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. qosimo
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    25 hours in - probably 2/3 done. Once again I think media site reviews have been paid for. This game is a 6. It strays so far from what Final Fantasy is... the gameplay is not an RPG. Crafting is a waste of time, gear is extremely simple, you can beat all action by just spamming square button. The graphics are good - BUT - it is a game on rails/corridors. Which really kills the RPG25 hours in - probably 2/3 done. Once again I think media site reviews have been paid for. This game is a 6. It strays so far from what Final Fantasy is... the gameplay is not an RPG. Crafting is a waste of time, gear is extremely simple, you can beat all action by just spamming square button. The graphics are good - BUT - it is a game on rails/corridors. Which really kills the RPG part for me - no exploration, no surprises. Going to trade this one in - I honestly dont care about the story going forward would rather play Witcher 3 or RDR2 - real RPGs.… Expand
  2. GhostXZ117
    Jun 23, 2023
    6
    They game could be something great, but unfortunately isn’t, is more like an Action game than a real RPG, also the developers lied to us and this game doesn’t run at 60 fps like they said. They didn’t improve too much in the design of the game and it does not look like a new generation game and is sadly true. The music is a little repetitive and at first is pretty good but after a while itThey game could be something great, but unfortunately isn’t, is more like an Action game than a real RPG, also the developers lied to us and this game doesn’t run at 60 fps like they said. They didn’t improve too much in the design of the game and it does not look like a new generation game and is sadly true. The music is a little repetitive and at first is pretty good but after a while it gets boring, and most importantly the problems that this game has with the PS5 and what I mean with that is… the PS5 overheating when you try to run this game in it. The second half of the game is very boring until you reach the ending of the game.

    The game is not trash like a lot of people say, the game got some good stuff like the combat mechanics, also the combats are very immersive and fun, and the story is pretty good (is not the best videogame story but is good enough), the cinematics are pretty awesome and the maps are also good, the quick time events are great, and the first half of the game is fun in general, Final Fantasy 16 is a good game and it could have been one of the best Square Enix games but unfortunately it wasn’t. 6/10 final review    … Expand
  3. PCMasterRice
    Jun 23, 2023
    6
    A fall from grace for Square Enix. I know we've had some pretty mediocre FF in the past but this is something else.

    SQ wanted to 'evolve the series' by turning it into an action game. Instead of really investing in creative action experiences, we get dumbed down systems, less customization than other actions games, and generic battles (with the exception of the cinematic ones). In    A fall from grace for Square Enix. I know we've had some pretty mediocre FF in the past but this is something else.

    SQ wanted to 'evolve the series' by turning it into an action game. Instead of really investing in creative action experiences, we get dumbed down systems, less customization than other actions games, and generic battles (with the exception of the cinematic ones).

    In addition to that, the game looks very mediocre. There are times when it really looks good, but through 90% of your gameplay, it looks bland. Its almost as if the level designers behind Forspoken worked on this in their free time.

    The story is good, and what is keeping me playing it. But after 10+ hours its a drag. Everything is on rails, no point in doing side quests, equipment you won't have to work towards. Its all just there for you when its supposed to be.

    You'd probably have a better experience simply watching a playthrough on youtube.    … Expand
  4. LEXGBR
    Jul 4, 2023
    6
    Acredito que a Squarenix querendo popularizar a franquia, removeu muitos elementos de RPG, game muito fácil, semelhante ao que aconteceu com o FFXV, lamentável o rumo que a franquia tomou!
  5. remilink
    Jun 27, 2023
    6
    Jeu globalement moyen à certains égards
    et certains passage de l'histoire semblent un peu beaucoup plagiés de la serie Game of thrones.
    histoire comme une montagne russe entre ont s'ennuie et puis c'est épique mais trop rempli de cinématique et de qte/animation qui tirent inutilement les combats de primordiaux en longueur et qui deviennent au final lassant, c'est dommage le jeu avait du    Jeu globalement moyen à certains égards
    et certains passage de l'histoire semblent un peu beaucoup plagiés de la serie Game of thrones.
    histoire comme une montagne russe entre ont s'ennuie et puis c'est épique mais trop rempli de cinématique et de qte/animation qui tirent inutilement les combats de primordiaux en longueur
    et qui deviennent au final lassant, c'est dommage le jeu avait du potentiel mais il à été totalement gâchés à pas mal d'égards ce jeu est plus une série ou ça explose de partout qu'un JV.

    et l'aspect secondaire du jeu est totalement passé à la trappe et peu intéressant vraiment dommage    … Expand
  6. Slimester
    Jun 23, 2023
    6
    The great:

    It’s a lot better than FFXIII and XV There are epic action set-pieces and memorable boss fights galore, some of which are up there with the best in the entire series. The lore is comprehensive and expressed in meticulous detail. The real-time look-up feature during cutscenes is an ingenious mechanic, certainly one of those concepts which will have left other developers    The great:

    It’s a lot better than FFXIII and XV

    There are epic action set-pieces and memorable boss fights galore, some of which are up there with the best in the entire series.

    The lore is comprehensive and expressed in meticulous detail. The real-time look-up feature during cutscenes is an ingenious mechanic, certainly one of those concepts which will have left other developers wishing they had thought of it.

    The soundtrack is an immediate all-time great, one of if not the game’s strongest aspect.

    Feels very polished overall, no bugs for me thus far and consistent and smooth performance is maintained throughout.

    The good:

    The story is rich and compelling, if not overly original.

    Enjoyable combat system; nothing groundbreaking but it is fast, refined and responsive.

    Grand in scale and scope, visually arresting at times but the art direction can also appear bland and outdated.

    Voice acting is decent.

    The not-so-good:

    Generic characters spouting their usual corny dialogue, this one really has a medieval soap opera-feel about it. Perhaps they sound better when speaking in Japanese but something tells me otherwise.

    The game in general feels somewhat bloated; progression is less dynamic than in some previous instalments, which is especially concerning considering that it’s not even open world in nature.

    An overly westernised tone; feels too reminiscent of series such as The Witcher or Game of Thrones for example. Final Fantasy at the peak of its powers was the influencer, but it appears as though the opposite is in fact now the case.

    The bad:

    Mindless and banal fetch quests, and by mindless I do mean FFVII remake levels of mundaneness.

    Far too easy, with what felt like a virtually non-existent difficulty increase as things progressed.

    Visually the game is overly dark, so dark in fact that it regularly becomes a distraction if not a detriment - especially when inside.

    This is not FFVII. Has done absolutely nothing to revolutionise the series, let alone the genre, and its legacy come the end of the 9th generation won’t be anything significant in my opinion.    … Expand
  7. 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.
  8. DarkwingSchmuck
    Jul 7, 2023
    6
    Final Fantasy XVI is a big, bloated, inconsistent, but memorable and often times beautiful mess that is in desperate need of trimming the fat. There is a really good 15-20-hour action game hiding within this 40-50-hour slog.

    FF16 is a game at constant odds with itself -- not wanting to disappoint long-time fans by ditching its RPG elements altogether, but it has no interest in those    Final Fantasy XVI is a big, bloated, inconsistent, but memorable and often times beautiful mess that is in desperate need of trimming the fat. There is a really good 15-20-hour action game hiding within this 40-50-hour slog.

    FF16 is a game at constant odds with itself -- not wanting to disappoint long-time fans by ditching its RPG elements altogether, but it has no interest in those same elements either. They're tacked on and woefully under cooked, while the game's combat, boss fights, and giant set-pieces are superb. Every sensational Kaiju battle is followed by hours and hours of tediously boring side quests and pretentious melodrama. The side quests in particular are so dull that they stop any momentum the game builds up dead in its tracks, and make you question whether or not your time could be served better elsewhere. It is not the Blight, but "pacing" that is Final Fantasy XVI's greatest foe.

    Though, it is the narrative that is mayhaps FF16's biggest disappointment. A complete Game of Thrones ripoff, taking both ideas and characters wholesale from HBO's successful series, yet executed much, *much* worse. It's surface-level and shallow, bleak and dour, self-important, yet lacking in any self-awareness -- FF16's story simply isn't any *fun,* and it's about as nuanced and subtle as a sledgehammer. A darker, more "serious" story is all well and good, but FF16 makes no effort in crafting a world you want to spend time in.

    FF16 has things that work well in isolation -- the core gameplay mechanics itself are actually *very* good -- but as a cohesive whole it falls apart. If you want to watch Game of Thrones, you'd be better served watching Game of Thrones (or, better yet, reading A Song of Ice and Fire), if you want to play Devil May Cry, you'd get a tighter, more challenging and rewarding experience just playing Devil May Cry. If you want a high quality RPG experience, you're left with a slew of better options.

    I respect the attempt -- despite its various flaws, there was real effort put in here -- but this is not what I want to see Final Fantasy become.    … Expand
  9. Risolu
    Jun 26, 2023
    6
    Gameplay is good but misses alot of tactic. No debuffs nor buffs which made FF games interesting. The Story is good but I hoped for a different conclusion especially with villians motivation. The game is sadly build like a single player MMO. The Sidequest are really boring and just fetch quests. The crafting system is horribly lacking. The hunt system shouldn't be in a single player game,Gameplay is good but misses alot of tactic. No debuffs nor buffs which made FF games interesting. The Story is good but I hoped for a different conclusion especially with villians motivation. The game is sadly build like a single player MMO. The Sidequest are really boring and just fetch quests. The crafting system is horribly lacking. The hunt system shouldn't be in a single player game, not to mention how every hunt is just a resin of mobs from the story. The game is baby easy, there is not the slightest challenge and that there is an easy mode option too is really funny. I think 6/10 is really justified.… Expand
  10. 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
  11. JankMedia
    Jul 6, 2023
    6
    It's not a bad game by any means but it's also not very good for what it is. FFXVI is a really shallow cinematic action game at it's core. There's lot of cut scenes, combat is fun but repetitive. The game is incredibly easy, not necessarily a bad thing but for those expecting something like actual DMC or Souls, it isn't happening. The game is incredibly easy/forgiving.

    XVI was clearly    It's not a bad game by any means but it's also not very good for what it is. FFXVI is a really shallow cinematic action game at it's core. There's lot of cut scenes, combat is fun but repetitive. The game is incredibly easy, not necessarily a bad thing but for those expecting something like actual DMC or Souls, it isn't happening. The game is incredibly easy/forgiving.

    XVI was clearly designed with a mass audience in mind. Some people are going to love it, some aren't. The thing that surprises me most is just how shallow it is, it really is just running from A to B while killing low level enemies followed by a relatively easy boss and then an even easier Eikon fight. It's lowest common denominator style gameplay in 2023. This game would even be considered basic in terms of gameplay if it released on the PS3 back in 2008.

    I can't even comment on any RPG mechanics because they are non-existent. Yes, you go up levels and you can craft gear. However, the gear you craft is locked to game progression, meaning that there is usually one 1 item to choose from and it's a +1 of whatever you can buy in the store. The upgrade system is a standard skill tree but for combat only. Don't expect to cast buffs/debuffs/libra. None of that is in XVI. It's purely hack and slash gameplay with cool down timers for special attacks.

    It has the stagger system as seen in other FF games but it does not utilize it well, very uninspired compared to FFXIII and FF7R. Enemies also feel like damage sponges. I'm enjoying the game but honestly have no idea what the hype is about. It genuinely feels like playing a remastered PS3 title.    … Expand
  12. Solidsnake69
    Jun 28, 2023
    6
    I think this game is a bit overrated. The good: cool combat, story.

    The bad: exploration is pointless, the combat is ludicrously easy, side quests are horrible and meaningless.
  13. 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.
  14. Ghostino
    Jul 3, 2023
    6
    Overall it's a decent game, the story is good but the pacing make it less enjoyable.
    The combat is great, you can definitely say Mr. Suzuki was behind it. Unfortunately the game is not challenging at all, so the great combat system ends up being a cool showcase of combos without any sort of strategy applied to it. The RPG system is just fake, and honestly I can understand why it's like    Overall it's a decent game, the story is good but the pacing make it less enjoyable.
    The combat is great, you can definitely say Mr. Suzuki was behind it. Unfortunately the game is not challenging at all, so the great combat system ends up being a cool showcase of combos without any sort of strategy applied to it. The RPG system is just fake, and honestly I can understand why it's like this, it would have been a pain to balance this combat with a proper RPG system, but the point is why is It in the game? It does not add anything to the gameplay.
    What I don't forgive is the lack of elemental weaknesses, and the lack of a proper magic system, including status effects and spells. These would have made the game a little bit more challenging and smart.
    I also find that the world setting is bland and some areas are too generic, on top of that all of them don't feel to be alive.

    Their main objective was to have a game functional to tell a story as easy as possible.
    Ultimately, with this formula I would have preferred a shorter game, since the low complexity of the gameplay is nowhere engaging for 50+ hours.    … Expand
  15. Crimson9
    Jun 28, 2023
    6
    Best Final Fantasy game to come since FF12. The story is great, the characters are great, the world building is fantastic. Square has taken a big step forward in these areas. On the other hand, everything regarding gameplay here (the combat, the sidequests, the level design, the customization, the progression, etc.) is extremely subpar. FF fans as usual are happily living in a bubble whereBest Final Fantasy game to come since FF12. The story is great, the characters are great, the world building is fantastic. Square has taken a big step forward in these areas. On the other hand, everything regarding gameplay here (the combat, the sidequests, the level design, the customization, the progression, etc.) is extremely subpar. FF fans as usual are happily living in a bubble where they aren't even able to grasp the steep decline of this series.… Expand
  16. Fission_Mailed
    Jun 29, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game tried to revolutionize its gameplay by adding hack and slash mechanics and RPG elements together but failed. The main reasons are the lack of the so called RPG elements: the party system, the elemental damage from the power of the eikons that you get, the alternate statuses, weaknesses and resistances from the monsters and bosses, secret dungeons and secret bosses. All of this aspects lacked from the RPG side of the game. As for the hack and slash side It was decent, doing combos was funny but It turned out monotonous since the enemies were easily destroyed with the ability ignition, except for the minibosses and bosses that allowed at least some variety by using for example Garuda and Shiva abilities for staggering, Bahamut and Phoenix for damage.
    The worse part of the game are the subquests and sadly only a few were good, the rest were fetch quests and defeat this and that.
    The main story was fine but a bit generic. It tried to be mature but It fell like an apple after the revelation of the evil god that wants to rebuild the world without humans because they're disposable tools. I played this game on performance mode and It was really disappointing to see soo many frame drops even during cutscenes, as for the graphics mode It wasn't that great between pixelated clouds and graphical errors on the desert I decided to remain on performance mode. In conclusion It was a disappointing experience that had a lot of downs than ups.    … Expand
  17. 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
  18. debiru_ita
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    FFXVI is definitely a good action game, with a good story and just as much does not reflect what one would expect from a Final Fantasy. the strengths of the game revolve totally around the narrative plot that makes you want to keep going to see how the story evolves.
    On the gameplay level I find the cutscenes far too invasive, totally unnecessary side quests, and a total lack of the gdr    FFXVI is definitely a good action game, with a good story and just as much does not reflect what one would expect from a Final Fantasy. the strengths of the game revolve totally around the narrative plot that makes you want to keep going to see how the story evolves.
    On the gameplay level I find the cutscenes far too invasive, totally unnecessary side quests, and a total lack of the gdr aspects.
    The combat system resolves itself with a continuous rotation between eikons to spam the moves having coldowns with no need for tactics or reasoning, all for the purpose of staggering the opponent over and over again to do some damage.

    They probably had not named it Final Fantasy would not have received so much criticism sometimes even gratuitous    … Expand
  19. Thrftshopper
    Jun 25, 2023
    6
    I wanted to like it, being a long time Final Fantasy fan, but hardly anything about the game feels like a FF title. It's a decent game on its own but would have been better served being its own IP.
  20. SpikeVexid
    Jul 11, 2023
    6
    Final Fantasy XVI é épico, a história, as batalhas com chefes... e só isso mesmo, o jogo oscila demais entre o épico e o trivial, uma hora você está tendo batalhas de proporções megalomaníacas, e em seguida, esta pegando uma erva pra um subordinado no esconderijo em que você é o chefe. As side Quests, apesar de algumas até te situarem de como está o mundo e outras melhorarem algumFinal Fantasy XVI é épico, a história, as batalhas com chefes... e só isso mesmo, o jogo oscila demais entre o épico e o trivial, uma hora você está tendo batalhas de proporções megalomaníacas, e em seguida, esta pegando uma erva pra um subordinado no esconderijo em que você é o chefe. As side Quests, apesar de algumas até te situarem de como está o mundo e outras melhorarem algum equipamento do personagem, eles tem personagens pouco interessantes e sempre envoltos em um drama que permeia toda a história de uma forma que nada te surpreende mais, o sofrimento é o mesmo pro mundo todo então tem uma hora que vc só quer que eles parem de chorar e que você avance logo pra finalizar o jogo e acabar com o sofrimento mundial. A exploração e a descoberta nos mundos incríveis de Final Fantasy também não existem mais. não existem raças ou culturas variadas, quando tem, não te surpreendem. Voltar pra um esconderijo depois de uma missão e sempre ver aquele mesmo ambiente durante toda a jornada que parece mais vc saindo de casa e voltando depois de ir no shopping,, padaria, mercado e afins, torna massante a avenura em momentos onde as batalhas épicas não estão acontecendo. Upar o Clive também se tornou uma tarefa chata, você não sente a evolução do Clive se ele não pegar um novo Eikon, e quando você tem seus preferidos e upa suas habilidades, eles tem um limite e os pontos ganhos vc pode upar habilidades que não quer usar, ou só deixar lá acumulando pra na, tentando melhorar seu dano com level que vc demora pra ganhar e nem sente diferença.
    A escolha por gráficos ao invés de expandir o jogo com um mundo maior e mais rico, armaduras diferentes, armas novas, culturas variadas e problemas diferentes, tornou este final fantasy, uma versão desidratada onde deixaram só aquilo que o povo sempre aclamou como aspectos importantes de um todo muito maior que deixaram de lado mas que fazia muita diferença olhando agora só história e gráficos isolado de ótimas mecânicas    … Expand
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. Bestx
    Jul 14, 2023
    6
    Pros:
    - One of the best Narrative i've ever seen in a Videogame.
    - Particle effect implementation and graphics overall are astonishing - Great Character and Maybe one of the best Main characters of the Whole franchise Cons: -Too linear -Shallow side quests -RPG features that are reduced to bones, and it is not negative because FF must be an RPG saga. It is negative because These    Pros:
    - One of the best Narrative i've ever seen in a Videogame.
    - Particle effect implementation and graphics overall are astonishing
    - Great Character and Maybe one of the best Main characters of the Whole franchise
    Cons:
    -Too linear
    -Shallow side quests
    -RPG features that are reduced to bones, and it is not negative because FF must be an RPG saga. It is negative because These elements are an obstacle to the true gameplay.
    -Gameplay with a decent amount of battle option but at the end a bit "Button Smashing"
    -Creatures sometimes unispired, some of them are spongy enough and overall FF XV did a lot better on the Creature part.
    - Big Beautiful bosses but with zero to little interactivity on the gameplay side
    -Zero interaction with the world
    Ultra Cons (Horrible)
    - There are some of the worst invisible walls ever made in a videogame. Even DB: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 did a lot better.    … Expand
  24. Renny90
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    Game is a one of this year’s biggest disappointments, but it got some perks:

    Pros: + Loved the main characters design, especially Cid, they are more mature and relatable than previous FF titles + Scenery is beautiful, there is alot of cinematic moments when you’re just strolling around or fighting + Combat is flashy and beautiful + Eikon fights are really well done and never get boring    Game is a one of this year’s biggest disappointments, but it got some perks:

    Pros:
    + Loved the main characters design, especially Cid, they are more mature and relatable than previous FF titles
    + Scenery is beautiful, there is alot of cinematic moments when you’re just strolling around or fighting
    + Combat is flashy and beautiful
    + Eikon fights are really well done and never get boring

    Cons:
    - The game is too easy and not challenging at all even if you play on action-focused and without timely accessories, you never feel you’re going to die and you’ll never see the game over screen and even if you do you’ll get go back to where you left the Boss HP and with more pots than you had before. This is my main gripe with the game and it’s such a shame when the combat system is fun.

    - World is empty and side characters/content/npcs/quests are soulless , I don’t mind a semi linear world when it’s done well (God of War), but this game had no excuse for half-a**ing this when it’s not an open world.

    - Story starts slow,then picks up again and you’d think it’s going to be great but falls off again    … Expand
  25. Loreandgames
    Jun 23, 2023
    6
    The tempo of the game is horrible. The side quests are a shame. The arc of some characters (especially female: Benedikta, Jill and Anabella) is incredibly bad (I don't want to make spoilers... but they don't matter at all in the story).
    Combat is fun and technically it's nice... But it has ZERO, NADA, NIENTE RPG in it... NOTHING...
    The history it leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't    The tempo of the game is horrible. The side quests are a shame. The arc of some characters (especially female: Benedikta, Jill and Anabella) is incredibly bad (I don't want to make spoilers... but they don't matter at all in the story).
    Combat is fun and technically it's nice... But it has ZERO, NADA, NIENTE RPG in it... NOTHING...
    The history it leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't feel like a final fantasy at all.    … Expand
  26. phrosnite_
    Jul 1, 2023
    6
    I don't care that this doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy game. I'm judging it on its own merits.

    It's "all flash, no substance". Many undercooked elements. Terrible level design with annoying traversal mechanics. Boring MMO style quests. It's not an RPG, it's an Action Adventure with very light RPG elements. No spoilers but you could guess what the final boss would be like... Very    I don't care that this doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy game. I'm judging it on its own merits.

    It's "all flash, no substance". Many undercooked elements. Terrible level design with annoying traversal mechanics. Boring MMO style quests. It's not an RPG, it's an Action Adventure with very light RPG elements.

    No spoilers but you could guess what the final boss would be like... Very played out at this point. Stop it.

    The only redeeming quality of this game is the combat but only during some 1v1 fights.    … Expand
  27. JennBee
    Jun 23, 2023
    6
    Yeah, the music, story and graphic are pretty good. But there's maybe five minutes of gameplay between every 20 mins of cutscenes. It's more like an interactive anime with Quick Time Events (in 2023?). Fights are kinda boring and are easy and accomplishable by 1 button spam. Story is ok but it tends to drift from itself and gets dragged on at times. Side quests are weak and boring. With soYeah, the music, story and graphic are pretty good. But there's maybe five minutes of gameplay between every 20 mins of cutscenes. It's more like an interactive anime with Quick Time Events (in 2023?). Fights are kinda boring and are easy and accomplishable by 1 button spam. Story is ok but it tends to drift from itself and gets dragged on at times. Side quests are weak and boring. With so little actual gameplay, I'm not convinced it's much of a game l. Nice to look at, but probably not 70 dollars worth.

    And def not game of the year.    … Expand
  28. Mezzrim
    Jun 23, 2023
    6
    This game is on auto mode and plays itself. The game is beautiful when they turn on lighting, lots of particles. There are inconsistencies with the framerate in some areas, and sometimes the story forgets what it established 10min before. Don't worry about failing, you'll be revived with full health and potions, which drags the experience even more. The action resumes itself to buttonThis game is on auto mode and plays itself. The game is beautiful when they turn on lighting, lots of particles. There are inconsistencies with the framerate in some areas, and sometimes the story forgets what it established 10min before. Don't worry about failing, you'll be revived with full health and potions, which drags the experience even more. The action resumes itself to button mashing and some really uninspired quick time events. The enemies are damages sponges and the level ups mean nothing. I suggest watching lets plays if you want the story. The action is broken by level up windows and no music switches when it's time to fight.


    Graphics great
    Audio good Presentation average +
    Gameplay poor/inexistant
    Experience poor    … Expand
  29. Guiyerod444
    Jul 8, 2023
    6
    The game is a movie game let's make it clear. Everything relating to this is good: plot, cutscenes, characters, etc...

    Everything else is mediocre getting closer to bad. The world (as in exploration) is very boring, you cannot interact with anything but monsters and chests, the chests rarely give you anything valuable. The combat is cool however is very restricted, you can only use 2    The game is a movie game let's make it clear. Everything relating to this is good: plot, cutscenes, characters, etc...

    Everything else is mediocre getting closer to bad. The world (as in exploration) is very boring, you cannot interact with anything but monsters and chests, the chests rarely give you anything valuable.

    The combat is cool however is very restricted, you can only use 2 abilities per Eikon (elemental power) and the earlier you are into the game the less fun the combat is because you have less choices of powers. I never felt any scaling compared to enemies, all the enemies felt like hit sponges at any level and the game is easy for a person who plays games on a regular basis, I am 50 percent done and still have not died.

    Side quests are horrible fetch quests from MMO's made by MMO developers there's no way to cope this just accept they are bad. Animations during side quests are also very mediocre compared to the main story cutscenes. What's the point of making bad side quests? They are pointless just don't put them in your game, they serve no purpose at all.

    The dungeons are very badly designed, they are just basically MMO dungeons with no variety at all, hallway, room, fight hit sponge monsters and repeat. One on One boss battle and hunts are fun and I feel the combat was designed around this because it really doesn't work with mobs.

    Very average game dressed as a ''GOTY candidate'', it makes a great movie because everything that is not gameplay is very very good however if you look to the gaming aspect it's utter **** and very lazy coming from such a huge AAA company.    … Expand
  30. Hontoo
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    I cleared this video game, but I couldn’t find its uniqueness. The sub-quests were boring and the story wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t very good either. I enjoyed the combat system, but there were many scenes where I couldn’t see the enemy’s attack due to excessive effects, which hindered the fun. I think this game is an ordinary game.
  31. stgr1
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    The story and graphics are the only good things in this game. How did the level design go from open world filled with dungeons/bosses/items/secrets to nothing but tight corridors and empty zones is beyond me.
    The combat is like DMC and it shows, only problem is it's like the starting hour of DMC: one sword one ranged weapon and a few combos and that's it. It never gets anywhere, the same    The story and graphics are the only good things in this game. How did the level design go from open world filled with dungeons/bosses/items/secrets to nothing but tight corridors and empty zones is beyond me.
    The combat is like DMC and it shows, only problem is it's like the starting hour of DMC: one sword one ranged weapon and a few combos and that's it. It never gets anywhere, the same attacks you use at the start you use until the end. Only thing changing is the 2 special attacks you can use.
    Item system and overall progression are completely pointless. You gain levels and stats but they are not used anywhere. You don't have any skill point, no level requirements. Your naturally gain new weapons as you progress the story. They might as well have removed levels and items so that you don't have to bother. Once every 20 hours you might have to go craft a new set of weapons/gear. I only used crafting 3 times in the entire game, not because i wasn't trying but because there was nothing new.

    Overall feels like a very basic indie game, slapped on a AAA graphics and story.    … Expand
  32. Greyson3
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    I was going in with absolutely nothing seen since the reveal trailer, I did not play the demo, watched or read anything to keep myself spoiler free and fully minded to get mind blown like I was by FFX and all who came before. Unfortunately, this is not the game for me.

    The story and the writing is good, cinematic and the big moments make you feel that you are living something epic. The    I was going in with absolutely nothing seen since the reveal trailer, I did not play the demo, watched or read anything to keep myself spoiler free and fully minded to get mind blown like I was by FFX and all who came before. Unfortunately, this is not the game for me.

    The story and the writing is good, cinematic and the big moments make you feel that you are living something epic.
    The Combat gameplay is great, probably the best thing here.

    Now the issue is everything else. You could say what is there left, gameplay is good, story is good, where does it go wrong...

    Well, the game never find rhythm. You are doing "missions" and once finished, you have a map where you select the next mission and you go. The pacing of the story feels completely off, you are getting bored when you should not. The character animation of fights are slow as F. You cannot sprint. in 2023.

    The game is also 30h long, with 20h of cinematic, with half of what's left walking around.
    They removed every single RPG Elements.
    No more farming XP, crafting is a joke (20 items total to craft), side quests are MMO quests.
    You level up by doing the story and going straight to the next objectives.

    When you reach halfway, this feeling of waste and regret for what could have been is hitting you. The game looks stunning, the fights are really fun, the cinematic are perfect but still, they messed up the core of the game.

    Side note:
    You can tell they watched Game of thrones so here's a little game for you all.

    These characters are in the game, find them:

    House Stark
    House Lannister
    Cercei
    John Snow
    Bran (three eyed raven)
    White walkers
    Night King
    Euron Greyjoy

    If you enjoy the game, good on you !
    I didn't like it and I was expecting a Final Fantasy, which this is not.    … Expand
  33. knight69
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    Good gaming but not a Final Fantasy, a Clone of Devil May Cray, no Party members, only some companions (One at time) not upgradables and not changing weapons/armours, too Easy, only After ending game there Is a game+ with difficult selecting, RPG section are very low, Battle sustem are pure action, no magic ( Fira Blizzard ultima), no status altered, no fire/water/ICE/earth weakness. Very,Good gaming but not a Final Fantasy, a Clone of Devil May Cray, no Party members, only some companions (One at time) not upgradables and not changing weapons/armours, too Easy, only After ending game there Is a game+ with difficult selecting, RPG section are very low, Battle sustem are pure action, no magic ( Fira Blizzard ultima), no status altered, no fire/water/ICE/earth weakness. Very, very disappinted, Very good graphics, fantastic soundtrack, good story (already seen).… Expand
  34. YukioD
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    Cara esse final fantasy parece um light returns com devil may cry e asura's wrath, a questão e só que tem uma historia muito boa, não que seja ruim mais não tem como dar uma nota maior que 6, a batalha muito simplificada, falta elementos de rpg, linearidade, missões secundarias pobres e fora de ritmo e muitas outras coisas, fica complicado defender.
  35. SadSubz
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    Its ok. Pacing, story, and characters ruined it for me. Bosses are awesome, and combat is fun, but lacks strategy.
  36. PirateMike86
    Jun 24, 2023
    6
    I LOVE FINAL FANTASY. I've played every single one. FF11 and FF14 for years. Origins, Tactics, 10-2, 13- whatever, the mobile ones. I've played them all. 6 and 8 being my favorites. (i know 8 right? the ending made me tear up what can I say?)
    That said....
    Is this a Final Fantasy Game? Yeah, at least the name says so. Should it be a Final Fantasy 16? I don't think so. When I play a    I LOVE FINAL FANTASY. I've played every single one. FF11 and FF14 for years. Origins, Tactics, 10-2, 13- whatever, the mobile ones. I've played them all. 6 and 8 being my favorites. (i know 8 right? the ending made me tear up what can I say?)
    That said....
    Is this a Final Fantasy Game? Yeah, at least the name says so. Should it be a Final Fantasy 16? I don't think so. When I play a numbered Final Fantasy, I want a party of 4 or more. I want to customize my characters with different jobs or skills or Materia and equipment. I want variety and choice and FF16 does not give me that. the story is great so far I'm at the second Mother Crystal. The Eikon battles and some Boss battles seem more like I'm watching Dancing With the Stars. It's entertaining and disappointing at the same time. I'm already kind of bored with how repetitive it is and I'm guessing I'm halfway through. Only finishing it because I spent 70$ on it. I have no desire to New Game+ it or finish all the Achievements.
    Story 9/10: Graphics 9/10: Gameplay 6/10: Sound 9/10 Replay-ability 2/10.

    guess I'll have to wait for Rebirth for a true Final Fantasy experience    … Expand
  37. akosh
    Jun 25, 2023
    6
    the story is amazing, the graphic and music is good, dynamic range feels good and you can always hear what the character say during loud action sequences, slightly bad colors in some areas were the dark is to dark, but overall good, big boss fights are amazing in terms of how epic they feel.

    the game do however suffers from 1 big problem which is its lack of difficulty. they actually    the story is amazing, the graphic and music is good, dynamic range feels good and you can always hear what the character say during loud action sequences, slightly bad colors in some areas were the dark is to dark, but overall good, big boss fights are amazing in terms of how epic they feel.

    the game do however suffers from 1 big problem which is its lack of difficulty. they actually bother adding a easy mode and tons of accesibility options to make it even easier. but no hard mode this is such a major dealbreaker for me that it pushes the score from 8.5 down to 6. games like god of war and ghost of tsushima got decently challenging hard modes which i really wish this game would have bothered adding, cause nothing is less fun than feeling zero challenge in a action focused game.    … Expand
  38. Gamer1982
    Jun 25, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Very disappointed. When I seen the game was 15 dollars CAD more then Elden ring I thought the game must be huge with great FPS but I was wrong. It's not a rpg it's a game with a bunch of small stages and a boss. Actually more watching a movie and you get to play the action scenes. Elden ring has 20 times more equipment, items, customization, exploration and a combat that will keep engaged. This game got no exploration. Just because you go 5 second to the left or to the right of the beaten path is not exploration. Most times you only find 3 gil for exploring. Hav'nt finished the game but it says I'm 58 percent finished. I died once and that was due not paying attention to my health because I still had full potions. It's a good game for what it is but in no way should of it been 15 dollars more then Elden ring. It's ridiculous. It's just not that special to be the most expensive triple A base game version. I still can't believe they never added any extra secret dungeons or super bosses to test your skills. With all the money there charging for such a small world I expected more… Expand
  39. FlintEastwood
    Jun 25, 2023
    6
    An extremely uneven game, that starts off with so much promise only to rapidly go downhill.
    The fun combat beomes stale, repetitive and unchallenging. The story, full of intrigue, goes nowhere. The characters became less and less interesting. The dialogue goes from being quite well written to full of cliché. Everything great about the game disappears at the 15 hour mark.
    At its best, in    An extremely uneven game, that starts off with so much promise only to rapidly go downhill.
    The fun combat beomes stale, repetitive and unchallenging. The story, full of intrigue, goes nowhere. The characters became less and less interesting. The dialogue goes from being quite well written to full of cliché. Everything great about the game disappears at the 15 hour mark.
    At its best, in the first act, the game is as good as it gets. But it deteriorated so fast to the point I couldn't wait for it to end.
    The game has many other glaring faults (bad technical performance, terrible lip sync, a crafting mechanic that you may as well just ignore, an empty feeling world that doesn't much incentivise exploration, other areas that are just corridors, the worst and most uninspired sidequests I've ever seen, and an extremely mediocre soundtrack). These can be forgiven when the story and characters and engaging enough, but become more annoying when you lose interest in main body of the game.
    One of the most disappointing gaming experiences I can remember, made all the worse because it started off so well. Don't base your purchase decision on the outstanding demo, it isn't representative of the rest of the game.    … Expand
  40. Aeredy
    Jun 25, 2023
    6
    Gave it a 6 so mid
    The combat feels slow and the story sucks
    looks cool tho and its still fun to play just not for long because of the combat
    can't recommend it but if you want to play something and have money go for it
  41. Degaty
    Jun 25, 2023
    6
    It's an excellent game for what it is. It needs more RPG element than what it currently has. The only solid reason I can find why I would accept this as a Final Fantasy title would be the names of the Eikons. Other than that, you could slap a new IP and you wouldn't even notice.

    The RPG elements that I am referring to are as follows; - Customization (whether character or their level up    It's an excellent game for what it is. It needs more RPG element than what it currently has. The only solid reason I can find why I would accept this as a Final Fantasy title would be the names of the Eikons. Other than that, you could slap a new IP and you wouldn't even notice.

    The RPG elements that I am referring to are as follows;
    - Customization (whether character or their level up development)
    - Farming
    - Grinding (albeit not for everyone)
    - Crafting
    - Exploration

    The number of enemies have also shrunk since ff13, but this is mainly due to the nature of "action".

    In the end, I give it a 6, because this isn't an RPG. It barely touches what made Final Fantasy the juggernaut that it is. I am okay with innovation, testing waters and the likes, but this would've been a better standalone rather than slapping the final fantasy brand on it.

    This is probably the last time I will pre-order a mainline Final Fantasy game because as a fan of the genre since 6, and I've played each one and even the spinoffs, world of final fantasy, etc., I think this is a huge let down of the brand.

    It's like toyota suddenly taking away reliability from its products. Or Ferrari suddenly entering the compact sedan market that despite the badge, you'd still probably hate the product.

    In the end, the game is good. But not for the brand it represents. What's painful though is that, it's gonna take another 5-10 years before another mainline final fantasy comes our way. and the fact that we're left with this, it feels such an empty next few years.

    Looking forward to rebirth. I hope the RPG elements, whether mentioned or not, is more involved compared to 16.    … Expand
  42. 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
  43. Helloparis
    Jun 26, 2023
    6
    the beginin is very slow :(
    Elementary affinities are not taken into account, i kiiled a bombo with fire... this is so bad
  44. richomack360
    Jun 26, 2023
    6
    Great looking, but weak side quests, questionable voice acting and the usual poor storytelling by Square Enix let this game down. Not as good as FF7 Remake, but better than FF15
  45. YRG
    Jun 26, 2023
    6
    I have played every Final Fantasy game since FFVII and through the entirety of the story of this game, and have done quite a few of the side quests too, overall I agree with other reviewers that it is the best mainline FF game in a decade, that is if you don't consider FFVII Remake and FFXIV Shadowbringers and Endwalker. I believe all those games had a significantly better story thanI have played every Final Fantasy game since FFVII and through the entirety of the story of this game, and have done quite a few of the side quests too, overall I agree with other reviewers that it is the best mainline FF game in a decade, that is if you don't consider FFVII Remake and FFXIV Shadowbringers and Endwalker. I believe all those games had a significantly better story than FFXVI. But certainly this game is better than XII, XIII, and way better than XV since the latter was a development nightmare and felt unfinished. However, like most FF games after FFX, this game has quite a few flaws.

    Story: Without any spoilers, I was very disappointed with how the story progressed, beyond the first 5-6 hours. At a point about a quarter into the story, it was very clear to me how it is going to progress. The problem with Final Fantasy after FFX is that their stories has become derivative. This felt like a repeat of FF Type-0 story and a poorer version of FFIX story with some elements of Shadowbringers. The script was very poor clear from the fact that the player was literally told at many points what they should think of the story. The best part of the story is Clive, who is the most relatable main character since Tidus of FFX. But the villain is very boring and one-dimensional. Overall, the story arch was very disappointing and in my opinion they dropped the ball with the ending and ruined Clive's arch entirely. I would not give this game any score above 7 based on story alone.

    Quests: The quests, even in the main story, can be very tedious at times. Lots and lots of fetch me this and that quests in the main story line that slow down the story in crucial moments and generally feel like fillers. Side quests are even worse. Ever since playing Witcher 3, my bar for quest quality has risen. Many of the quests here felt more like errands/chores than actual quests. I would give the quests a 6 at most.

    Gameplay: This was the most disappointing element to me. PlayStation has no shortage of great action games, namely God of War, Horizon, and Uncharted; and FF has always been the main reason I have bought a PlayStation as it was a defining JRPG; with this game, it no longer is and that is sad. If you are new to FF and enjoy action games you may be fine with this. RPGs need not be turn-based necessarily, albeit I greatly enjoy games like Dragon Quest. When I compare this game to other RPGs, such as Elden Ring, or action games like God of War, the gameplay is neither here nor there, and is quite shallow. a 4 or 5 is the best here.
    Music: The highlight of this game and the only reason I am giving it a score above 5. Very timely and epic, and on-point throughout the story. A 10 here.

    Performance: This game certainly suffers from framerate issues as others have experienced, even in frame rate optimized mode. A 5 here.

    Conclusion: Overall, I was very disappointed after playing 30+ hrs of the story mode and this is going to be one of the more forgettable Final Fantasy games for me. The story was very derivative, and it felt like retelling of FFIX, XIII, XIV Shadowbringers, and Type-0. Final Fantasy games have become derivative and lost their originality. I did not enjoy the direction they took the gameplay and found the quests tedious. I recommend this game to you only if you ARE NOT a Final Fantasy fan. If you are, prepare to be bored and disappointed.    … Expand
  46. lebrownjeans
    Jul 15, 2023
    6
    I don't care about the weirdos giving the game 0's or 10's this game is neither. I also don't care about the "this isnt a ff game" sure it is. It just isn't a good one. It isn't even a good game in general.
    What ff16 is, is a mediocre action game by a devil may cry dev stitched together with a mmo dev that doesn't know how to make a FUN game.
    Graphics: amazing soundtrack: passable    I don't care about the weirdos giving the game 0's or 10's this game is neither. I also don't care about the "this isnt a ff game" sure it is. It just isn't a good one. It isn't even a good game in general.
    What ff16 is, is a mediocre action game by a devil may cry dev stitched together with a mmo dev that doesn't know how to make a FUN game.

    Graphics: amazing

    soundtrack: passable but totally forgettable

    combat: flashy, but entirely button mashing no matter how much to try to spice it up. Bosses and minibosses are spongey and boring once you figure out their loop and they still have 50% health left.

    story: fine i guess, the game world doesnt really make a lot of sense and the slavery thing in ineptly addressed

    gameplay: the sidequests are unbelievably terrible, the ui is bloated mmo trash, and all the rpg elements are completely pointless. no exploration, meaningless rarities, items just make damage numbers go up, no cool effects etc.

    All in all this game is flashy and beautiful but completely shallow.    … Expand
  47. HushRed
    Jun 27, 2023
    6
    I was so happy to get to jump back into final fantasy a game I have held dear since I was younger. Alas I have been met with disappointment, The playstation 5 which is the only Format the game is available on overheats if you play it with its highest settings! Before anyone tells me I should lower the framerate turn off the HDR or Go to performance mode, why? Why should we have to acceptI was so happy to get to jump back into final fantasy a game I have held dear since I was younger. Alas I have been met with disappointment, The playstation 5 which is the only Format the game is available on overheats if you play it with its highest settings! Before anyone tells me I should lower the framerate turn off the HDR or Go to performance mode, why? Why should we have to accept it in a sub par form? We have spent over £500 for the console so why can't it run the game how it's supposed to? There isn't another version of the PS5 which is more powerful so pray tell what are we meant to do? We should expect better from a cold industry who thinks it's acceptable to release a game that is to powerful for the console to handle. The storyline is good but fairly obvious what's going to happen, feels a lot like game of thrones which to me is a good thing. The game mechanics aren't as good as 15 but it has got some interesting changes. Id say give the game a chance if you have the patience to either play it at a sub par level or have a air conditioner blowing directly onto your ps5 or like playing it and it crashing intermittently (Usually during a 20 min cutscene at the 17th minute)… Expand
  48. UkyoSonoda
    Jun 28, 2023
    6
    The parts of the game you actually get to play are mostly smooth however hitbox timing for dodges on a number of enemy attacks doesn't fully line up with the animations. It's also extremely heavy on cutscenes and expository breaks as I feel I spent more time watching the game than playing it. Also observed a number of typos in the game text for items and captions.

    Visually the game is    The parts of the game you actually get to play are mostly smooth however hitbox timing for dodges on a number of enemy attacks doesn't fully line up with the animations. It's also extremely heavy on cutscenes and expository breaks as I feel I spent more time watching the game than playing it. Also observed a number of typos in the game text for items and captions.

    Visually the game is quite impressive with it's details. However gameplay itself is overly simplified to timing button presses while navigating mostly linear map areas. There is little reason to explore and nearly all staples and mechanics of an RPG are missing.

    The only build "options" you have are limited to the relic slots which have a limited range of options and which Eikons and skills you choose to slot. However that part just boils down to preferences on what types of moves you like as the element of the Eikon makes no difference at all in the game.

    It's not a bad game. However it's not something that should have been shipped as a numbered mainline entry to the Final Fantasy series and instead been given a spinoff designation like other forays by SE to branch the Final Fantasy series outside of the RPG genre. Between this title and the direction they've been taking with changes to Final Fantasy 14, it gives the impression that CBU3's goal is to take the Final Fantasy franchise away from it's original fanbase.

    Lots of flashy things to get attention but sorely lacking in substance compared to previous mainline entries in the series and even a number of the series spinoffs.    … Expand
  49. SkateWitches---
    Jul 9, 2023
    6
    A Great story can do miracles and boy does this game need one, ffxvi is very polished on the general side of things but the gameplay is a bit underwhelming, the start is very heavy on the button-mashing side of the action genreand while it does get better later in the game, the whole hack and slash thing still feels a bit immature, this is the first ff dedicated purely to action and itA Great story can do miracles and boy does this game need one, ffxvi is very polished on the general side of things but the gameplay is a bit underwhelming, the start is very heavy on the button-mashing side of the action genreand while it does get better later in the game, the whole hack and slash thing still feels a bit immature, this is the first ff dedicated purely to action and it shows, and yes i know there's rpg stuff in it but saying that ffxvi is an rpg is like saying that rdr2 is an rpg, it has a bit of customization on the equipment you use but there's little reason to pick something other than the thing with the highest stats, and progression is very easy and very "fake", you complete a mission go back to the hobby and buy the new best thing that the shop offers, and that's it for the whole game, companions are there just because it wouldn't make sense narratively for them not to fight, they don't make any difference and they all fight the same. I Don't know if it's just me but I also feel like all enemies felt the same, only divided in 2 categories, big enemies and small enemies, I never found myself forced to adopt a new strategy during a fight, I just combod the same attacks against every enemy, and it worked, aaaand at last a very disappointing thing for me were the eikon fights, just gimmicky and laughably easy, clearly meant to look cool rather than to be a mechanic.
    I guess the experience in general wasn't too awful but it was carried by the outstanding narrative, everything else felt very underwhelming.    … Expand
  50. Squallleon
    Jun 29, 2023
    6
    I really wanted to like this game, I really did. This game falls short on so many levels and it’s a shame because there’s something there between the world building the characters the story presentation there’s definitely good points and potential. But they just chose to take it down a road where it doesn’t resonate as the final fantasy that I’ve been waiting for, not a perfect game but aI really wanted to like this game, I really did. This game falls short on so many levels and it’s a shame because there’s something there between the world building the characters the story presentation there’s definitely good points and potential. But they just chose to take it down a road where it doesn’t resonate as the final fantasy that I’ve been waiting for, not a perfect game but a game that I could say okay this was 90 percent really good just a few flaws. Everything that’s wrong, No controllable characters the fact that you have party members that you can’t control at all just seems unnecessary the game is not even difficult so why even have uncontrollable characters in your party and torgle is a cheap excuse for a party memeber. The progression and customization is non existent. There is no depth. You literally just show up to the shop after every big battle and buy a new sword that’s a bit stronger than the other. No satisfaction from that. The explorable area seems useless nothing good to find and I found myself picking up 2 Gil way too often like it feels items where just placed there to just say they had items no thought out into it. When you defeat a boss the screen stops and you get taken out of the moment to sip through your exp and items and it just feels awkward especially for an action game. The cinematic scenes in the boss battles are pointless. The side quests feels like you’re playing an mmo. Overall this should have been a side entry into the series I would have been okay with that but this is not a mainline final fantasy game. Square shouldn’t have done stranger of paradise which was a pointless game and this could have taken it’s place and maybe we could have gotten a ff16 that we deserve.… Expand
  51. VLRibeiro
    Jun 30, 2023
    6
    It’s a good game, just not a Final Fantasy game. I played 60% of it already, it’s a straight line as it gets and in summary: press square until it hurts.
  52. Onwardxupward
    Jul 3, 2023
    6
    I absolutely loved 50% of this game and loathed the other 50%. The combat, boss battles, characterization, and the GRAPHICS are the BEST I've ever seen.

    On the other hand, the questing and gameplay structure feels it was pulled right out of the Ubisoft playbook of "walk towards icon, press X, walk towards another, press X, repeat...". After the 100th time of walking down the same    I absolutely loved 50% of this game and loathed the other 50%. The combat, boss battles, characterization, and the GRAPHICS are the BEST I've ever seen.

    On the other hand, the questing and gameplay structure feels it was pulled right out of the Ubisoft playbook of "walk towards icon, press X, walk towards another, press X, repeat...". After the 100th time of walking down the same hallway to deliver yet another item, I checked out. My prediction is that is game will age poorly due to how superficial it is. I wish there was more depth of strategy and customization found in other RPGs, or even a robust combo system like you would see in DmC.    … Expand
  53. Boaz_
    Jul 3, 2023
    6
    The game has a good story, good graphics, and the fights were well directed, although it doesn't run well in performance mode... But the problems with this game are the dev's decisions: The exploration is very basic that it doesn't reward the player, the game doesn't have playable party members, it doesn't have classes, it doesn't have good mini games like in the classics (card game, GoldThe game has a good story, good graphics, and the fights were well directed, although it doesn't run well in performance mode... But the problems with this game are the dev's decisions: The exploration is very basic that it doesn't reward the player, the game doesn't have playable party members, it doesn't have classes, it doesn't have good mini games like in the classics (card game, Gold saucer, etc), it doesn't have negative statuses, the progression of equipment and character evolution is very simple and without creativity. .. The FF series is based on tabletop RPG, they can't just turn the game into 100% action all of a sudden... It should be 50% action 50% rpg like in FF 7 remake.… Expand
  54. Markbentley7
    Jul 3, 2023
    6
    Worst mainline FF story. Same boring linear level design as 13. Regurgitated world and themes.
    Combat was fun but could have had way more depth. Side quests and 'crafting' system were a huge waste of time.
    Can't believe there was no overworld...just a straight game of thrones intro rip off...
  55. naix221
    Jul 12, 2023
    6
    Graphics for the game look great but the performance is so poorly optimized it hardly ever feels great to play for those that like smooth gameplay. Doesn't matter if you use performance mode.

    Story seems fine, but nothing memorable overall at least in my opinion, even with reading every entry I'm still not really getting any hint of what the reviews giving this a 10 are talking about.    Graphics for the game look great but the performance is so poorly optimized it hardly ever feels great to play for those that like smooth gameplay. Doesn't matter if you use performance mode.

    Story seems fine, but nothing memorable overall at least in my opinion, even with reading every entry I'm still not really getting any hint of what the reviews giving this a 10 are talking about. It's a very predictable and average story, the boss battles carry most of the impact.

    Quests are terrible and dated, something straight out of FFXIV. I've yet to do a quest that isn't find item, deliver item, or kill some random fodder monsters. No real story or impact to any of them, easily skippable dialogue.

    The world map for a game like this was a terrible decision and really takes away from the world but then again the world as you see it in the game is mostly linear zones with multiple tiny holes you crawl through over and over or overly dark castles. With the rare exception of the quest zones which are mostly just empty and ignored other than completing some required quests or searching for the hunt mark.

    Gameplay is enjoyable, but mostly only during boss fights, the combat system while nothing really new for action is more or less well done and feels polished. I think the magic burst system is probably the least enjoyable part of it but there are work arounds to not use it. Overall the Eikons get boring and 1 dimensional, you get a new ability and it's shiny but most of them are only useful if they do high stagger or high damage without massive recharge times and a long cast... most are in-between or take too long.

    By the end of the game you'll feel extremely tired of playing Clive typically, his combat style never changes and he's all you get.

    Equipment is boring except for the one that enhances your combos after precision dodges, crafting might as well just be buying weapons.

    This game is definitely not a 10/10 or 9/10, that implies it's near perfect. I think a maybe a 6 or 7 is the fairest score, 7 if you don't care about performance. The highs of the game are the boss battles and the lows seem to be everything in-between.    … Expand
  56. pelona39
    Jul 6, 2023
    6
    I bought a PS5 only for this Final Fantasy XVI, what I've got? Disappointments
    I love Final Fantasy series, but this is kinda not acceptable, too hyped for a new FF title
    If it's not "Final Fantasy" I definitely will not finish the game. I saw a lot positive reviews, not really sure are they playing FF series before or not. Story The story of FF16 is basically JRPG in general, but    I bought a PS5 only for this Final Fantasy XVI, what I've got? Disappointments
    I love Final Fantasy series, but this is kinda not acceptable, too hyped for a new FF title

    If it's not "Final Fantasy" I definitely will not finish the game.
    I saw a lot positive reviews, not really sure are they playing FF series before or not.

    Story
    The story of FF16 is basically JRPG in general, but the text or language (I used English subtitle) to this game are not fit for a such "JRPG". English text in this game are suit to western games. I know that the producer of this game said that this game NOT a JRPG, he said this is RPG in generally but for me it's really JRPG in general with western-style language, from innocent character, to become vengeance, and then killing God... yeah basically JRPG.
    This is too hard to accept as Final Fantasy, maybe if this game is not "Final Fantasy" I think this story will be best. Because they only put iconic summon from FF like Ifrit, Shiva, Odin, Bahamut and yes it will automatically turned into Final Fantasy... and oh don't forget Cid, mothercrystal and moogle.
    Also thing I don't like, that they put some fillers in main story which is annoying for me.

    Sound/music
    Good, but not memorable like previous FF titles... I am not saying this is bad, just not memorable

    Gameplay
    Final Fantasy with their iconic turn-based gameplay is dead now, and it's turned into fully combat-action gameplay. The gameplay is too easy, I am not even use help-accessories. If this game compare too DmC, then this game is like easy-mode in DmC.

    Graphic
    No comment, it's good

    Overall
    For me as Final Fantasy fan, this game... this new title of Final Fantasy, is not good. I though this going to be best from FFXV, but this is worse... sorry. That's all my honest review    … Expand
  57. MustPlayReviews
    Jul 6, 2023
    6
    Final Fantasy 16 is a visually stunning game with impressive particle effects, showcasing the power and size of the eikons. However, the art direction has some poor choices, including excessive chromatic aberration and motion blur that cannot be disabled. The game lacks color variation, with most of the visuals appearing dark and lacking depth. The sound design is outstanding, with anFinal Fantasy 16 is a visually stunning game with impressive particle effects, showcasing the power and size of the eikons. However, the art direction has some poor choices, including excessive chromatic aberration and motion blur that cannot be disabled. The game lacks color variation, with most of the visuals appearing dark and lacking depth. The sound design is outstanding, with an emotionally moving score and excellent voice acting, although there are issues with voice placement and compression. The gameplay introduces an unconventional combat system that can be exhilarating but becomes monotonous during basic fights. The combat lacks strategic elements present in previous Final Fantasy titles, making encounters less engaging. The performance of the game is not very impressive, with frame drops and stuttering in the performance mode. The story, however, is a standout, featuring compelling character struggles and emotional storytelling. The world of Final Fantasy 16 is dark and war-torn, filled with pain and hopelessness, but also the determination to protect and make things right. Despite its flaws, Final Fantasy 16 is worth playing for those who can overlook its visual and gameplay issues. I give it a grade of D and question the high scores it has received any game that has chromatic aberration loses a tier from me purposely damaging the picture quality is unacceptable… Expand
  58. hobbitwithoutHR
    Jul 7, 2023
    6
    Characters are possibly the best I've ever seen.but somehow like…a dummy of DMC
  59. sapphicvalkyrja
    Jul 7, 2023
    6
    Were it not for the existence of FFXV, this would be my least favorite Final Fantasy. While the game has a solid combat system and jaw-dropping Eikon battles, the character writing is some of the worst in the series history, the plot is several hours too long, and many plot threads and characters are dropped from the narrative with absolutely no pay-off. The sidequest designs showcase theWere it not for the existence of FFXV, this would be my least favorite Final Fantasy. While the game has a solid combat system and jaw-dropping Eikon battles, the character writing is some of the worst in the series history, the plot is several hours too long, and many plot threads and characters are dropped from the narrative with absolutely no pay-off. The sidequest designs showcase the worst elements of MMO sidequests (which is often more tolerable in actual MMOs), and the RPG elements are so muted that they should have been removed entirely.… Expand
  60. Rynosully
    Jul 8, 2023
    6
    Not a true Final Fantasy. If you are looking for an RPG you will be disappointed with this one. I’ve been a fan since the first Final Fantasy and at 45 years old this one is as disappointing as FFXIII was to me. Please go back to your RPG roots. This is not what I expect from a Final Fantasy experience.
  61. jonnyfiftka
    Jul 9, 2023
    6
    I think that this is a very strange game. There are parts that are good (combat, which can shine only through boss fights and some elite monsters/hunts, spectacle and music) and then there is really bad stuff (extremely dry writting, specially side quests, npc keep on talking and talking, soo many cutscenes, repetetive combat encounters, repetetive gameplay loop, non existent rpgI think that this is a very strange game. There are parts that are good (combat, which can shine only through boss fights and some elite monsters/hunts, spectacle and music) and then there is really bad stuff (extremely dry writting, specially side quests, npc keep on talking and talking, soo many cutscenes, repetetive combat encounters, repetetive gameplay loop, non existent rpg progression elements, where 9 out of 10 times you get to make new equipment you already have the items and the upgrades are so boring too.) Personaly I do not like the muted brown, gray color palete, which this game has most of the time. I get It that this is the end of the world mood, but still. This game feels like crippled FFXIV, It plays exactly the same (ofc the combat is different), exept, in FFXIV there is so many other things you can do.… Expand
  62. bluecollarjenny
    Jul 9, 2023
    6
    I guess the best way to put this is.. I am bored. FF has always been a story driven RPG and I feel like it’s been sacrificed for flashy combat. I am about 40% through the main missions (I have also completed every side quest thus far) and to continue on just feels like a chore and a drag. Everything feels bland and the main story is full of filler to a point where there isn’t a sense ofI guess the best way to put this is.. I am bored. FF has always been a story driven RPG and I feel like it’s been sacrificed for flashy combat. I am about 40% through the main missions (I have also completed every side quest thus far) and to continue on just feels like a chore and a drag. Everything feels bland and the main story is full of filler to a point where there isn’t a sense of pacing or urgency. I am disappointed as I was very excited for the next entry, and now I can’t even see myself finishing the game.… Expand
  63. CaballitoRojo
    Jul 10, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ni es un gran juego, ni está a la altura de la saga. No se han currado absolutamente nada. El final fantasy xv está muchísimo más currado. La gente que le pone mucha puntuación no se por que, tienen el listón muy bajo. No te creas lo que dicen los youtubers están comprados. La historia es pésima, ni se han esforzado, terminas pasando todas las parrafadas que sueltan por que dicen tonterías. Y eso que lo he puesto en acción, si llego poner historia... me muero del asco. Le pongo un 6 por los combates, gráficos.… Expand
  64. Razalgul
    Jul 14, 2023
    6
    +nice graphics +story good overall (just badly paced)
    +great score
    +feels epic =fight system not bad but gets repetitive fast
    -boring, really bad side quests
    -ability tree can be ignored -crafting can be ignored, very simple
    -empty world with nothing to do other than the main quest
    -too linear
    -no RPG in FF16
  65. tachibananana
    Jul 14, 2023
    6
    I just want to be short. This game has very good and complete world but not so good story that lack of story telling techniques and character motivation. Full of boring main quests and side quests that make you walk from A to B, kill some monsters, then watch some awful animation. There are no building up your character like other RPG only character levels and abilities really affect inI just want to be short. This game has very good and complete world but not so good story that lack of story telling techniques and character motivation. Full of boring main quests and side quests that make you walk from A to B, kill some monsters, then watch some awful animation. There are no building up your character like other RPG only character levels and abilities really affect in combat. They seem like want to do a lot in the game but they failed to done it except the summons fight.… Expand
  66. Pogiboy
    Jul 14, 2023
    6
    Stellar opening, amazing first part, but it didn't last long, somewhere before half of the game the story stall's, then it drags until the end, has the potential to be an epic game but sadly, it didn't.
  67. Zuhri69
    Jul 15, 2023
    6
    Possibly, my biggest Final Fantasy disappointment. It delivers only on the spectacle and the graphics. While those are part of the series identity, another series staple have always been the quiet moment between the characters, instances in which the characters just talk with nothing to prove. The game barely had that. And by removing the party members, they remove that part of the game.Possibly, my biggest Final Fantasy disappointment. It delivers only on the spectacle and the graphics. While those are part of the series identity, another series staple have always been the quiet moment between the characters, instances in which the characters just talk with nothing to prove. The game barely had that. And by removing the party members, they remove that part of the game. The story telling, while good on paper is terribly clumsy. While one can expect certain busy work in side quests, these busy work also crept into the main quests as well. Additionally, the quest structure of the story telling made the story feels less dynamic than usual. The combat looks and feel good. However, at a certain point, it will turn into a spam contest where you have to use all your abilities to deal maximum damage in a certain timeframe. However, by doing so, the thrill of the combat is gone. The key factor of the combat is the eikon abilities and when they are on cooldown, the combat turn into a crawl. For an action game, FFXVI has a lot of waiting in its combat. The RPG, another key factor of the series is abysmal. Even considering the combat not including elemental and status weakness, the levelling system is terribly insipid, it barely affects the combat. And the gearing and item economy is so basic, you will mostly ignore them. The game is never interested in being an RPG. The music sounds good but the tracks are not as memorable as the other entries. Soken’s penchant for repeating tracks rear its ugly head again, which made the OST sounds same-y. All in all, my biggest disappointment in the series so far.… Expand
  68. DarkRhyme
    Jul 15, 2023
    6
    A disappointing game that could have been so much more. Some of the characters, the voice acting, the fluidity of the controls, the music, visuals and the likes are all golden. However the story itself, some of the other characters, the pacing, side quests and some of the worst itemization and rpg mechanics (or lack thereof) bog down what could have been a great game down to somethingA disappointing game that could have been so much more. Some of the characters, the voice acting, the fluidity of the controls, the music, visuals and the likes are all golden. However the story itself, some of the other characters, the pacing, side quests and some of the worst itemization and rpg mechanics (or lack thereof) bog down what could have been a great game down to something barely above mediocre.

    As the dust settles and time passes, I think more people will see the game's massive flaws hidden behind it's gorgeous facade.    … Expand
  69. UltimaMoogle
    Jul 16, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final Fantasy XVI is a beautiful game..... until you get into the 2nd half.

    The Final Fantasy series possesses a groundbreaking collection of very balanced, rich fantasy worlds and characters with satisfying turn based combat and rpg elements. Final Fantasy XVI forgoes most of those aspects, in favor of more modern action based combat (albeit surprisingly shallow, and uninspired), bombastic actions sequences and cutscenes of immeasurable spectacle, and amazing (attempts) at storytelling and A class voice acting.

    The setup for FFXVI genuinely captured me and I was truly hoping it would deliver an experience to rival previous games, as it was a huge divergence in the Final Fantasy main title series. Where it is true, that XV, and 7re both possessed action combat gameplay, both still were grounded in some sort of resource/rpg systems. 7re with the more traditional ATB meter. Nonetheless, we are thrown into a very dramatic opening where our protagonist survives more or less a coupe, to a genocidal degree and loses both his home and nation, and thrown away as a slave to a military state. Wars are waged with titanic magical entities called "Eikons" (summons/espers in previous games), who happen to just be humans; "Dominants", granted this phenomenal power, and play the leading roles in the machinations of the political whims of their corresponding Kingdoms. All running parallel to a class struggle of "Bearers" who can attune to the trace amounts aether of the land, who are slaves to the kingdom , in the background.

    Boy what a setup. Eikons, Cid and spending an hour testing legitimate combos with Clive, where I only had access to Phoenix, and Garuda. This game showed promise. Well this is where the game made the most sense, and honestly the high point of the game, in terms of substance.

    The game all goes downhill around the time we meet Ultima, for many reasons all culminating at this critical point, and not just because we get less screen time with Cid's amazing voice actor and banter.

    The combat is actually really bad. There are dmc combos in this game that you perform with your basic attacks, that are amazing to optimize and explore....but it all is meaningless. Once you get access to 6 Eikonic abilities, you realize gameplay revolves around using all of the abilities virtually on cooldown, maybe you have 2-3 stagger breaking ones (Wicked wheel for example), then once they are staggered, you unleash a gigaflare or judgment bolt, and rinse and repeat. Your Eikonic abilities just utterly outscale the damage and even the area of effect of your normal attacks and combos, that it feels horrible to even use your normal attacks quite honestly. Coupled with the fact, that the game has zero rpg elements like enemy "weaknesses" It completely turns the game into brainlessly waiting for your abilities to come off cooldown. Limit break is also shallow as well, nothing really much to mention. Typically your limit breaks would encapsulate your "ultimate" damage abilities, so without that its more or less just a basic boring "install" mode that buffs your damage and defensive ability.

    Well the combat sucks, but the story? Surely the setup for the story is amazing. Its Game of Thrones right? Wrong. After you meet Ultima.... it turns out all of these kingdoms warring against each other, all of the turmoil and conflict between characters, even Clive losing his nation and family....is because of Ultima...so he can become a God.... Just complete and utter anime nonsense of a story, that we have to pretend like its a beautifully well put together narrative. None of the story was driven by political dealings of military expansion or running away from the blight. The background class struggle of the bearers as slaves was pointless. The Dominants were meaningless. Just everything about this game, was sorely wasted potential.    … Expand
  70. 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
  71. 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
  72. 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
  73. 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
  74. 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
  75. 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
  76. 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
  77. 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.
  78. cyberneticbliss
    Aug 20, 2023
    6
    Not as deep, nor as captivating as other entires in the franchise. The set pieces sure are pretty though.
  79. 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
  80. 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
  81. 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
  82. 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
  83. 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
  84. 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
  85. FuniFuni
    Sep 7, 2023
    6
    Stunning visuals, great voice acting and very good soundtrack.
    The story and characters were fine... could have been better.
  86. sneakysnake128
    Jun 27, 2023
    5
    Such a disappointment. Completely lacking in interesting characters, a frustratingly poor story, and samey combat that is both too easy and monotonous. Play Octopath 2 instead of you want a Final Fantasy experience.
  87. NeverwinterMoon
    Jun 24, 2023
    5
    The story is captivating, but the technical aspect is underwhelming. In quality mode, the game runs at 1080p to 1440p, upscaled in a way that even when standing still, it looks soft on a 4K screen. In performance mode, the game runs in the 720p to 1080p range, upscaled to 1440p, and almost never locks to 60 FPS. Furthermore, it often falls below Sony's VRR window, resulting in noticeableThe story is captivating, but the technical aspect is underwhelming. In quality mode, the game runs at 1080p to 1440p, upscaled in a way that even when standing still, it looks soft on a 4K screen. In performance mode, the game runs in the 720p to 1080p range, upscaled to 1440p, and almost never locks to 60 FPS. Furthermore, it often falls below Sony's VRR window, resulting in noticeable frame rate fluctuations. The level design is corridor-based, so the scale of the world around is hardly visually impressive. Combat is fun but simple. It's essentially a copy-paste of Forspoken combat (which I found enjoyable), but with much less variation and visual splendor. I would have considered giving this a higher score if it weren't for the developers' cocky behavior, boasting about how they would utilize the hardware to the max by making this a PS5 exclusive. Unfortunately, I don't see that level of optimization. Despite having a new game engine and years to optimize for a single hardware platform, I find nothing impressive in the technical implementation, except for the fast loading times (which are largely attributed to Sony's hardware and APIs rather than the game developers themselves). Essentially, the game is technically mediocre, and the gameplay is reminiscent of something I recently played, but with a more lackluster experience.… Expand
  88. Tehemai
    Jun 23, 2023
    5
    The story has it's ups and downs but above all else, it would be nice if this played like an actual video game. Instead of a movie that pretends to need your inputs.
  89. 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
  90. patrickres9
    Jun 26, 2023
    5
    I feel pretty disappointed. I just can't fathom the high critic scores here. Is it because it's a Final Fantasy game? Is it because it looks good?
    The game is so corridor-like and linear, with SO much of the game being cutscenes and QTEs. The gameplay is solid. Nothing fantastic, but solid when you DO get to play. Totally lacking RPG elements to the point where you really cant even call    I feel pretty disappointed. I just can't fathom the high critic scores here. Is it because it's a Final Fantasy game? Is it because it looks good?
    The game is so corridor-like and linear, with SO much of the game being cutscenes and QTEs. The gameplay is solid. Nothing fantastic, but solid when you DO get to play. Totally lacking RPG elements to the point where you really cant even call it an RPG? It's closer to an action game like bayonetta or devil may cry. The characters are largely bland outside a few stand-outs. Everything in this game is so underbaked...    … Expand
  91. Serenityinaz12
    Jun 25, 2023
    5
    Giving it a 10 is ridiculous the character models are so bad for PS5 it’s laughable as is the performance. I like the new mature theme of the story but the combat sucks and the animations/effects are way too exaggerated and flashy all over the screen. Another mediocre Final Fantasy after the last good one being X
  92. DoctorZack
    Jun 26, 2023
    5
    This is basically the exact same game as Final Fantasy XIII but with Yoshi-P's credibility covering for it and the fanbase's backlash scorn from Final Fantasy XV.

    Linear and chapter built
    Characters are forgettable and uninteresting
    You will basically need the data log to understand anything going on
    Even common battles are extremely long winded and repetitive.

    The only plus is Torgal
  93. Crabzilla
    Jul 6, 2023
    5
    OK lets be honest here.

    I anticipated this game A LOT after the horrible FFXV, playing this saga since VI. Its not terrible, but it isnt great either. Main story and graphics are awesome dont get me wrong, but secondary quests, RPG elements and customization are horrible. Battle is OK but repetitive. Speaking about characters, Clive is terrible, has a 2 number IQ and isnt charismatic at    OK lets be honest here.

    I anticipated this game A LOT after the horrible FFXV, playing this saga since VI.

    Its not terrible, but it isnt great either. Main story and graphics are awesome dont get me wrong, but secondary quests, RPG elements and customization are horrible. Battle is OK but repetitive.

    Speaking about characters, Clive is terrible, has a 2 number IQ and isnt charismatic at all.

    Since boredom takes like half of your playtime, I really cant give it anymore than 5.    … Expand
  94. gasherz
    Jun 25, 2023
    5
    Written after apx. 12 hrs of play.

    In many ways XVI follows the same graphical and narrative formula found in XIV and XV. Class-leading graphics, an at least decent-sized main story quest line and battle systems "innovations". I found the audio experience to be acceptable however several of the musical pieces are too repetitive and most of the music is blanketed with the same or    Written after apx. 12 hrs of play.

    In many ways XVI follows the same graphical and narrative formula found in XIV and XV.
    Class-leading graphics, an at least decent-sized main story quest line and battle systems "innovations". I found the audio experience to be acceptable however several of the musical pieces are too repetitive and most of the music is blanketed with the same or similar "bombastic orchestra" touch.

    The story is "decent". The demo really hit a home run here. It presented what was to become an epic tale and really built up to an awesome cliff hanger. In my opinion and in order to not spoil anything - the "rest" of the game as far as I have played does not deliver on those promises. It's not bad - but it is in my current (I hope I can find it in me to finish the game) opinion not good or great either.

    The latest SqE innovation in battle system leaves little to no impression. It is a mix of DmC with a touch of Soulslikes (timed parries and whatnot) and the "epic" Eikon battles feel more akin to a static on-rails VR shooter than an actual innovation. Perhaps the exclusion of the auto-battler accessories would make battle _slightly_ more challenging - however I found no major difference using them vs not using them. It's an "OK" battle system, nothing ground breaking. Just to be clear here - it all looks _FENOMENAL_ ... however there is a cost to all this phenomenal looking graphics.

    Setting the game to performance mode I was expecting the PS5 to deliver 4k60fps without any issues - that is certainly not the case in the majority of scenes. Expect 4k 48-59.9fps. Is that terrible? Well, it sort of is if that is how this console generation was sold to players. And while we are on the topic of performance - the constant shifting between "60fps" mode in normal play and "cinematic mode" (which perhaps is something like 30 fps?) leaves me even less impressed. Further more, the world map that players use to select a region to travel to is mindbogglingly slow/laggy. Sure - I can buy the argument that the cinematic experience is better at 30fps for several cinematic/human eye reasons... but the world map?! Come on...

    Looking a bit deeper one soon finds that the levels are extremely linear and every level are littered with in-modeled immersion breaking invisible walls , be it indoors or outdoors (although outdoor level suffer more apparently from this). Couple this with the overwhelming majority of geometry props also being hard modeled into the level and thus not available for geometry breaking actions (eg smashing boxes, tables, bookshelves etc) - note that I write majority here... there are situations where this is setup to occur however it is nowhere near at the level of say Diablo IV or similar ARPG titles. And since the developers have been quite clear with XVI being a "new direction" for Final Fantasy - I would have liked to see a _much_ greater degree of geometry interaction than what is currently present. To me, the world is way too static. Main hub zone have some voiced NPC's scattered around the area which help to alleviate the static nature.

    My god, man... this became a literal wall of text. Anyways - in short it's an acceptable, awesome-looking JRPG-KINDA-ARPG that innovates in battle systems and delivers a decent story at sub-par performance... in performance mode. All in all a 5/10.    … Expand
  95. nomaddc
    Jun 24, 2023
    5
    I have not finished beating the game yet, but here what I can say so far:
    - Story is compelling and captivating enough for me to enjoy it.
    - A lot of good UI additions, such as in-cutscene access to lore. - Combat is easy to pick up, but has a nice amount of depth. - That said I'm not sure that will last until the end, combat is getting rather repetitive and new batches of abilities    I have not finished beating the game yet, but here what I can say so far:
    - Story is compelling and captivating enough for me to enjoy it.
    - A lot of good UI additions, such as in-cutscene access to lore.
    - Combat is easy to pick up, but has a nice amount of depth.
    - That said I'm not sure that will last until the end, combat is getting rather repetitive and new batches of abilities don't seem to be enough to keep it fun and interesting.
    - Performance is horrible for the level of graphics they have. Performance mode makes it even worse without giving even a stable 60fps. God of War Ragnarok had much more compelling graphical fidelity while also running fairly well on performance mode, for comparison. FF16 perf is insulting and is easily why I took off 2 points.
    - It is a departure from the classics in almost every way.
    - There is no party really.
    - Equipment is rather uninspired and boring, with amulets maybe being the highlight and we're talking here about an exciting "X ability does 10% more damage".
    - You also only get to equip the main character.
    - Only weapon has visuals, rest of the gear does not change the character look.
    - I feel like I would rather have something closer to FF6 gameplay, the action twist has not been working for mainline FF entries so far (IMO) and seems to still be a failure.
    - Cutscenes are great, QTE are fine and don't (so far) get overused.
    - Characters are interesting and a lot are well written.
    - Most of the levels are extremely linear for better or worse.
    - Open areas are a chore to explore early on because of all the running you have to do. This is addressed a bit further into the game, so I would suggest waiting with exploration until then.
    - That said there's not all that much to explore.
    - Side quests are hit or miss. Some are good and have nice little stories. Some are blatant fetch quests.

    Overall I feel like it's a decent game, but it's nowhere near GOTY or 10/10. If they fix the performance I would give it back its 2 points and it would be a solid 7/10. It does what it sets off to do fairly well, still hits that FF story feel. I play these games mostly for the story, and that's the part that is good here too, hence potentially 7/10. Combat is really a miss I think, and RPG systems are shallow and disappointing, I doubt I will be replaying this one. I've expected more from the talented team behind it, especially since they seemed to have demonstrated in the past that they understand what is it that people like about older FF games. They don't. It's a bit sad to see FF slowly lose its JRPG DNA. There are way better action games out there, I don't understand why do they want to shoehorn themselves into this already overpopulated genre.    … Expand
  96. Falconis
    Jun 24, 2023
    5
    Massively over hyped. A well made but shallow action with no meaningful RPG mechanics. All flash, no substance.
  97. 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
  98. seraphsfist
    Jun 23, 2023
    5
    8/10 if it weren't a Final Fantasy game, but I expect more from a mainline FF entry. For the life of me I don't understand where they thought people wanted an action game that was even more braindead than all it's competition, to the point even garbage like Nu-Assassins Creed is more of an RPG than Final Fantasy. That said the story, characters and voice acting are more hit than miss, but8/10 if it weren't a Final Fantasy game, but I expect more from a mainline FF entry. For the life of me I don't understand where they thought people wanted an action game that was even more braindead than all it's competition, to the point even garbage like Nu-Assassins Creed is more of an RPG than Final Fantasy. That said the story, characters and voice acting are more hit than miss, but the quality is all over the place and it honestly gets really irritating. Combat gets really repetitive and the FX start to seem truly ridiculous when you're fighting a normal human, juggling them in the air for an eternity because for some idiot reason they have the health pool of a Monster Hunter flagship monster. Sidequests are MMO tier. Music is so far removed from the greatness of Uematsu that it's honestly depressing. I have to say after FFXV and now this, I think I'm done with Square Enix for good. They are floundering and listening to the idiotic shareholders and marketing suits instead of sticking to what worked so well for the first 20yrs of the series. If you want to make $$ make a new IP instead of embarassing yourselves.… Expand
  99. 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
  100. 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
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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.
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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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