boss that ranks with the likes of Emerald/Ruby Weapon, Nemesis, Penance, Ozma, etc.

    This is literally half of a Final Fantasy game and people are praising it to high heaven. To each their own I guess. I just feel like we should be adding to what has been established, not stripping away content. I don't even think this is the best RPG released in the last two years. Star Ocean Divine Force was unironically better with 1/10th of the budget.    … Expand
  61. Katsutoro
    Aug 5, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Finished after 50 hours, with all quests and hunts.

    A good action videogame... but sadly a really bad RPG. And for me that is the reason why it becomes one of the worst games in the main saga.

    The combat system is easy and very simple and the plot has a great start but after Cid's death and the introduction of one of the worst villains in the saga, it loses quality and pace.

    There are no towns or memorable locations, the exploration is terrible and the quests are bored except for the last ones.

    Not all is bad, Clive is a good main character, and we have the best Cid, in the saga, the soundtrack is top and the eikon boss fighs are crazy, Bayonetta style.

    Like i say, a good narrative (and easy) action hack'n'slash game, but and horrible RPG.    … Expand
  62. Nogradis
    Aug 5, 2023
    7
    It started very strong, but fell short of expectations after a dozen of hours in. It's a fine game and you will have a lot of fun with it, but there are some elements (especially side quests - ALL of them) that could be done better. A step into the right direction for sure, but we are not yet there.
  63. Givos
    Aug 4, 2023
    7
    After the demo I had very high expectations. They were only partly fulfilled.
    it's a very linear cut scene heavy action game
    not much replay value for core games a bit too easy The story is ok, but after the demo I expected a GoT-like one - it's not. Loot is very seldom really useful or rewarding Bad 60 FPS Mode (switched to 30) Poor facial animations Great Music and the action    After the demo I had very high expectations. They were only partly fulfilled.
    it's a very linear cut scene heavy action game
    not much replay value
    for core games a bit too easy
    The story is ok, but after the demo I expected a GoT-like one - it's not.
    Loot is very seldom really useful or rewarding
    Bad 60 FPS Mode (switched to 30)
    Poor facial animations

    Great Music and the action was quite good    … Expand
  64. Xenomorph_kills
    Aug 3, 2023
    7
    A new vision for the franchise but not with its many flaws. For every amazing moment this game provides through epic cutscenes, it is met with the absolute low with side quests involving simple item fetch quest that take just about equal amount of time in this 60 hour game. The gameplay is flashy but no depth. The main character is greatly fleshed out while the side charaters are one noteA new vision for the franchise but not with its many flaws. For every amazing moment this game provides through epic cutscenes, it is met with the absolute low with side quests involving simple item fetch quest that take just about equal amount of time in this 60 hour game. The gameplay is flashy but no depth. The main character is greatly fleshed out while the side charaters are one note and forgettable.… Expand
  65. Sythalin
    Aug 2, 2023
    7
    It's highly debated back and forth, but God of Dragon Ball May Cry is a pretty decent game for what it is. I do tend to agree with the majority though - it's far more God of War/Devil May Cry game with a Final Fantasy skin than a true "Final Fantasy" game.

    The world is gorgeous and very detailed. However, it's also very empty. They attempted to fix the major complaint of FF13 where    It's highly debated back and forth, but God of Dragon Ball May Cry is a pretty decent game for what it is. I do tend to agree with the majority though - it's far more God of War/Devil May Cry game with a Final Fantasy skin than a true "Final Fantasy" game.

    The world is gorgeous and very detailed. However, it's also very empty. They attempted to fix the major complaint of FF13 where the majority of the maps were corridors, but failed to fill them with anything substantial. Zones are wide open spaces with a few patches of monsters here and there and 1-2 towns, which are also mostly empty. Quite honestly, the game really could've benefited if they would've make it a seamless world instead of broken into chunks.

    Combat is primarily where the game is compared to GoW/DMC, and rightfully so. Combat encounters either button mashing or QTE for major fights. For standard enemies... well it's basically the same still. There are a total of 38 abilities (no counting combat basic skills) and you can assign a total of 9 active at a time. Optimally, you'll end up choosing a mix that is maximizing stagger and pure damage. Unforunately, this makes the majority of skills "useless" in comparison. I didn't even bother testing/using the majority of the available skills once I found a combination that pretty much erased even elite enemies.

    The main story is okay. It's nothing super special, and nothing really felt unique. Besides for the "combat skins" and NPCs, this is really the only thing that was "Final Fantasy"esque, and it was unimpressive overall.

    Side quests get extremely tedious and boring very quickly, and that's amazing since you don't get the majority of them until towards the end of the game. And at that point, almost every quest is 3 minute or longer dialog, that you can thankfully skip through. At the start of the game, I was all in for sitting through the side stories. After hitting the end point of the game where they dump 15 side quests at once, it got to the point I just started skipping through the dialog for anyone that wasn't a "main" character.

    Crafting/gear progression is a complete joke. The option to craft progession gear (green) is pointless. Once you start rolling through the story and side quests, the materials for your next major weapons (blue quality+) are pretty much literally thrown at you. By the time you unlock a crafting recipe, you either already aquired all the materials or will be getting them very shortly after. They may as well just scrapped this entire system and given out the gear upgrades directly.

    Overall, the game is very pretty, and feels like the majority of development went into doing only that. Everything that makes a RPG feel like "Final Fantasy" felt like it was tacked on, or missing entirely, just so the IP can be in the title. They could've completely removed all the FF IP and it would be solid on it's own. Even FF15 felt more like a "Final Fantasy" game than this did. But again, even though this is most definitely "God of Dragon Ball May Cry", it was a solid game to play through.    … Expand
  66. Nimmer
    Aug 2, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I really liked the demo and, generally speaking, the first half of the game. The characters were very interesting across the board, the story had me very emotionally invested, the politics between nations was amazing, the world building was excellent. Yes, the side quests and RPG features were pretty lame, but the fantastic gameplay in the fantastic story with it's fantastic characters made none of it matter. If the game kept up with it's quality throughout the entirety of it, I'd be giving it a 9, despite the flaws.

    But the story falls off a cliff at some point as they've built up a "big bad" enemy. Characters that were once interesting either cease to exist or become very bland and predictable. The convoluted politics disappear and the story begins to drag as each and every objective is guessed ahead of time. I was excitedly playing every chance I got and then I was forcing myself to play the game so that I could complete it. And if the big bad was satisfying to kill, I'd maybe be okay with the ending, but the only feeling the ending left me with was dissatisfaction. I didn't care about killing the big bad in this game, at all, and the ending is set up to make the player satisfied with the death of the MC and his pals because they stopped the big bad. But the big bad was lame and uninteresting, so the MC and pals that were the last things I was emotionally invested in died killing a mostly faceless enemy that I didn't care about.

    Also, while the general gameplay is fantastic, the eikon fights were absolutely boring to play comparatively and I found myself disappointed when having to switch from human combat to eikon combat when it really should have been the opposite. Overall, I feel like they fumbled their execution on what could have been an amazing game, leaving the game feeling generic and unsatisfying.    … Expand
  67. Reed618
    Aug 1, 2023
    7
    Long time fan of the series, I've finished every mainline entry except 11 plus many spinoffs. Personally found 16 to be a mixed bag. The combat is fun but does get repetitive and lacks any strategy. It's mostly a case of waiting for cooldown timers. Very surprised there's no elemental damage, you can literally fight fire enemies with fire and it works fine.

    Personally didn't like the    Long time fan of the series, I've finished every mainline entry except 11 plus many spinoffs. Personally found 16 to be a mixed bag. The combat is fun but does get repetitive and lacks any strategy. It's mostly a case of waiting for cooldown timers. Very surprised there's no elemental damage, you can literally fight fire enemies with fire and it works fine.

    Personally didn't like the characters, they seemed kinda tropey and dull. 15 had its flaws but that was a charming crew. I did quite like the new Cid though. The story also felt a bit generic. I had high hopes for this one with YoshiP leading the project but it wasn't for me. Looking forward to the next ff7 remake game though.    … Expand
  68. Kailo09
    Aug 1, 2023
    7
    I'm a huge FF fan, especially of CBU3 as I have put in over 800 hours into FF14. So I went into FF16 with high expectations. The game has the highest of high's but is drastically brought down due to poor pacing and terrible side quests.

    Pros The Eikon encounters are absolutely amazing and an superb spectacle. Even some of the normal boss encounters are incredibly well done. I have no    I'm a huge FF fan, especially of CBU3 as I have put in over 800 hours into FF14. So I went into FF16 with high expectations. The game has the highest of high's but is drastically brought down due to poor pacing and terrible side quests.

    Pros
    The Eikon encounters are absolutely amazing and an superb spectacle. Even some of the normal boss encounters are incredibly well done. I have no faults with this.

    The story and quality of writing is excellent, at least for the main scenario quests. Scenes are emotional, exciting and some really great voice acting work.

    The music is top notch, classic Soken quality that I have come to expect from his work in FF14.

    Cons

    Graphics and Performance - This is a big disappointment to me with the poor frame rates and jerkiness. The developers really hyped up how the game is in a complete state and has had plenty of time for polish so I was expecting a solid 60fps experience. They definitely delivered on a bug free game though!

    The graphics are amazing but there are too many dark and muddy areas, it really reminded me of the early PS3/360 era of gaming in terms of the colour pigment. I get its a serious dark fantasy medieval tone, so I understand the choice. I just wish there was more colour to it.

    Side quests - I did about the first half of the games side quests before giving up and just skipping the rest. It was really hurting the games pacing. The pacing loop went like this:

    Build up of interesting narratives and travelling to a new area to do something important
    Epic boss fight happen with extremely amazing spectacles
    Great story cut scenes to follow that change the world and the overall situation
    Then it drops massively by going back to the hideaway, helping the locals with fixing a fence or something really mundane.

    The amount of side quests really increases as the game goes on and I was overwhelmed with green dots everywhere on the map by the end. I am sure there are some really interesting side quests within the sea of green but the sad thing was, I stopped caring. This was really sad, especially for someone who looks to complete every side quest. I gave up and kept on at the main story to avoid these drastic slow downs in the pacing.

    Combat - I enjoyed the overall combat mechanics, they were fun and engaging. However, it was sad the system couldn't accommodate things like status effects, buffs, debuffs and making it a bit more strategic. The game attempts to make use of enemies using buffs like Protect, but this is few and far between. A Marboro's bad breath, just damages you and will not give you status effects like poison and sleep.

    Crafting and Items - This is probably the weakest aspect of the game. Crafting feels absolutely pointless. You are showered with crafting items at all times and you will upgrade your gear. But its all very linear, by the numbers and ultimately pointless. I think they should have taken this feature out entirely honestly.

    I sound very negative on the game but the game makes it through to a 7 out of 10 thanks to its excellent characters, main story and spectacle of events. The pacing and RPG elements of the game really drag it down due to their poor execution and I almost wish they just made a full on action game that is 25 hours long with none of the filler and weak RPG elements.    … Expand
  69. TheMan2
    Jul 29, 2023
    5
    Just finished the game with all quests done and hunting after more than a month.It was very painful. Honestly, it felt good to be in this world. I remember being at Martha’s inn and thinking ”this is nice” (because of the music, lighting etc.). The main story was enjoyable but not ground breaking. Some of the side stories were enjoyable as well BUT 100% of them were ruined by the fact thatJust finished the game with all quests done and hunting after more than a month.It was very painful. Honestly, it felt good to be in this world. I remember being at Martha’s inn and thinking ”this is nice” (because of the music, lighting etc.). The main story was enjoyable but not ground breaking. Some of the side stories were enjoyable as well BUT 100% of them were ruined by the fact that they always ended in a fetch quest or a lame combat encounter.
    Speaking of combat, when you finish the tutorial 1 hour or 2 in, you’ve seen everything. You get flashier moves for sure but the game doesn’t get more mecanics. The game systems in general are a disaster, indie game levels kind of disaster! Be it loot, crafting, quest design, skills, everything is garbage.
    The world, although engaging, is also shalow. All the big buldings and towns are just decoration. You never get to explore more than 2 or 3 streets, and this is in the very best case scenario.
    It frustrating because the game keeps remind you of great things from previous titles (big cities, magic, dungeons, character parties, ships and so on) but none of those thing are in the actual game.
    I honnestly don’t understand how the game has 80+ scores. As an rpg, it’s bad and as an action game it’s mid at best. Don’t even compare it to DMC.
    Anyway, at this point I’m no longer expecting SE to produce the kind of FF’s I liked or FF’s that are not half backed. But who knows. See you in FF7R 2 I guess    … Expand
  70. todobramble
    Jul 29, 2023
    6
    Boss battles and music score is a 10/10. Really enjoyed the Titan boss fight. But the side quests were pointless and mind-numbingly repetitive fetch quests with dialogue that felt like it never ended.

    The story also goes downhill about midwway through the game and becomes really dull. The world itself was the biggest major disappointment. There was no attempt to make the world feel like    Boss battles and music score is a 10/10. Really enjoyed the Titan boss fight. But the side quests were pointless and mind-numbingly repetitive fetch quests with dialogue that felt like it never ended.

    The story also goes downhill about midwway through the game and becomes really dull. The world itself was the biggest major disappointment. There was no attempt to make the world feel like a lived-in world. This game is a huge step backwards for Square Enix after making FF7 Remake.

    The RPG aspect regarding gear customization and play style abilities were superficial. Doesn't matter what boss you encounter, just spam the same combos to defeat. The game is incredibly easy.    … Expand
  71. BadLarry
    Jul 29, 2023
    6
    A pretty weak and forgettable entry in the core Final Fantasy series. I've through all of the numbered FF games since the first one released on NES. The good stuff first: I do enjoy the action based combat which has a crisp and quick feel like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. Boss fights are particularly enjoyable and you can scale the difficulty to suit how deep you want to go. GraphicsA pretty weak and forgettable entry in the core Final Fantasy series. I've through all of the numbered FF games since the first one released on NES. The good stuff first: I do enjoy the action based combat which has a crisp and quick feel like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. Boss fights are particularly enjoyable and you can scale the difficulty to suit how deep you want to go. Graphics are very good and there are some truly stunning sequences. Now on to the bad. 16 might be the most boring of the bunch outside of the huge but few cinematic clashes. You spend a lot of time in the generic swamp or grasslands fields fighting repetitive enemies. A lot of RPG elements have been stripped away to the point that there's very little use for the money that you earn in the game. Only 3 pieces of equipment with essentially only 2 stats each. Side quests are really afterthoughts that add little to the plot or universe and aren't very rewarding. I really missed having a cast of protagonists that you team up with, have their own unique stories, and you come to love as they develop. This game seems much smaller since it's really a one man show. You get temporary sidekicks but you don't have any control over them at all. The biggest gripe i have which is worth 4 points off the score alone is how the game cheats you out of really experiencing the world it's set in. The world is broken up into kingdoms each with their own mountain sized crystal shards. It's clear from a distance that the fantastical cities sprung up around these crystals. When you see the cities at a distance, you get excited to finally leave the generic wilderness that 90% of the game takes place in. Eventually you go to these crystals as part of the main plot, so you assume on the way you'll get to pass through these amazing looking cities. You'd be wrong. The first time, your allies talk of a secret tunnel to sneak in. Once you initiate that key mission, you literally warp from home base to within a stones throw of the objective, skipping over ever getting to see that city or any of the world on the way. They cut a big chunk out of the 'adventure' of this well....adventure. Kinda like Frodo and Sam setting out to Mordor and five minutes later they're there dropping the ring in Mount Doom. This was disappointing the first time. It's downright insulting that this happens every time you have a big 'mission'. There's a secret tunnel, back entrance, or mine shaft that you end up sneaking right up to the boss through and never get to see any of the locations. It's generic fields, or generic dungeons, and not much more. Almost as if the devs blew their budget on the big 'eikon' battles and didn't have any time or money to develop the rest of the world. A truly shameful design tactic.… Expand
  72. Udr
    Jul 29, 2023
    7
    Final fantasy is awesome in important moment of the story. But, after… This is not a final fantasy. This is not a RPG
    Fake utility of gils, exp, exploration, équipement, craft…
    You can avoid everything, run face of you to thé end, you’ll never need anything.
    The gameplay ? Like DMC, but with One weapon and 4 spell ; boring
  73. Fetpro
    Jul 28, 2023
    5
    Un très beau final fantasy dans tout ce qu'il y a de graphique, technologie et une très bonne story comparé à l'opus précédent qui été vraiment bâclé. Cependant il manque quelque chose pour être un vrai ff. J'ai fais le jeu car grand fan de la licence et il m 'as couté cher mais comparé aux autres je ne le ferais qu'une seule fois.
  74. Gipsojo
    Jul 27, 2023
    7
    This game has some of the most epic boss encounters I've ever played. That makes it all the more disappointing that you spend a couple of hours or more in between boss encounters doing boring fetch quests and watching people talk. The side quests are poor and I would recommend skipping them!

    I think they could have cut about 5-10 hours of fetch quests and dialogue from this game and it    This game has some of the most epic boss encounters I've ever played. That makes it all the more disappointing that you spend a couple of hours or more in between boss encounters doing boring fetch quests and watching people talk. The side quests are poor and I would recommend skipping them!

    I think they could have cut about 5-10 hours of fetch quests and dialogue from this game and it would be an 8 or 9 out of 10. As it is, Final Fantasy 16 is one of the best games of the year, but definitely not the best game of 2023.

    Pros: Amazing boss fights, good graphics
    Cons: Hour after hour of dialogue, boring fetch quests    … Expand
  75. GuitarGog
    Jul 27, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pros: Amazing plot, characters, music, boss fights.

    Cons: Dead large areas
    very shallow combat system
    very weak item diversity.
    very weak equipment depth.
    Buffing is pointless.
    the game’s skybox changes to grey and keeps it that way even after you finish the game making it hard to see and very annoying.
    Lacks a RPG game elements.
    Too much uninteresting dialogue in the sidequests.
    Chocobo music is absent.
    **** crafting system.
    No manual sprinting.    … Expand
  76. Bashamuto
    Jul 26, 2023
    5
    FF16 had such a strong demo I was completely sold on the game. The story starts off strong and the combat seems to hold a lot of promise.

    Unfortunately, the pacing of the game is extremely inconsistent. The story will go through lows that I would consider completely unplayable for extended periods and I feel it gets weaker as it continues. The combat is fun and engaging until you unlock    FF16 had such a strong demo I was completely sold on the game. The story starts off strong and the combat seems to hold a lot of promise.

    Unfortunately, the pacing of the game is extremely inconsistent. The story will go through lows that I would consider completely unplayable for extended periods and I feel it gets weaker as it continues. The combat is fun and engaging until you unlock most of the abilities and realize it doesn't change much and you're very much spamming square.

    The boss fights can be a sight to behold. Similar to the story I think the bosses lose steam in the second half.

    The best way I can describe this game is that it felt like separate teams made different parts of the game but didn't have anyone making sure there was consistency. If you're the kind of person that needs snappy pacing - this isn't for you. If you can ignore stretches of mediocrity for some great moments - by all means give it a shot.

    By the end of the game I was rushing to get it finished. I was complaining to my wife that I couldn't believe I spent 50 hours on this game and that it should have been between 20-30. When I checked my settings I was shocked to see I only spent 31 hours with this game. I've never had a game feel like it dragged on so much - even games double the size.    … Expand
  77. Chabs1985
    Jul 26, 2023
    5
    What happens to Final Fantasy?

    Since FF10 I wonder what Square is doing with its license. FF6,7,8,9 were masterpieces. The 13 very average but I had fun but the 15 and 16 looks like discount games for the series. The 15 had at least the merit of having great music and a good design chara. The 16 fails almost everywhere, an agreed scenario try to be inspired by Game of Thrones.    What happens to Final Fantasy?

    Since FF10 I wonder what Square is doing with its license. FF6,7,8,9 were masterpieces. The 13 very average but I had fun but the 15 and 16 looks like discount games for the series.

    The 15 had at least the merit of having great music and a good design chara.

    The 16 fails almost everywhere, an agreed scenario try to be inspired by Game of Thrones. Music sometimes good but forgettable. A gameplay without depth and easy, not subtle and stupid. No alterations of states, no reflection to have. A false side rpg used to hide a linear path that makes us go from scene to scene. (well realized, we must recognize it).

    The side quests are catastrophic, the pnjs are despicable because they look like robots without souls. The chara-design is infamous, Clive is the worst main character of a Final Fantasy, his outfit is disgusting, it looks like Castlevania.

    Apart from the scenes of great shows, I found this game very poor playfully.

    I have a lot of hope with FF7 Rebirth because I loved the remake, please go in this direction for your future games. The fighting system was perfect, as was the story and the characters.    … Expand
  78. Awwlexis
    Jul 25, 2023
    7
    Disappointing Story, Fun combat but lacks identity and depth, forgettable characters, MMO side quests.

    Story: The most generic story I've seen in a video game in some time. You could literally predict the entire outcome very early in the game. I did like the mix up by making the bigger fights radically stupid and anime in that you're literally just recreating DBZ or KLK or other    Disappointing Story, Fun combat but lacks identity and depth, forgettable characters, MMO side quests.

    Story:
    The most generic story I've seen in a video game in some time. You could literally predict the entire outcome very early in the game.

    I did like the mix up by making the bigger fights radically stupid and anime in that you're literally just recreating DBZ or KLK or other Shonen fighting moments, but in a setting that has such a realism style to it, it feels weird jarring and extremely out of place even though I overall enjoyed it as a shake up.

    The actual story itself though was full of forgettable characters, many poor voice acting performances, and nothing to remember or rave to your friends about. The only incredible voice performance was Cid and Benedikta, the rest were very average to poor.

    One of the most important character's to the story and the main love interest Jill is the most wet blanket female MC in a long time. I absolutely hate that any and all women in video games MUST be one of two things, either absolutely useless wet blanket personality or Mario Movie Princess Peach and can literally save the world by herself because she's a super OP Mary Sue. Benedikta again had more personality and I wanted to learn more about her than I did Jill. A better voice acting performance might have helped save her character some, but she has again the most generic backstory, she gets captured, spoilered, and she's otherwise just quiet and a non-character for most of the story. She is only there to bang the MC and give up the ghost to aid his suicidal quest to stop god. No "I'll fight to the death with you" nope, with the exception of like two scenes she's just as useful as Gav the scout that get's caught and half blinded in combat. What could have been a really good potential lead character was just another pixie dream girl following a suicidal loner "I must do it all, I'm special, I'm the only one who can do it" main character.

    Gameplay:
    While the combat is by far the best and most standout feature of this game, it still feels like it heavily lacks identity and that they couldn't make decisions while developing if they wanted the game to be a serious hardcore combat game or made simple to appeal to the masses of casuals. It has this weird in-between where there are some advanced mechanics, but they are clunky at best.

    Some of the core highest damaging moves that you get at the end of the game and are meant to combo into require the most awkward inputs of all time. You have to press and hold the attack button down to do one for example, but you must also first make sure your Eikon ability is toggled on, and then the hold down duration is changed by your other hold down button skill. It is the most awkward terrible keybinding of all time for what is supposed to be the ultimate strongest ability in the entire game.

    Additionally, you only get to assign 3 of the 7 eikons you unlock, removing 99% of the customization and creativity of the game. Why give us 4 abilities per eikon if you're only going to let us use 6 of them total? That is 22 cool and unique abilities you can't use ever. The combat in this game could have just gone the Devil May Cry direction and been very advanced with a toggle for simplicty making it extremely fun, or let you cycle all eikons for a blast but they instead just decided to let you use almost none of it. I get they probably decided they wanted some but not a lot of depth to fit somewhere in the middle but it just feels like the combat designers had ADHD and half implemented things rather than making up their mind one way or the other. It would have been better to give us less ability options if they were going to so severely limit us after overloading us with cool stuff.

    An example of this poorly designed middle system where they couldn't make up their mind was air combat. They give you a double jump, eikon powers to get you in the air, and air attacks and skills, but you fall at the speed of light making air combos really irritating to perform. The air attack itself is only a 3 hit combo which if you perform it, because the endlag of the last swing is so long, you drop to the ground like a brick right after with no option to maintain your height without eikon abilities or wasting both of your extra jumps just to get one extra attack before falling to the ground. It is single handedly the worst designed air combat I've seen in any combat focused game.

    Additionally, your 5 hit basic ground attack combo, NEVER CHANGES. The ENTIRE game your primary attack combo remains the exact same with the only variation to that being when you limit break. I don't understand what in their right mind didn't think to give us a main combo enhancement, change up, or even just adding a tiny bit more to the main combo. It's so boring seeing the same attacks the entire game. At least have multiple animations for the same combo.

    I'd say more but I'm out of characte    … Expand
  79. soooB
    Jul 25, 2023
    7
    Decent story tempered by bland, repetitive side quests. Doesn't really feel like a Final Fantasy game, more like an homage to one, just shoehorning in some of the names and enemies. Engine is excellent and sadly the only real glitch I had was it hanging during one of the final battles of the game (probably 10 minutes into the fight) . If this is the last numbered FF game it'll be a realDecent story tempered by bland, repetitive side quests. Doesn't really feel like a Final Fantasy game, more like an homage to one, just shoehorning in some of the names and enemies. Engine is excellent and sadly the only real glitch I had was it hanging during one of the final battles of the game (probably 10 minutes into the fight) . If this is the last numbered FF game it'll be a real shame as this is the most mediocre one I can remember since one of the bland FF11 games or FF10-2.… Expand
  80. valeriozaglio
    Jul 25, 2023
    5
    E niente ci ho provato ma alla fine la noia ha vinto e l'ho abbandonato a metà... Le missioni sono quanto di più piatto e ridicolo abbia trovato in un videogioco e il sistema di combattimento è solo un pigiare bottoni a più non posso, non capisco come facciano a dire che è divertentissimo, queste persone hanno mai giocato ad un Souls like? Peccato per la pessima deriva presa dalla saga cheE niente ci ho provato ma alla fine la noia ha vinto e l'ho abbandonato a metà... Le missioni sono quanto di più piatto e ridicolo abbia trovato in un videogioco e il sistema di combattimento è solo un pigiare bottoni a più non posso, non capisco come facciano a dire che è divertentissimo, queste persone hanno mai giocato ad un Souls like? Peccato per la pessima deriva presa dalla saga che ormai è completamente diversa dai capitoli che me ne hanno fatto innamorare. Credo che dopo 25 anni sia ora di mettere una pietra sopra a Finale Fantasy, molto meglio le produzioni occidentali.… Expand
  81. Stawkuj
    Jul 25, 2023
    6
    Story and music are great but gameplay lack what made FF series unique.

    - Elemental weakness/absorption went missing , casting fire on bombs = casting blizzard on bombs

    - No status effect , bad breath from malboro = fire breath from drake type enemies

    + Eikon battles are great and probably the best of all FFs
  82. Kearne
    Jul 24, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So I'm just after gaining Shiva Eikon powers, before final showdown with Odin and I have to say that.... it was the most boring Final Fantasy in my career. I'm fresh after finishing FF6 and repeating 9. My God... so many things went wrong in this one. Plot was great until Cid's death, then suddenly game lost all its pacing. Dozens of completly random side quests (talk to 1st person, talk to 2nd person, kill something, bring item to 1st person). And there is more and more of those between almost every bigger main mission. Even main mission are all like: run through corridors, valleys, kill every group, 2 mini bosses and main boss. Rinse and repeat. Characters are boring. Jill is there just to be a meatshield and show Shiva from time to time, Clive is so cliché with his "I have to save the world and let people choose their lives". Boss Eikon fights are really good, so is the graphics. Fighting itself is .... meh.... I would rather prefer what they did in 7 remake. As there is absolutely nothing left of rpg tactical thing. FF16 is just Devil May Cry, so if you like action hack and slash mashers you will probably like the game. I'm not even sure if I will have enough will to finish the game. And that's really bad if you have to make yourself finish something that should be fun. Plus for graphics, eikon fights and powers, moogle and first half of the plot.… Expand
  83. cid33
    Jul 24, 2023
    6
    The good? epic boss battles, amazing music, interesting story. The bad everything else. It feels like bootleg Witcher.
    Combat is repetitive and boring, way to easy with enemies having excessive hp, fighting the same 10 enemies the entire game, small enemy vith axesword, big guy with hammeraxe, flying bird, wyvern, bomb, and then some of the worst reskinre color I have encountered a AAA    The good? epic boss battles, amazing music, interesting story. The bad everything else. It feels like bootleg Witcher.
    Combat is repetitive and boring, way to easy with enemies having excessive hp, fighting the same 10 enemies the entire game, small enemy vith axesword, big guy with hammeraxe, flying bird, wyvern, bomb, and then some of the worst reskinre color I have encountered a AAA game. Boss battles consist of on the rails QTE nightmares. They do look epic tho, but this is not supposed to be a interactive movie. Sidequest and exploring feel like a chore and reward nothing but crafting materials that you craft 1 thing with at start of chapter then they pileup in inventory by the thousands. Enemies level with each chapter making leveling irrelevant as they stay at your level and you don't feel like you grow in strength. Visuals are amazing if it wasn't for choppy framerate and horrendous blur, the blur got patched tho, still sucked for half the game Animation is horrible reusing the same animation for 90% of the game, zoom in on Clive he waves hand zoom in on NPC shoulder shrug zoom to Clive reaches for camera to giveget item. Main character voice is like the town drunk woke up in the snow to cold to express or speak words instead of mumbling them. Barely showing feelings true game except for some random times in battle. The rest are good voice acting.    … Expand
  84. Thiccbob
    Jul 23, 2023
    5
    First of all, I think people should wait until they actually finish the game before rating the game a 10 or a 0 after only 6 hours of gameplay. So, I'm a lifelong Final Fantasy fan, since first playing FFX as a kid. So it pains me to give this game such a low score. I thought the series had hit rock bottom with 15, and maybe it technically had, and while the two are very different, I feelFirst of all, I think people should wait until they actually finish the game before rating the game a 10 or a 0 after only 6 hours of gameplay. So, I'm a lifelong Final Fantasy fan, since first playing FFX as a kid. So it pains me to give this game such a low score. I thought the series had hit rock bottom with 15, and maybe it technically had, and while the two are very different, I feel like both of them are a low point in the series.

    Tl;dr version: The game has incredibly flashy if repetitive combat, with the exception of the eikon fights which are the best parts of the game. The story gets interesting at times, but dull characters don't help make this straightforward story stand out. It's alright as a one time play through, but I don't think it will leave much of a positive impact on the franchise. It will probably go down as a very dull entry in the series.

    Longer version: The demo had me hooked on the game, especially with the way it ended. However, that demo hid the worst parts of the game: the pacing and by extension, the side quests. In between the highs of the eikon fights, which are a lot of fun and very flashy, are dull parts where you return to the hideaway and get bossed around by Mid or go around running inane errands for some random npc, even though I'm supposed to be the leader of their whole resistance, but whatever. The side quests are also basically just that. Dull fetch quests, with dull npcs. Sometimes they are interesting, but after running around delivering apples, it was clear they were going to be like that the entire game.

    As for the story, it can definitely be confusing at times. The game has a compendium where you can look up terms, people, and places, but until those places or people become major players in the story (which is like halfway through, since the first half focuses on like 2 or 3 kingdoms out of the 6 in the game) their roles in the game's world are kind of confusing. In the final leg of the game, you get an NPC, Vivian, and she has a map and goes through and explains each kingdom's motivations and what exactly they are doing at that point of the game, which is incredibly helpful, it's just a shame nobody does earlier in the game. But that leads me to my next point. Most of the characters are just so dull and they don't really feel that special. I liked Byron and Cid, but everyone else, even Clive himself, are just kind of boring. I've never cared less for characters in a Final Fantasy game than in 15. At least 15 had some cool DLC to flesh out their main cast. You get a glimpse of the main enemy after you get the first eikon, and I thought there would be more interesting developments, but there wasn't really. Yoshida's involvement was so hyped so maybe I was just spoiled by 14's amazing story, although that game had over a decade to develop its plot with amazing plot twists. There's also a lot of stuff that was interesting but never explored, like what about the lands outside of Storm and Ash? Why is Leviathan not there? What the heck happened to the Fallen?

    And then, finally, the combat. It's incredibly flashy and cool looking, but the game seems to boil down to: press R1 to doge, hit an enemy until they stagger, then use all your cooldowns at once, repeat. You get many eikon abilities, but you will mostly use phoenix and ifrit abilities the whole game, and near the end once you get Odin, Zantetsuken makes every non-boss enemy a joke. Some eikon abilities feel straight up useless, like Ramuh and Shiva. There are "Eikonic vulnerabilities" which are elemental weaknesses essentially, but it's so inconsequential that you won't even notice they are weaknesses. They also went the FF14 route where you can use fire magic on fire enemies, etc which I felt was weird. Things like weapons, armor, accessories, crafting, and leveling up felt almost entirely pointless. I used like the same 2 accessories the whole game, potion healing up and the one where dodging increases damage from attacks. Things like +10 defense or attack felt like they made no difference, and neither did any new equipment or leveling up. You unlock trials throughout the game which force you to use certain eikons, but I didn't love the combat, so I didn't finish them all. There are hunts which are a nice challenge if you are under leveled. It's a shame because I feel FF7R had the perfect balance of action RPG and classic turn based RPG elements, but they decided to go for style over subtstance with this game.

    Overall it's not terrible, but I just don't see any lasting appeal with this game. After I beat the game, I just had no desire to play it. Like ever again. I spoke with a few people who also bought the game, and they feel pretty much the same way I do. It's fun at first but really overstays it's welcome.    … Expand
  85. Coralpearlz
    Jul 23, 2023
    5
    Fine action-game, but it's barely even an RPG/JRPG and feels ashamed to be an Final Fantasy title at times.
  86. HopeLastReward
    Jul 23, 2023
    7
    Algo que ha caracterizado los videojuegos de los ultimos años es el relleno para hacer que los videojuegos duren mas y Final Fantasy XVI no es la excepcion fuera de las misiones secundarias hay algunas principales que tambien lo parecen y se diente que hacen perder tu tiempo, en cuanto a la historia principal los personajes no son de los que te encariñas y los mejores son los villanos queAlgo que ha caracterizado los videojuegos de los ultimos años es el relleno para hacer que los videojuegos duren mas y Final Fantasy XVI no es la excepcion fuera de las misiones secundarias hay algunas principales que tambien lo parecen y se diente que hacen perder tu tiempo, en cuanto a la historia principal los personajes no son de los que te encariñas y los mejores son los villanos que desafortunadamente despues de derrotarlos ya no siguen en el juego, la jugabilidad parece hack and slash pero no se siente tan lleno de posibilidades como un devil may cry/bayonetta esto cambia rn la recta final cuando ya cuentas con todos los poderes, la historia esta bien pero pudo ser mejor aprovechada si hubieran mas personajes jugables al menos 1 por cada reino pero bueno lo mejor del juego son sus cinematicas y el soundtrack utilizado en estas aqui esta lo epico inclusive las batallas de las invocaciones estan igual de epicas, si bien no me gusto tanto el juego si pulen o mejoran la secuela sin dudas jugaria el XVII… Expand
  87. Spaceycakey1987
    Jul 21, 2023
    6
    Great story and graphics with weak weapon and end game side content disappointed at lack of party and weapon options crafting system is overly basic and hunt system is 1 of the weakest in the franchise theres no lore or anything unique to any of them there just reskined mobs you fight during the story with an extra move unlike past games like gilgamesh from ff12 or adamantoise from ff15Great story and graphics with weak weapon and end game side content disappointed at lack of party and weapon options crafting system is overly basic and hunt system is 1 of the weakest in the franchise theres no lore or anything unique to any of them there just reskined mobs you fight during the story with an extra move unlike past games like gilgamesh from ff12 or adamantoise from ff15 ect combat revolves around spamming abilities on a timer enemy's have no weakness and theres no status effects elemental buffs and weakness at all the verity of mobs is also lacking compared to past entrys theres no verity in weapons either just the same 1 handed sword reskined with slightly higher damage and stagger stats nothing feels unique even the ultima blade the world itself is beautifully detailed but is not worth exploring as game does reward you for doing so there is no super bosses or dungeons I would have rated lower if not for the story'main fights which are impressive but unfortunatly the game lacks the depth of others in the franchise outside of the main story with endgame now being new game plus which just ads an extra mob or two to story fights and increases level cap from 50 to 100 on a slightly higher difficulty ultimately the game looks impressive but fails in the rpg elements this franchise in known for so much so I would argue it's not an rpg at all but a character action game… Expand
  88. Insert_Carrot
    Jul 20, 2023
    5
    Final Fantasy 16 is not a bad game, but it's also not a good game, and crucially, it's everything I don't want from a FF game. Bloated cut scenes, shallow combat, minimal and essentially pointless RPG elements such as leveling up and weapon upgrades and a boring story filled with too many characters that I do not care about.

    On a positive note, the game runs well, it's a very pretty    Final Fantasy 16 is not a bad game, but it's also not a good game, and crucially, it's everything I don't want from a FF game. Bloated cut scenes, shallow combat, minimal and essentially pointless RPG elements such as leveling up and weapon upgrades and a boring story filled with too many characters that I do not care about.

    On a positive note, the game runs well, it's a very pretty game and the music is excellent. In fact the music might be my favourite thing about it. Can't fault it. But that's about all the nice things I have to say about the game.

    The gameplay loop for much of this game is as follows; run along an empty corridor for a few minutes heading in the direction of a way point, get to waypoint, cut scene begins. Cut scene lasts for ten minutes and has zero interactive elements. Control is returned so you can smush a handful of pathetically weak baddies and one tank who is also easy, but takes ages to kill... all of this is dealt with by hammering the square button, interspersed with the occasional dodge or use of special power... then back to hammering square while you wait for your special abilities to recharge. Then you get another corridor or cut scene. Rinse and repeat ad nauseum.

    Cut scenes consist of weirdly stiff and awkward character animations, poor camera framing, and bland, overly written dialogue with very little substance. I think the worst thing about the cliched dialogue is how smug it all feels. Bloated, cliche-riddled pseudo-poetic nonsense. Characters you barely know will go on and on about their tedious backstory for way, way too long while stirring music builds in an effort to force you to feel some sort of emotion or connection, with all the subtlety of a brick to the face. Most of the cut scenes in this game are like having somebody grab you by the shoulders whilst screaming "feel something!" directly into your face. I can't say that I appreciated it.

    It's a forgettable story about warring nations, magical crystals (seriously Squenix, you can stop with the crystals at this point) and a band of rugged heroes battling to save the people by murdering the **** out of a whole lot of people. It's a bit more complicated than that, but not by a lot. Game of Thrones comparisons can be found all over the internet, probably because of all the scenes with olde worlde maps and little pieces representing armies being moved around by various factions, cut scenes prefaced with "meanwhile, in a far away land..." showing the game's numerous two-dimensional cartoonishly simplistic villains chuckling evilly whilst discussing their painfully dull plans for world domination and power mongering... things of this nature litter the game. Honestly calling it a game feels misleading as so much of it is just watching cut scenes.

    There are a million other things that I could rant about (the side quests, item collection, upgrades and leveling, the number of times the game hands control back to you just so that you can press a button or two only to be dRaGgEd BaCk InTo MORE cUt ScEnEs... my god) but I'll refrain. I can't say that I truly hated FF16, because it's a pretty game that functions as intended, and it's obviously well liked by a lot of people, but I was bored whilst playing it and now, reflecting back on it, I'm sad. I really, really wanted to like this game, but I just didn't. I'm probably getting grumpy with old age, perhaps my soul is dying. Who knows? All I know is that I did not connect with this game on any level, and I'm bummed about it. All of the crazy people giving this bland and shallow nonsense a perfect score... I wish I was there with you, drinking the Kool Aid and having a grand old time, but I'm not. I'm going to pour myself some hard brown liquor and maybe download some of those shiny remasters of the first six FF games and play those instead, and pray to the gaming gods that I haven't gotten so old and bitter that I can't enjoy those anymore either. Fingers crossed.    … Expand
  89. Zoddy
    Jul 20, 2023
    7
    The story and the gameplay are really good. However there are some issues regarding the rythm of the game and the optional content. Regarding the former, after a main boss you are forced to do pointless and repetitive quests the are boring; for the latter, secondary quests are too simple and too similar to each other.
  90. SamuraiEdgeplay
    Jul 19, 2023
    7
    It's ok. It's not the spawn of satan that's killed the beloved RPG game line Final Fantasy. It's also not the perfect 10/10 God given gift brought to you by Yoshida P. It's an incredibly easy character action game with a Final Fantasy skin with a myriad of pacing issues, useless side quests, barebones RPG mechanics, vapid npcs that accompany you in combat to do window dressing for damage,It's ok. It's not the spawn of satan that's killed the beloved RPG game line Final Fantasy. It's also not the perfect 10/10 God given gift brought to you by Yoshida P. It's an incredibly easy character action game with a Final Fantasy skin with a myriad of pacing issues, useless side quests, barebones RPG mechanics, vapid npcs that accompany you in combat to do window dressing for damage, nothing to look forward to while progressing/skilling up... yet it sounds incredible, looks fantastic, is well made AT LAUNCH, and offers a better action combat experience than its predecessors in the Final Fantasy line (despite me liking 15 better honestly).

    I'll never prefer this over FF games with actual RPG mechanics, but you can't say they didn't create a solid experience out the gate (unlike the beautiful, hot mess that was FF15). The ultimate kicker? No tonberries or cactuars. Wait for this to go on sale for like $30 it's not worth the $70 price tag.    … Expand
  91. Redrumi
    Jul 19, 2023
    6
    I don't know why people keep saying its original or brave new direction when its basically a watered down version of the Witcher and other much better action rpgs. And that description is generous. Also most of the character facial design, especially for the female characters, are awful and all look alike. Save time and just watch the cutscenes on youtube. Then Xenoblade instead if youI don't know why people keep saying its original or brave new direction when its basically a watered down version of the Witcher and other much better action rpgs. And that description is generous. Also most of the character facial design, especially for the female characters, are awful and all look alike. Save time and just watch the cutscenes on youtube. Then Xenoblade instead if you want a epic rpg with great combat and a full party of characters to care about.… Expand
  92. dangyosabyss
    Jul 19, 2023
    7
    It is very much aimed at Game of Thrones fans who want that feel in a video game in 2023. It does straight up steal wholesale from ASOIAF and people who have read the books will be able to guess a lot of the story. While story-wise it nails it the aesthetic is slightly off. The creators stick too closely to FF staples and paradigms to the detriment of cohesion. The grimdark subject matterIt is very much aimed at Game of Thrones fans who want that feel in a video game in 2023. It does straight up steal wholesale from ASOIAF and people who have read the books will be able to guess a lot of the story. While story-wise it nails it the aesthetic is slightly off. The creators stick too closely to FF staples and paradigms to the detriment of cohesion. The grimdark subject matter is offset by our grizzled and haunted heroes riding giant eyepatch-wearing chickens. It undermines what they were aiming for. The cuhrazay anime nonsense also undermines the tone. I have 1000 words more but for some reason metacritic keeps 403'ing when I try to post it. Detailed reviews be damned I suppose.… Expand
  93. Kongming00
    Jul 19, 2023
    5
    This was really hard to review. As a lover of ALL rpgs, something just feels so generic. And don’t get me started how it still hurts my eyes even with motion blur off…
    Story- 7
    Gameplay-6 Graphics- 5 Sound - 7 World - 6 Replay -1 Story was generic european nonsense. Some of the characters are loveable. But most just fade into bg. I dont remember any of the non mains. I have played and    This was really hard to review. As a lover of ALL rpgs, something just feels so generic. And don’t get me started how it still hurts my eyes even with motion blur off…
    Story- 7
    Gameplay-6
    Graphics- 5
    Sound - 7
    World - 6
    Replay -1

    Story was generic european nonsense. Some of the characters are loveable. But most just fade into bg. I dont remember any of the non mains. I have played and loved every FF game. Some more than others. But this was just a slog to get through. First time I have skipped a cutscene because I just didnt care…

    Gameplay was epic in the summon battles. Great in boss battles. Everything else was so easy and boring a 3 year old could beat it.

    Graphics. Muddy. Blurry even with blur off! Why do the field areas look like ps3? And the frame drops are reaaaallllyy bad

    Sound is great. Music is great in the battles. Everywhere else is generic

    World. Again some great inside areas. All the outside areas look like ps3 and blurry. Replay. Never again. I wanted it to be over with how generic the battles were. Such a waste of time. Cant wait to get back to FF7 rebirth.    … Expand
  94. AlexApex
    Jul 19, 2023
    7
    I am a long time FF fan and I played many other action, rpgs, and action-rpg games. FFXVI is a good game but it has many core fundamental flaws that prevented me from giving it a higher score. I already wrote this before but got the 403 error, thanks metacritic, I apologize if you're reading this twice.

    Flaws Include. 1. Easy difficulty with little to no challenge even on action    I am a long time FF fan and I played many other action, rpgs, and action-rpg games. FFXVI is a good game but it has many core fundamental flaws that prevented me from giving it a higher score. I already wrote this before but got the 403 error, thanks metacritic, I apologize if you're reading this twice.

    Flaws Include.

    1. Easy difficulty with little to no challenge even on action mode. The mobs of enemies are just punching bags that barely do anything. They don't dodge or block and barely attack, some have a guard but that's easily circumvented. The enemy variety is small, you fight the same scorpions on different locations and every nation has a big guy with a big hammer or axe. The combat gameplay is amazing but there really is no incentive to make the best combos or to improve on them like in the game this was inspired by, DMC.

    2. Little to no itemization. You upgrade your sword very easily, and it's always a minor/flat increase like +5 damage/stagger. All the accessories mostly decease cooldown or increase damage of eickon ability, the only cool accessory is the berserker ring which actually does something. Your belt and wrist guard are no different to your sword, it's all defense and vitality increase. The only thing you can customize are your eickon ability and you can only really upgrade them once to improve them. The other upgrade is just to move it to another slot. Every battle gives you a lot of materials to upgrade or craft. It's very easy to get your best in slot gear, no thinking required.

    3. No RPG system. There are no buffs or debuffs in this game. Get hit with bad breath? Well it only does damage. No poison, haste, stop, paralyses, doom, etc. No elemental wheel. No way to strategize and exploit enemy weakness. All you do is just wail on them with your sword until stagger breaks, use limit break, hit them with all of your abilities, rinse and repeat.

    4. Too many side quests. At first the game starts you with only 2 or 3 in the early game which is fine but then amps up the frequency. Before the final boss I had more than 10 side quests that popped up. This really ruined the pacing. Near the end it felt like an MMO and trust me I played quite a few, you start by picking everything up at once, skip dialogue/cutscene, go here, kill that, collect this, go back to npc, accept reward. And some side quests felt meaningless, they could've been taken out and some MSQuest could've been sidequests.

    5. Quick time events are meaningless. The QTE are cool but it pauses the game for like 5 or 6 seconds just to press one button. There is no skill required and it just ruins the flow of battle. Kingdom Hearts II and older God of War games did it better. Those scenes would be better if it didn't have them so I could grab some snacks and enjoy the awesome Kaiju battles instead.

    6. No reason to explore map. Only things worth finding are the notorious marks or eickon trials. Only chest in the world just give you materials you already have or could just buy from an npc.

    There are smaller nick picks I have like your chocobo is just faster walking, no chocobo racing or treasure hunts like in FF9. No mini games to change up gameplay or just to relax like prior entries. Party members don't show up in side quests or respond in any way like in Mass Effect.

    Don't get me wrong, FFXVI is a good game. I love the story, combat, characters, dialogue, eickon battles and set pieces. But I was so disappointment by it that I was not having fun halfway through the game. I had to force myself to get to the end, it felt like a chore. I was gonna give it a lower score but Soken's music is magnificent like always. I will definitely get the album when it comes out. Anyways, thank you for reading.    … Expand
  95. Soulsweeper
    Jul 18, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I want to love this game so much but there are some issues we need to talk about. I have played all the main entries of FF games and I enjoyed every single one since FF7, however despite having moderate expectations, FF16 falls a bit flat in important bit while it shines in big moments.
    This review is only about the first run (i don't have the motivation for the New Game Plus)

    Starting with Pros:
    - Almost every single cinematic moment is an absolute master class in direction.
    - The music is another huge highlight (except the music during Titan fight, that felt off for me). For me music is really important when being used in a story background and they don't miss here.
    - The combat feels really good, specially in a long run when you unlock more eikon powers that help stun, special dodges, etc, during fights.
    - You can use different abilities from Eikons to see the best combos you can use.
    - Eikon fights are visually amazing.
    - Character design feels more contained, compared with many FF titles but each character is well designed and easy to identify.
    - The story feels more mature than usual, I am glad they made a more adult story.
    - Game design is phenomenal, the visuals are another big highlight, I can't count how many times I stopped the game to take a screenshot.
    - Cid is probably the best Cid iteration we have ever had even if the character didn't reached the end of the game.
    - Monster design feels grounded but I think it's good.
    - High rank monsters feel like good challenges.
    - Best characters: Benedicta, Anabelle, Cid, Kupka, Gav.

    Now the Cons (this is going to hurt):
    - Gameplay, I kid you not, you can literally fight enemies with one hand and win, just use attack and dodge.
    - First part of the game is good since it teaches you about the world, world rules, characters, and life changing moments at the end of First Act.
    - Second part of the game is almost unnecessary, you continue your journey through the world with the story more focused on saving bearers. Some side quests are good but in general it just felt the same over and over with no impact in a long run.
    - Third part of the game felt much better as a closing act, however there is no closure for a game of such magnitude. All the work done around, secondary characters is worth nothing, Bearers have zero impact and in the end there is zero explanation of what happened to the world. You have a small epilogue and that's it. WTF?
    CHARACTERS! Holy s*** this is my biggest issue. You have characters like Cid, Dion, Joshua, even Byron, Wade and Gav. You can't use a single one of them. They could have made the same system like Torgal but no, sure you have Torgal but it's so basic and his abilities are the same from beginning to end.
    -Jill survives the whole game and could have easily been used as a secondary playable character. So much potential lost in terms of gameplay and story, she literally feels like a female token npc. Even Benedicta or Anabelle are more complex and interesting.
    -Barnabas, I literally skipped his dialogue whenever he appeared, I couldn't handle the way they made the character speak like he's reading Shakespeare the whole time. This character felt important at first but in the end it was just a big empty fart when it came to character building.
    - Dion could have been managed in a better way (big potential as a playable character).
    - Do not play in Performance mode because the frame drops are quite distracting, locked 30 fps makes it more bearable and still I had drops below 20 even in dialogue moments. It shows that the optimization isn't very good.
    - There are ZERO mini games or any kind of puzzle mechanic. Not even Chocobo racing, nothing.
    All side quests are all FETCH Quests, at some point it bored me to death. The only side quests that have real impact are the upgrade ones (potions, recipes for weapons).
    - There almost no magic to use, the world exists around magic but Clive can only use little balls of fire, or wind, etc, from little to no impact in gameplay.
    - Rpg elements are almost non-existent, don't expect to see special stats on weapons or accessories, it's just the basic stats and that's it.
    - The customization in Clive is just the sword, nothing else is visible in your character. You have one playable character and you can't even change the look of armor, bracelet, not even the story items given by npc's are visible.
    - I used my first Potion at the big Bahamut fight, I'm not joking. The game is very easy and the potion system is almost useless.
    - Second Hideway, There are too many Npc's that only give you information that is literally useless. Sure you can learn about characters and the state on the world but there is zero substance. The area it self is so big and forces you to walk so much to reach characters.
    - Maps are big despite being semi-open but they just feel so empty, some map areas like the region next to Dragon Talon just feel bland and rushed.    … Expand
  96. slaine130177
    Jul 18, 2023
    7
    Fini en 27h avec toutes les quêtes annexes, contrat d'élite et autres défis, ce qui fait quand même très peu pour un RPG type FF.
    Pour résumer FF16 n'est pas un RPG avec une dose de combat type DMC, mais bien un jeu Devil May Cry avec une pincée de Final Fantasy.
    Ici pas de gestion d'inventaire (du moins minimaliste), pas d'exploration libre mais des zones définies, pas de grandes    Fini en 27h avec toutes les quêtes annexes, contrat d'élite et autres défis, ce qui fait quand même très peu pour un RPG type FF.
    Pour résumer FF16 n'est pas un RPG avec une dose de combat type DMC, mais bien un jeu Devil May Cry avec une pincée de Final Fantasy.
    Ici pas de gestion d'inventaire (du moins minimaliste), pas d'exploration libre mais des zones définies, pas de grandes citées à explorer (que des villages quasi vides), des couloirs et des salles à l'infini jusqu'à la fin du jeu. C'est un pur jeu d'action teinté d'un scénario type RPG. Même pas besoin de farmer les levels, le titre est très facile.

    Il y avait tellement mieux à faire....Si seulement il y avait plus d'interractivité avec le joueur. Par exemple, à un moment dans l'histoire vous avez accès à une carte complète du monde avec tous ses enjeux politiques, sociaux et les stratégies de la guerre. Si au moins on avait laissé le choix au joueur d'attaquer le royaume qu'il veut dans l'ordre qu'il souhaite, qu'ensuite cela impactait le monde, les autres royaumes et changeait les stratégies, ça aurait été génial. Mais non, on doit suivre à lettre le scénario écrit.
    Ne cherchez pas non plus d'autres libertés, tous les objectifs sont indiqués sur la carte, même les PNJ à qui parler. Absolument AUCUNE liberté.

    Heureusement le jeu a quand même quelques beaux atouts comme un gameplay de combat bien maîtrisé et simple à prendre en main, d'excellents boss, un scénario sympa (mais pas aussi sombre que je l'aurais voulu), une OST excellente, un doublage VF bien travaillée et, un "méchant" charismatique.

    Dernier point sur la technique, le jeu alterne le très beau avec le très moyen en permanence. Le pire étant la modélisation des personnages (hors persos principaux) qui font peine à voir pour de la next gen. La PS5 peut faire largement mieux, le jeu aurait pu être cross Gen.

    Un bon jeu qui aurait mérité un peu plus d'ambition dans sa partie level design, liberté donné aux joueurs    … Expand
  97. CorruptShaolin
    Jul 18, 2023
    6
    Final Fantasy 16 has been a bit of a roller coaster ride with absolutely incredible ups and absolutely incredibly boring put you to sleep downs. I haven't completed the entire game yet but have played a lot of the game and feel I've played enough to know what this game is.

    PROS Combat - The thing that stands out the most in this game is the combat and the boss fights. I give the    Final Fantasy 16 has been a bit of a roller coaster ride with absolutely incredible ups and absolutely incredibly boring put you to sleep downs. I haven't completed the entire game yet but have played a lot of the game and feel I've played enough to know what this game is.

    PROS

    Combat - The thing that stands out the most in this game is the combat and the boss fights. I give the combat a solid 10/10. The combat resembles Devil May Cry style combat but it's much easier to pull off crazy combos in this game than it is in DMC which I think is great. The boss fights are absolutely epic and very fun!

    Visuals/Art style - The visuals are incredible and are actually pretty breathtaking, which has been the norm for FF games for the longest time but this game just adds new elements visually that I don't think have ever been in FF games.

    Music - GODLIKE!! Nothing left to be said.

    CONS

    Performance Issues - This game hurts my eyes just playing it and walking around. There seems to always be this constant jittery vibration on the screen that just ruins the experience of just walking around in non-combat gameplay. Sometimes in games that look amazing and have cool sceneries to look at, I enjoy just walking around and looking at how far video games have come. I did it with RDR2, Ghost of Tsushima, Demon Souls and others but in this game the constant nonstop performance issues are so distracting and takes away from the immersive experience in a huge way. The performance is great in combat but most of this game is spent not fighting which I also think is a problem.

    Pacing - The game has incredibly bad pacing. There will be moments where I think HOLY GOD this is the greatest game of all time while I'm fighting some crazy boss battle and then immediately after I find myself about to fall asleep from having to do some fetch quest where I go and pick berries or listen to some common folk talk about something that adds absolutely no value to the engagement of the story or anything for that matter. The prizes for doing side quests are useless and there is no motivation or incentive to do them at all.

    Upgrade Systems/RPG elements - This game has new items you can buy or forge but it's all based on the game's progression. When you get to the next part of the story there usually is a new item for each weapon or accessory and nothing else. You can't even see what the item looks like. I absolutely despise this type of upgrade system, it gives no incentive to work towards something, it's a scaling effect and the stat system is absolutely terrible and meaningless. As you get stronger, NPCs also get stronger and there doesn't seem to be any point where you feel like you're progressing in terms of how strong your character is.

    Dialogue/Cutscenes - This game is plagued with HEAVY amounts of cutscenes and constant snooze inducing dialogue that for one, is incredibly uninteresting and two, super awkward in the way body movements and the angles in which people interact with each other play out. It's like they're AI robots trying to be humans but are malfunctioning at times and the interactions just seem so unnatural in those moments and there are ALOT OF THESE MOMENTS and it makes me want to shut off the console and put the game away in storage and is a big part of why I haven't finished the game yet.

    No run mechanic - This game doesn't allow you to run on command, it only allows you to run in very specific moments. I am absolutely confident that the game doesn't allow to run because of how bad performance issues are. It makes no sense why they won't allow you to run. Adding the run mechanic would've made combat even better and the long distance traveling you have to do in this game would be more bearable.

    I am disappointed with this game and I really was looking forward to it more than any other game this year. Hopefully FF7 makes up for that.    … Expand
  98. Sbhu
    Jul 17, 2023
    5
    The story was so hard to get through and I miss the more traditional RPG elements. Won’t be preordering this series anymore.
  99. JSagittarius
    Jul 17, 2023
    7
    Souhrnně, chválím hlavní příběh, svět, grafiku, souboje monster. Nechválím, vedlejší úkoly, zdržování na všech frontách, často divná designová rozhodnutí. Vůbec nerozumím, jak mohla hra dostávat 90-100%. To ty věcí fakt nikomu nevadili? Nebo tou hrou ty lidi jen proletěli v hlavním příběhu?
  100. Brannon44
    Jul 17, 2023
    7
    Weird game. It has so many great things and so many bad things but it has an undeniable charm and is fun to play.
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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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