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. Captiosus
    Jul 4, 2023
    7
    As I sat there watching the credits roll, I basically came to the realization that this would be a good game if it had any name other than Final Fantasy. As a Final Fantasy game, however, it doesn't live up to the legacy of the franchise.

    Solo protagonist, action hack-and-slash, very few actual RPG elements, a lackluster world system, shallow characters with very little development,    As I sat there watching the credits roll, I basically came to the realization that this would be a good game if it had any name other than Final Fantasy. As a Final Fantasy game, however, it doesn't live up to the legacy of the franchise.

    Solo protagonist, action hack-and-slash, very few actual RPG elements, a lackluster world system, shallow characters with very little development, middling story arcs, mediocre exploration and crap loot, an unresolved ending... These would be fine if it was trying to be its own thing. But it's trying to be a FINAL FANTASY game. Tack on the awful performance with obscene motion blur in quality mode and severe frame drops and stuttering in performance mode and it just isn't worthy of all the 8s, 9s, and 10s it's getting. I struggle to give it a 7. It's honestly closer to a 6.

    Slightly better than FF15, but that's not exactly a high bar to clear.
    Not at all interested in replaying this game.    … Expand
  2. Ivan
    Jul 9, 2023
    7
    finally a final fanatasy with an exciting story. perhaps excessively copied from Games of thrones but very beautiful. extraordinary graphics. Everything else is boring . even facing the most dangerous bosses there is no risk of losing. I still don't know what the game currency is for and the sense of introducing money. driven equipment. poor skill tree. you can play safely with your brainfinally a final fanatasy with an exciting story. perhaps excessively copied from Games of thrones but very beautiful. extraordinary graphics. Everything else is boring . even facing the most dangerous bosses there is no risk of losing. I still don't know what the game currency is for and the sense of introducing money. driven equipment. poor skill tree. you can play safely with your brain off. very bad for a final fantasy. not to mention that the world, even if graphically gorgeous, is poor in any activity or search for something that is unfortunately missing. the second half of the game inserts secondary missions as main ones, also breaking the rhythm of the story. one step forward and three steps back. perhaps a step up from 15 but still far from the depth of 9-10-12.… Expand
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. Tubey
    Jul 16, 2023
    7
    After the emo boyband car journey that was FF15, 16 represents a minor improvement, with it's more gritty, heavily inspired Game of Thrones aesthetic and story arch, but it drops the ball too often with it's mediocre world building and surprising lack of an RPG 'feel' to it. Too often I'm thinking just how good FF7 Remake was in comparison rather than feel invested in this one.

    I can    After the emo boyband car journey that was FF15, 16 represents a minor improvement, with it's more gritty, heavily inspired Game of Thrones aesthetic and story arch, but it drops the ball too often with it's mediocre world building and surprising lack of an RPG 'feel' to it. Too often I'm thinking just how good FF7 Remake was in comparison rather than feel invested in this one.

    I can see why people, at least initially, were bowled over by it - it has really good presentation, very much 'next gen' with a vast feel to the experience, but the more you play the more humdrum it gets, with the title too often descending into 'when's the next decent fight?' and 'can these characters shut up I'm not interested in what they have to say or do.'

    Also, a Final Fantasy game should never have a protagonist named Clive. Indeed, that sort of represents my overall main problem with 16; there's too much of an attempt to appeal to western audiences, to the point where it's lost a lot of what Final Fantasy is loved for. This feels like Bayonetta x Game Of Thrones rather than Final Fantasy.

    So yes, in short, it's a decent action game, at points it's great even, but not really a decent RPG. Final Fantasy in name only. It leaves a fantastic first impression but ultimately can't quite last the pace.    … Expand
  6. Renzokuken
    Jun 23, 2023
    7
    To preface this, I'm a long time FF fan, I fundamentally disagree with a company building a series of RPG games off the money of long term fans, then throwing them to the wayside in order to make action games, under some false pretence that turn based RPG's don't sell.

    That said, I'll put that to one side in this review and be strictly objective, I'm 23 hours into my play through and    To preface this, I'm a long time FF fan, I fundamentally disagree with a company building a series of RPG games off the money of long term fans, then throwing them to the wayside in order to make action games, under some false pretence that turn based RPG's don't sell.

    That said, I'll put that to one side in this review and be strictly objective, I'm 23 hours into my play through and have just passed the second time skip, this review will be spoiler free, however.

    The Good:
    The graphics are excellent.
    The soundtrack is good, Soken is putting in the work yet again and doesn't disappoint.
    Set piece battles are an absolute visual treat, probably some of the best in the franchise, they're really spectacular.
    The main cast of characters are all very likable.
    The voice acting is for the most part fantastic
    Combat is flashy and looks excellent
    The plot is good, if you put in the reading hours.
    The world is very pretty.

    The Bad:
    Performance is abysmal, graphics mode runs at a decently stable 30fps, performance mode runs at anything between 30 and 45fps and jumps around constantly, I found myself playing on graphics mode as a stable frame rate is less distracting than one that jumps around all over the place, still I'd have taken a graphical downgrade for a stable 60fps performance mode.
    Combat is visually flashy, but lacks any depth, you evade, hit stuff with square x4 then triangle, and use your abilities on cooldown, there is no other meaningful strategy involved.
    During my 23 hours with the game I've noticed quite a bit of reuse of bosses, the one that stands out are the dragoon bosses, I'm not sure if we're just going though the whole colour pallet but so far I've fought a silver, white and black one.
    Combat is laughably easy, and difficulty options are locked behind new game plus, enemies engage you in groups but attack you one by one, completely breaking any immersion, not that it matters since anything that isn't a mini boss or boss, never gets a hit in because you stun lock them with all your attacks or one shot them all with AoE abilities.
    Equipment, crafting and just items in general are massively gutted and mostly pointless
    Quest, chest and combat rewards give you materials for crafting most of the time, leaving you feeling cheated, as they're feeding you items for a pointless system.
    Side quests are bland and boring, they feel like MMO fetch quests.
    The plot makes sense, but you need to do a large amount of outside reading in order to understand it, if I can't understand a plot without external help, that's a bad plot. Also it's a real rollercoaster in terms of pacing, one minute I'm in some hype set piece encounter then the next I'm gathering apples for some reason, and these peaks and troughs happen throughout the game.
    The world is very empty, there isn't much of anything to discover by going off the beaten trail.
    The set piece battles are either VERY simplified versions of regular combat, or entirely QTE events, they're extremely impressive to look at, but not very interesting to play.

    All in all, this game is a middling action game, it gets a decent amount right, but all the bits it gets right are the bits I'm not playing, they're the bits I'm watching. It pains me to know we lost the best RPG's in the history of video games, and this is what's wearing its skin.    … Expand
  7. thegold
    Jul 14, 2023
    7
    Sometimes very pretty, somtimes very mid. Soundtrack is phenomenal. Loot/rewards/crafting is incredibly dumb and unbalanced, feels like it was added last minute. Gameplay is sooo good.
    The Eikon battles are tedious, stupid and ridiculous. You fight some bosses over and over again. Kill boss, cutscene, fight boss with full HP again, kill boss, cutscene, fight boss with full HP again    Sometimes very pretty, somtimes very mid. Soundtrack is phenomenal. Loot/rewards/crafting is incredibly dumb and unbalanced, feels like it was added last minute. Gameplay is sooo good.
    The Eikon battles are tedious, stupid and ridiculous. You fight some bosses over and over again. Kill boss, cutscene, fight boss with full HP again, kill boss, cutscene, fight boss with full HP again cutscene.... Get some new writers Yoshida!    … Expand
  8. Redman_07
    Jun 28, 2023
    7
    i simply can not go over a 7...i wish i could, but i can´t.
    And here is why:
    - 0 Fantasy, literally, 90% of the colors are black/gray, no other races, no tech, nothing. - 0 rpg elements. Literally 0. you have 2 equip slots, which you just buy the new one the next chapter, clap clap. and a sword, same. - 0 "elements", there are no resistances, no poinsing, no burn, no slow, nothing,    i simply can not go over a 7...i wish i could, but i can´t.
    And here is why:

    - 0 Fantasy, literally, 90% of the colors are black/gray, no other races, no tech, nothing.
    - 0 rpg elements. Literally 0. you have 2 equip slots, which you just buy the new one the next chapter, clap clap. and a sword, same.
    - 0 "elements", there are no resistances, no poinsing, no burn, no slow, nothing, just raw damage
    - 0 fun with sidequests, it´s the basic mmorpg thing
    - 0 party member, no, you do not have a party, just 1-2 characters that somewhat join you in battle and mostly do almost nothing. you can´t equip them, not improve them, nothing.

    why is it still a 7?
    Presentation is great.
    Gameplay is really good, just took a while to get new stuff.
    it is a final fantasy after all, what i mean is, the boss fights, the over the top action and epicness with a great soundtrack (but definetly not as good as the great ones).

    So, what can i say...it often is very slow, awkward, i watch anime and play jrpgs, but in ff16 there is a lot of cringe going on.
    In the end, great game, but 0 RPG, action-adventure, with technical issues, which makes it a 7 not an 8.
    have fun    … Expand
  9. Talbis
    Jun 27, 2023
    7
    Is it a bad game? No, hell no, it's a good game, great even! It just doesn't feel like Final Fantasy... The core of FF games is the characters, the party and here we don't have a party. We're solo so much and supporting characters pop up here and there, but they're not always with you, so there is no building bonds between the characters... or between you and the characters. The mainIs it a bad game? No, hell no, it's a good game, great even! It just doesn't feel like Final Fantasy... The core of FF games is the characters, the party and here we don't have a party. We're solo so much and supporting characters pop up here and there, but they're not always with you, so there is no building bonds between the characters... or between you and the characters. The main character therefore isn't being challenged, he doesn't evolve or change or grow as a person... He's the same at the end as he was at the start. Then there's the loot. The loot is boring. It's the most barebones stat increase (your +5 to attack). There's no fun there, no elemental effects, no flair... a sword is a sword, nothing more. Then the whiplash effect of the storytelling and gameplay is separated. There is no blend of story and gameplay. The story is given to you as cutscenes and gameplay is a whole other thing. That's the old-school way to approach storytelling in games and it just doesn't work. The game takes away the control from the player so often and in such a jarring way... The gameplay itself is amazing, fighting feels great! The thing is, this is like Devil May Cry more than Final Fantasy! I like both, I like Bayonetta too... I... I just want my jRPG to be a jRPG... Levels are pointless, gear is pointless, and everything I expect from a Final Fantasy is just an afterthought.

    It's really a phenomenal game, really worth playing and the price tag! Just be aware that it's not a jRPG title, this is a character action game. If you go into it like me, expecting an epic jRPG game, you will come out both disappointed and satisfied at the same time. Final Fantasy is changing... and I am not sure if I'm allowed to love it, I am unsure if the future of the franchise is bright. I mean, I was harsh on Bethesda for gutting Fallout 4's RPG mechanics... so I should be critical here too, it's just fair... but this one is so damn good... Ehhh...    … Expand
  10. 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.
  11. kpc
    Jul 7, 2023
    7
    First, let me express how exhausting you "fanboy" vs. "hater" reviewers are. You should be moderated off this damn site, as your 0's and 10's contribute absolutely nothing of value to honest, unbiased feedback for informing purchasing decisions. Anyone giving this game a 0 is either completely dishonest or a neurotic gen-x OG FF player still moaning about the "death of a franchise" thatFirst, let me express how exhausting you "fanboy" vs. "hater" reviewers are. You should be moderated off this damn site, as your 0's and 10's contribute absolutely nothing of value to honest, unbiased feedback for informing purchasing decisions. Anyone giving this game a 0 is either completely dishonest or a neurotic gen-x OG FF player still moaning about the "death of a franchise" that started over two decades ago. You'd have us believe for $70 you wanted a 16-bit pixel art game with MIDI music, 20 minute long random trash mob battles, and 32 different consumables for each status ailment. That era has thankfully passed. Take off the rose colored glasses and try to cope with the reality that your ilk are a microscopic fraction of the overall player base modern RPGs are trying to appeal to. If you can't, go play something else rather than childishly review bombing every FF or other RPG title that deigns to bring in action elements. Now for those of you giving 10's... you're not very bright either. Some of you are just boring white knights trying to offset the 0's. Others have no concept of how point based rating scales work, and think a 10 means "I enjoyed it". Your feedback is worthless. Only a handful of video games come anywhere near 10, just like only a handful of Olympic performances have been so close to perfection as to deserve one. Rate honestly.

    That said, here's my opinion: On its own, this is a good game, but not great. As a Final Fantasy title, this does not crack top 5, and top 10 is arguable. First the good stuff: Beautiful graphics, highly detailed environments, some of the best voice acting and original scores not just in FF history, but all of gaming. The story is not terrible, you do at least want to see what happens next and delve into the lore of this realm. Clive is a top five protagonist, a welcome change from all the teen angst. He feels more like Terra than Tidus or Squall, which is great. This Cid is the best Cid ever, and finally the character gets a central role in the story from the beginning rather than his usual "guy who fixes the airship" role in the second half. Mid is a much better twist on the engineer's legacy than Cindy, the Daisy Duke + Cooter mashup in FF15.

    Now the bad stuff: The story and characters are way too similar to FF14. They didn't even bother creating a new character model for Clive; they just used the generic hero of darkness warrior from all the FF14 promos. Ultima is an uncloaked Ascian. Biggs, Wedge, Ysayle and Estinian/Aymeric had their names changed to Gav, Goetz, Jill and Dion with hardly any variation on their personalities or backstories. Primals (ahem Eikons) pull aether to manifest, only through those with the innate power to channel it, and those who can't become tempered (err Akashic). The city states are almost mirror images of those in FF14, from the Holy See (I mean Holy Empire) with its dragoons to the free city of Ul-dah (oopsie Kanver) in the desert with its merchant council maintaining neutrality. I know the FF franchise reuses town names, imperial conquest, eco-disaster, and character archetypes as readily as bringing back the same Espers, Primals, Eikons or whatever the hell those transformers things were in FF13, but this is a bridge too far... way too unoriginal to be praised as a fresh new fantasy world to be explored. Once again SE fails to learn from mistakes and creates a large, semi-open world just to fill it with random reskinned enemies and resource nodes. No secret dungeons, no incentive to wander off the beaten path and explore until the Hunt Board tells you there will be something in one of those empty map sections. Again, feels way too much like an MMORPG, and not in a good way. The same applies to the MMO style fetch quests in the first half of the game... uninteresting and don't really even try to help develop the characters, lest they leave some key narrative untold in optional content. There has to be something in between killing boars and every sidequest discovering a new playable character, though. All Yoshi needs to do is go talk to his SE colleagues who designed DQ11 to learn how it's done, because just porting FF14 fetch quests is lazy. Combat is too easy, even if you take manual control and execute the combos yourself ala Elden Ring... it's fluid and beautiful, but it lacks the heart racing tension of missing a key mechanic and suffering actual consequences. Right up to the final boss, you can just hit a self-heal ability and power through, ignoring any mechanic you like while being invulnerable during animations.

    Overall, I gave it an 7, which I think is generous. I started with 6, but gave it a bonus because it isn't some rich kid whose backstory I know nothing about driving around the countryside in a black space Rolls with his entourage for some reason, occasionally pulling off to have some ramen from the in-game Cup Noodle commercial or club baby seals for leather. At least SE learned something.    … Expand
  12. Voodoo123
    Jun 27, 2023
    7
    At its best this is an superb quality action RPG with 40+ hrs of playtime and some frankly amazing realtime cutscenes and animations with superior art designs and soundtrack.
    At its worst it struggles to keep pace with its core storyline instead forcing players through slow long periods of drawn out fetch quest style of mission design complete with poorly animated dialogue sequences for    At its best this is an superb quality action RPG with 40+ hrs of playtime and some frankly amazing realtime cutscenes and animations with superior art designs and soundtrack.
    At its worst it struggles to keep pace with its core storyline instead forcing players through slow long periods of drawn out fetch quest style of mission design complete with poorly animated dialogue sequences for the sake of fulfilling its 'world building' RPG quota.

    If I could use Odin's sword to slice out the poorly paced areas of this title and instead keep the action and cinematics (and cut the large open areas that slow down your progress) and tighten things into a 30hr play window I think this could've been awesome. As it goes its very good if you can filter out the bad. I loved so much of this game but I must say it felt like it dragged its heels at many points throughout my time with it.    … Expand
  13. j_obediah
    Jul 1, 2023
    7
    This game is being pushed into the green by a lot of hype.
    Graphics: 10/10. Perfect
    Story: 7/10: The hero is the overly compliant cliché who does whatever is asked of him. Including horribly boring side quests. A LOT of exposition and forced dialogue that does not feel natural at all. Horrible pacing with hard, frequent, transitions that make you feel as though you're going through a    This game is being pushed into the green by a lot of hype.
    Graphics: 10/10. Perfect
    Story: 7/10: The hero is the overly compliant cliché who does whatever is asked of him. Including horribly boring side quests. A LOT of exposition and forced dialogue that does not feel natural at all. Horrible pacing with hard, frequent, transitions that make you feel as though you're going through a documentary and not a flowing narrative.
    Gameplay: 7/10: Not very interesting. It has a lot to it, but there's no real feeling of reward to it. I had more fun when I equipped the auto-attack ring. but then I just wished it let me hold the attack button down instead of constantly mashing it.
    Music: 4/10: I had to turn it down because the music did not fit the scenes. Boss battles that are supposed to be intense are accompanied by flowing, thoughtful music. I felt no suspense in those times.

    The game just did not deliver. If you're going to change this much about the series, then you gotta knock it out of the park, and it just didn't do that.    … Expand
  14. zugzug15
    Jul 9, 2023
    7
    Story - 10, music - 10, graphics - 9, crafting - 6, spells - 5, combat - 6.

    The story and music are amazing and the ps5s graphics are awesome. The lack of spells with elemental traits that matter is a bit puzzling. Crafting is only for the latest equipment which will always just be a slight stat increase. Gil is almost worthless except for buying in game soundtrack. The combat is    Story - 10, music - 10, graphics - 9, crafting - 6, spells - 5, combat - 6.

    The story and music are amazing and the ps5s graphics are awesome. The lack of spells with elemental traits that matter is a bit puzzling. Crafting is only for the latest equipment which will always just be a slight stat increase. Gil is almost worthless except for buying in game soundtrack. The combat is flashy but once you find the combo that works for you it gets repetitive and boring and I found myself avoiding battles while traveling because I would rather use my time and combos on storyline battles. I do think this is a problem with it being single character focused and if they had done stories and battles with other party characters (Jill, Jonathan, Cid) it might have kept it a bit fresher.
    A mini map in the top corner or a compass would have been very helpful as well as I found myself constantly checking the map to make sure I was heading the right direction.

    Its a fun game that is heavy on cut scene stories but story itself makes the game so worth it.    … Expand
  15. 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
  16. 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?
  17. arostislavna
    Jun 24, 2023
    7
    Initially I thought it would be a dry story because I don't like medieval setting games, but it deserves a 7 for a medieval anti-imperialist plot, it's pretty cool for the modern action RPG style combat system, maybe lacks in summons but that's just me. Additionally, the final boss is freaking annoying and I take away 2 points for that. (Previously a 9)

    I still prefer    Initially I thought it would be a dry story because I don't like medieval setting games, but it deserves a 7 for a medieval anti-imperialist plot, it's pretty cool for the modern action RPG style combat system, maybe lacks in summons but that's just me. Additionally, the final boss is freaking annoying and I take away 2 points for that. (Previously a 9)

    I still prefer cyberpunk/futuristic Final Fantasy slightly more (ie: 7 / 13)    … Expand
  18. 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
  19. Acguydance
    Jun 23, 2023
    7
    A flashy but generic AAA action JRPG with a lot of cut-scenes, this FF sequel is highly entertaining but lacks the iconic feel of its predecessors.

    Pros: - Visually heavy and very casual friendly. You can sit back and relax without sweating your hands 80% of the time. - The combat system is fun and totally stress-free for an action game. You will feel like an action game god with the    A flashy but generic AAA action JRPG with a lot of cut-scenes, this FF sequel is highly entertaining but lacks the iconic feel of its predecessors.

    Pros:
    - Visually heavy and very casual friendly. You can sit back and relax without sweating your hands 80% of the time.
    - The combat system is fun and totally stress-free for an action game. You will feel like an action game god with the help of all the system assists.
    - Beautiful combat effects and QTE during key battles will keep you fresh.

    Cons:
    - Unnecessary but lengthy cutscenes are VERY distracting when you just want to PLAY a GAME.
    - Mostl. Linear. Final Fantasy. Ever. In terms of everything. Especially exploration.
    - Unable to turn off motion blur. May suffer.

    Also, there is no way this game deserve a 10 or a 0. Forget about those fanbois and Haters. Just saying.    … Expand
  20. RowanBlack
    Jul 7, 2023
    7
    Close to being great but just doesn't get there. Is this a good game? yes. However, a few tech and play issues keep it from being a top shelf game.

    The Great Cinematics are plentiful and well made. Characters are complex and help support an okay story. The okay Story is fine but takes too much inspiration from other source material (game of thrones) and is dark but pulls it's    Close to being great but just doesn't get there. Is this a good game? yes. However, a few tech and play issues keep it from being a top shelf game.

    The Great
    Cinematics are plentiful and well made. Characters are complex and help support an okay story.

    The okay
    Story is fine but takes too much inspiration from other source material (game of thrones) and is dark but pulls it's punches. They wanted to make a gritty game but apparently were also worried about offending anyone so scrubbed it out anything mature. This makes the story feel like it has no appropriate audience...like an R rated movie that's been cancered for general audiences.

    Combat gets to feeling repetitive after a while. I've played many action games with better move sets, and it feels like they are trying to cover up a mediocre system with an abundance of particle effects. I think they should have stuck with being a turn-based game, where they could be the king of turn based games, they settle for middle of the road for action.

    Graphics have a constant blur and muddy feel. This game would look amazing on a $4000 pc but the ps5 just doesn't have what it needs to run this above 30fps.

    The bad
    Crafting is minimalistic. It's so weak you can completely ignore it.
    Side content is mostly skippable and unnecessary. Missing the often-massive amount of side content a final fantasy game usually has.    … Expand
  21. pif
    Jun 25, 2023
    7
    This is an action combat game with Final Fantasy music / setting etc. The RPG elements are minimal, especially for an FF game, it is heavily linear, and has a lot of cut scenes. That being said, the graphics are nice and the story is good. Its just not a breath taking game changer of an FF game.

    I see a lot of people calling the combat easy, but this hasn't been my experience. If    This is an action combat game with Final Fantasy music / setting etc. The RPG elements are minimal, especially for an FF game, it is heavily linear, and has a lot of cut scenes. That being said, the graphics are nice and the story is good. Its just not a breath taking game changer of an FF game.

    I see a lot of people calling the combat easy, but this hasn't been my experience. If you play this without any of the hand holding items equipped that literally dodge, combo, heal you, and so on (so like actually play the game) then it is not 'easy'. I would describe it more as annoying. If you try to approach this like a souls game, dodging attacks and finding damage windows on bosses, you will be annoyed. The dodging is just kind of crap. Its unforgiving in an annoying way, where you just take hits that it feels like should have been perfect dodges. i don't know how else to put it. Anyway, the combat isn't about playing perfectly and more about getting hit less often, but understand that you are just going to get smacked around and knocked down from time to time. in other words, you just trade damage alot. its just not satisfying.    … Expand
  22. DeathSpiral
    Jun 26, 2023
    7
    Very excited when Yoshida released 16... I Pre-ordered game because of faith of him.... and.... sigh

    Graphic: (9/10) Great and stunning scenes. Very nice. But the frame drops frequently. Story: (3/10) Telling is very bad. Does this guy want revenge? Why did this guy give up so easily? This guy wants to save people but not himself and his loved ones? Added sub-stories to the main    Very excited when Yoshida released 16... I Pre-ordered game because of faith of him.... and.... sigh

    Graphic: (9/10)
    Great and stunning scenes. Very nice. But the frame drops frequently.

    Story: (3/10)
    Telling is very bad. Does this guy want revenge? Why did this guy give up so easily? This guy wants to save people but not himself and his loved ones?
    Added sub-stories to the main story so they extended play time. Have to stop or drop the game because of storytelling. Sub-stories are boring but it is rewarded at the end.
    But the ending is............ It doesn't have depth of story and also not enough narratives to convince the player. Ending makes it even worse.

    Music: (10/10)
    One of the main reasons to play ff16. Normally music reminds me how great the game was... but I don't want to think about this game

    Battle: (8/10)
    Not an easy game, but there are modes and items to make the game easy. Which was very good. Button pressing game but it has more depth in 2nd playthrough.
    However, do they expect us to play the 2nd playthrough with this? Also, you can't play with other team members.

    GamePlay: (7/10)
    UI is not comfortable. No running in the village. Can't mark the object if you are not on the map. Useless Trophies. Some of the event scenes are too long or short of explanation. Couldn't balance the events.

    Overall: (37/50)
    Very disappointing game from Yoshida. He told us he focused on the story. But it's not good. It's for him and his team members only. I don't mind if it's not a RPG, or old FF style. But this was a failure of the FF franchise.
    The game wants to be a 'Sony' style game. I see why. It worked somehow, but lost FF styles. Yoshida called himself a gamer, but I think he misunderstood.
    His ego and mind just works with his team mates, but not work with FF fans or other gamers. It's about time to let the FF franchise go. Never going to buy the game from Yoshida again.    … Expand
  23. Aromdar
    Jul 9, 2023
    7
    Un buen juego, con momentos magníficos, un combate entretenido y una trama que en general se desarrolla a un nivel muy alto. El problema llega con la excusa del worldbuilding, alargando la historia con contenido innecesario, aburrido y de muy baja calidad , sacado de las peores misiones que hayáis realizado en un mmo. El mismo juego con 20 horas , un 12.
  24. seymour2012
    Jun 23, 2023
    7
    Final Fantasy XVI is a good game, but it's hard to not feel that it could have been a great game and can't quite get to the finish line.

    I was genuinely incredibly hyped for the game, as I think Yoshi-P and his team can complete fantastic projects and I am a big fan of FF14 -- it is genuinely my favorite Final Fantasy game -- but 16 just fails to stick the landing for me. I know    Final Fantasy XVI is a good game, but it's hard to not feel that it could have been a great game and can't quite get to the finish line.

    I was genuinely incredibly hyped for the game, as I think Yoshi-P and his team can complete fantastic projects and I am a big fan of FF14 -- it is genuinely my favorite Final Fantasy game -- but 16 just fails to stick the landing for me.

    I know there is a lot of discourse about the action style v ATB/turn based/etc., and I don't really care too much about that discourse as I genuinely liked Stranger of Paradise; but there's something about the style of action combat 16 tries that I feel just falls flat for me. I do genuinely miss being able to be some archetype of a "caster" and focus on casting magic, or having more obvious "job" or "role" designs like previous games. I think it's possible to do in an action game (as mentioned, Stranger of Paradise), but this comes off being half-baked.

    Ultimately, it feels like a darker FFXIV but a little worse. I think this was a good entry into the Final Fantasy series and one that breathed new life into it, but I hope other games in the franchise test out different styles, as I'm not sure the action styles of DMC really work well within the bounds of what I expect from a Final Fantasy.    … Expand
  25. ghostlytoast
    Jul 5, 2023
    7
    This is a hard game to recommend. Because it’s not just a solid 7/10 experience all the way through. That would be fine, slap a 7 on the box, buy it or don’t, kills a few hours but has no lasting effect. No, quite frustratingly, this game has some awesome 10/10 moments that will blow you away, but they are consistently let down by 4/10 design, some baffling choices and tedious gameplay.This is a hard game to recommend. Because it’s not just a solid 7/10 experience all the way through. That would be fine, slap a 7 on the box, buy it or don’t, kills a few hours but has no lasting effect. No, quite frustratingly, this game has some awesome 10/10 moments that will blow you away, but they are consistently let down by 4/10 design, some baffling choices and tedious gameplay.

    For example the combat, it looks and feels amazing. Fighting smaller enemies gets dull relatively quickly but the larger enemies with the stagger bar are always fun. You’ll be dodging, countering, staggering and then letting rip with your most powerful moves, it feels great. That is until later on when enemies get much more numerous, now you’re spending most of the fight worrying about attacks coming from offscreen, picking off little guys with a few swipes until you can take on the bigger guy. And don’t think you’ll be able to attack the little guys you want, nah, the game will decides who you attack at this point, wanna go after the annoying magic **** you’ll have to dodge your way over to him away from all the other guys swarming you.

    Combat also looks incredible, each attack from you and your enemy is accompanied with flashy particle effects that are just beautiful. That is until later on (again), get ready for an absolute bukakke of bloom and particle effects filling your screen, especially in boss fights. You’re dodging flaming shockwaves from falling comets and sidestepping the dancing arcs of lightning crackling above your head. Oh you missed barely conceivable blue glow underneath you, now you’ve been penetrated by an ice spike and your day is ruined. Although that’s not to say bosses are hard, they’re not. They are however an incredible spectacle to behold. But how does a boss battle feel epic if it’s easy, well you make it really **** long apparently. I’m sure some of the bosses go on for over an hour, or at least it feels like it. And when you have multiple phases of doing pretty much the same thing, over and over, followed by some cutscenes with QTEs and then an Eikon section, followed by another boss phase and then a QTE cutscene. Well it can drag on a little.

    So that’s over, I’ve just punched a dragon into oblivion, cracked a continent and been to outer space in an epic showdown and I’m still only a third of the way through. What next? How can you possibly top that? You want me to do what? Pick some flowers? Um… Okay. Yeah The lows can get a little jarring, after the epic, admittedly overlong highs. Especially when more than a few side quests consist of, talking to a quest giver, fast travelling to a place to talk to another person and then fast travelling back to the quest giver.

    So why play? Well, the story is well worth it. It actually kept me going until the end when I was done with everything else. And the good parts of the game are there in abundance, and you will enjoy them. But it will be harder to overlook the equally abundant issues for some people. Which is why this game seems so divisive.

    I will say this, to give this game a 10 you have to overlook some pretty egregious issues. To give it a 0 you have to overlook everything the game gets right. These reviews are best ignored. Do your research, read as many reviews as possible and if it looks like the issues won’t ruin the game for you, go and get it. You won’t be sorry.    … Expand
  26. Haraxmant
    Jun 28, 2023
    7
    Tbh, It's a really good story, it's dramatically held back by its gameplay though.
    7 Isn't bad, comparatively it's even good.
    But compared to a lot of the 2020's Action games on PS5, XVI's gameplay just leaves a lot to be desired.
  27. framptHERO
    Jun 26, 2023
    7
    A great game with strong music and a spectacular combat system, but too much repetitive. Game is hella easy, 0 challenge at all.

    Никакой левой лгбт повестки, все барнаульцы должны быть довольны.
  28. Spudsii
    Jun 24, 2023
    7
    Well i have to say for a final fantasy game Yoshi-p dropped the ball on this one the game is good but that's it good nothing more, it is very hollow and overall lacking for a ff game i think ff7 remake combat would have been so much better way to go in this game and when i start to think ff15 is a better game i know something is wrong.
  29. 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
  30. Thwomp
    Jul 1, 2023
    7
    For the life of me I cannot understand all the 8's 9's and 10's here. Holy smokes this game is no where near a freaking 10 or masterpiece, and it's definitely not a 0 either. There must be a plethora of trolls who give the fake negative AND positive score reviews. Because this is one of the not so great Final Fantasy games in the series. And here's exactly why.

    Huge, linear, empty    For the life of me I cannot understand all the 8's 9's and 10's here. Holy smokes this game is no where near a freaking 10 or masterpiece, and it's definitely not a 0 either. There must be a plethora of trolls who give the fake negative AND positive score reviews. Because this is one of the not so great Final Fantasy games in the series. And here's exactly why.

    Huge, linear, empty and boring world. NPC's outside of main characters have nothing to add with their dumb dialogue and most NPC's just stand in one spot the entire time doing nothing. Also, most of the towns are boring and lifeless as well. Dialogue and script is good at times, bad at others.

    Side quests are easy, but god awful boring. The only reason to do these is to get crafting materials and some extra ability points for eikon powers, which are not needed at all to beat the game. These will come to you by just doing the main story. Witcher 3 just smashes FF 16 in side quest quality. Sad.

    Muddy visuals outside of the climatic Eikon fights and boss and enemy battles. Visuals are great with spell effects, monsters, etc., and then you get back to the actual world gameplay and Clyde looks like PS4 or worse. Heck there are older gen games like Uncharted and Gears of War and God of War and Witcher 3 that STILL look way better than this. I cannot believe the blur I saw on character models and the low textures all around, especially in the distant environments, which are pretty awful in the background. Flat, blurry, zero texture mountains are abound here.

    Extremely dumbed down combat that this is basically just a straight action RPG with the player spamming square half the time, if not more. Eikon abilities are cool, but you'll usually run with the exact same setup the entirety of the game. ZERO depth outside button mashing eikon abilities to win.

    Speaking of depth, the item system and crafting and gathering system is a complete joke. There are very few items even compared to the huge amount of wonderful items in previous FF games. This is a complete joke, as is the crafting system. It's incredibly easy to craft and you are only ever going to need to craft the next best weapon or armor that the blacksmith has available, which is incredibly elementary in nature. Want multiple options for gear? Good luck! This is incredibly simplified and dumb.

    Now for the wonderful part; the horrible performance at low resolution on NEXT GEN PS5 hardware. Holy man is this bad. Ratchet and Clank looks 10x better as do many other PS5 and Series X games. It is 2023 and even The Witcher 3 next gen update absolutely SMASHES FF 16 in terms of resolution and performance. And the original game is almost 10 years old now!! There is no excuse why Square Enix couldn't make a more stable game with better visuals and resolution. Hell, there aren't even any graphics settings in this game and it's a next gen game, LOL. Just about every single new game has several graphics options on console such as HDR, Ray Tracing, Anti-Aliasing, on and on. FF 16? You can forget it! You're limited to graphics and performance mode and the graphics mode is virtually unplayable because the framerate isn't even locked at 30. It dips into the 20's for god sakes. And the performance mode reaches a maximum of 60 fps with several dips into the 40's. UNACCEPTABLE IN 2023, Square Enix!!! You can do better than this. So many other games run look so much better than this garbage. I literally felt like I was playing a PS4 or Xbox One game like MGS Phantom Pain. That game was 1080p max but at least it ran great, and it it was massive.

    Now the little good that there is in this game that prevents it from being a complete disaster.

    While the combat is extremely dumbed down, the fights look incredible thanks to the amazing particle effects and animations of the eikon abilities, boss battles, and cinematic gameplay of the Eikon battles. If those fights didn't look and feel so good then this game would have been a 2 or 3 at best.

    Music is also great and even probably improves on FF XV's awesome soundtrack which has two of the greatest orchestral/choir boss tracks in a game, ever. Hats off to the composer of FF 16, because like Blizzard and World of Warcraft, Square Enix's design team sure doesn't know what the hell they're doing anymore.

    Story. I actually enjoy it quite a bit. I love the dark adult theme to it. Not much to complain about here from me. Betrayal, love, death, revenge; it's all there. It's just too bad Some characters are much better than others (Kupka and Cid for instance carry a lot of the weight for most of the game). Mother starts off strong and then just stays silent for most of the game, with her child bent over her lap. Pointless, but overall I thought the story was a much needed positive point

    Bottom line is FF 16 is an average action RPG with great moments.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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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