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. Kir1to
    Jun 23, 2023
    10
    História do jogo é interessantíssima e muito bem amarrada. O combate está excelente! É possível criar vários combos e sequências de ataques insanas, além do combate dos eikons que está muito épico.
  2. zayit
    Jun 23, 2023
    10
    An Amazing FF game. I did not like the XV (maybe will give it another chance some time), but the XVI is really amazing.
  3. mrclopes
    Jun 29, 2023
    1
    If it was described as a Hack'n'slash 3rd person combat simulator it probably would be a fair game, but it's way off what is supposed to be a role playing video game. No party members, you only control Clive with no customization, combat is simply brain-dead button-mashing, zero strategy involved, the world feels empty like nobody lives here besides the main character friends and family.If it was described as a Hack'n'slash 3rd person combat simulator it probably would be a fair game, but it's way off what is supposed to be a role playing video game. No party members, you only control Clive with no customization, combat is simply brain-dead button-mashing, zero strategy involved, the world feels empty like nobody lives here besides the main character friends and family. Side quests are nonexistent just fillers and chores without any purpose. Very disappointed with this Final Fantasy, besides it's art assets, 3d models, animation and music, this game have absolutely nothing to offer. This title have zero gameplay value.… Expand
  4. Camzillasmom
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    I played each Final Fantasy game since the early 90ties and enjoyed FF15. After playing Final Fantasy 16 for more than 8 hours, I have to say that I am concerned and disappointed about how superficial the series will become if it continues on this path.

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

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

    While FF15 was bursting with side activities like fishing, cooking and chocobo races - which were not mandatory and could totally be avoided by pure action lovers - at least it was those activities that put life into the game. FF16 contains only 3 "activities" which alternate and mix up until the end of the game interrupted by Cut-scenes: Walking - Hack'n'Slash - Shopping. This may be enough for others but certainly not for me and it really doesn't deserve a higher rating than FF15.    … Expand
  5. darrell1991
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As for someone who played FF games since the late 90s until FF15, this doesn’t feel like a final fantasy at all. You cannot summon any eikons or aeons/espers. Instead, you just channel their powers. I fell in love with summoning these helpers/summons before but it’s suddenly gone in FF16.

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

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

    Maybe I won’t finish this game. And until Square Enix goes back to its FF roots, I won’t be buying FF17.    … Expand
  6. rmcrom
    Jun 23, 2023
    5
    There's more time watching cutscenes than actual getting to play the game. And the cutscenes can't be skipped. This is the first final fantasy I have bought and I will not buy any more.
  7. Matthew0340
    Jun 25, 2023
    0
    This is not a "review bomb", user reviews are a rating of how much they enjoyed the game.
    Of you want technical review scores pay attention to Profesional reviews. I was a huge ff fan, a fan of turn based and pause and play.
    These types of action games just turn into button masters and get really old really quick. Can't control other party members. Hated this game. Half way through and    This is not a "review bomb", user reviews are a rating of how much they enjoyed the game.
    Of you want technical review scores pay attention to Profesional reviews. I was a huge ff fan, a fan of turn based and pause and play.
    These types of action games just turn into button masters and get really old really quick.
    Can't control other party members.
    Hated this game. Half way through and too annoyed by combat to continue. If you like devil may cry and god of war type games that's great you probably will love this game. But am sad they changed my favorite series into something I can't even play anymore, aren't there enough triple A game like this out there already?    … Expand
  8. 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
  9. musicgamer
    Jun 25, 2023
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Faaaar to many cut-scenes. It's 1min gameplay then 10min cutscene. - a very very stop start game which feels more like a movie than an actual game. Also the enemies are just body sponges - there isn't really anything tactical in the fighting other than smashing buttons with OTT effects. The larger battles are set pieces that relie on QTE. The game has a lot less exploration and side quests are nothing more than repetitive fetch, kill, talk to quests. The graphics are nice but it feels more like walking down corridors to a slightly larger hub rather than freedom to go outside it's narrow path, though much later it opens up more but that's towards the end and still limited to where you are allowed to go, this kind of limits any real adventuring discovering and exploration.… Expand
  10. Doan
    Jun 25, 2023
    4
    The Good:

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

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

    The Bad (Essentially, everything not mentioned above):

    1. Unimmersive - UI clutter and invisible walls everywhere. 95% of doors in the game serve no purpose and cannot be used. Windows are constantly popping up which disrupt gameplay, every time a quest is completed, or a new mainline quest starts, or upon level-up, or upon defeating enemies, etc. FF16 feels like any other AAA game: Don't think for yourself to progress the game, simply chase the objective marker around the world until the credits roll.
    2. UI Clutter (Kills immersion) - Quest icons and objective markers are constantly floating around the screen like annoying little bugs. Everything in the game is indicated with brightly-colored and/or animated icons. The Quest Tracker is persistently onscreen with no option to hide it. Damage numbers and enemy health bars cannot be disabled.
    3. Linear - FF16 gives FF13 flashbacks. This is not a good thing.
    4. Quick Time Events - These should be non-interactive cutscenes, so the player can sit back and enjoy the great cinematics, instead of mindlessly mashing whatever button appears on the screen. Nobody likes QTE.
    5. Overly-simplistic Equipment System
    6. Motion Blur - Cannot be disabled
    7. Visually-noisy Combat - During combat, so many obnoxious visual effects are occurring, which makes it difficult to see what is happening. This makes it difficult to focus on the correct enemy and time attacks/dodges
    8. Poor Performance - FPS frequently drops, resulting in noticeable stutters and choppy gameplay
    9. Lame Sidequests (Kills immersion): Side quests require zero thought, as you simply chase objective markers until the quest is complete.
    10. No sense of exploration or discovery - Everything is thrown in your face, as if your are a moron (Kills immersion): Side quests are marked on the map and with floating icons onscreen, items in the environment are large, brightly-lit, & animated, coffers are marked with an icon which can be seen through walls, etc.
    11. Combat - Most of the combat is fun and engaging. The one terribly-implemented combat aspect is controlling Torgal. To control Torgal, you must swap between two different onscreen menus: One for using healing items, and one for issuing commands to Torgal. This is just dumb. You should not have to choose between either using healing items _or_ controlling your AI companion. Torgal should act completely autonomously. If anything, Torgal should have cooldowns which are occasionally activated by the player, but Siccing, Ravaging, and Healing should be fully automated. The accessory which does make Torgal behave this way should not exist, as this is how Torgal should behave by default.
    12. Slow Menus - Menus are animated, so it takes an unnecessarily long time to open, close, and navigate between menus
    13. Lame Eikon Fights - Eikon battles look good, but there is zero challenge to them. They should have just been cutscenes the player could sit back and just enjoy watching.    … Expand
  11. Bigflo77
    Jul 1, 2023
    0
    Overrated, story is pretty good (nothing awesome), the OST is meh, gameplay is okay but too easy and too much repetitive, no RPG aspect, no diversity on gameplay, the VF is horrible, worst sidequest and filling task (Fedex task) between two main chapters, the global game design is very outdated, no exploration, graphics are limited for a linear AAA only on PS5
  12. jessystonil
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    Eh it's alright, but I can't help but think a lot of critics are afraid to criticize Yoshida and FF, we saw this same mentality with people not being truthful about the shortcomings in FFXIV. They tried to sell it to us as the greatest MMO of all time, above all the competition when in reality it literally just used WoW as a model and just did everything half assed and had one of the mostEh it's alright, but I can't help but think a lot of critics are afraid to criticize Yoshida and FF, we saw this same mentality with people not being truthful about the shortcomings in FFXIV. They tried to sell it to us as the greatest MMO of all time, above all the competition when in reality it literally just used WoW as a model and just did everything half assed and had one of the most basic overworlds that doesn't even inspire you to want to go explore in MMO history. And also some of the poorest class diversity and combat, with the latest expansion being a glorified cutscene simulator with terrible tailing quest. We're seeing the same handholding with this game. Why do we baby Japanese developers especially square? Why do we give them a pass for outdated mechanics, weak dialogue while we pick apart EVERYTHING in western games, even when said western games are pushing their respective genres forward. Western reviewers need to stop coddling Japanese devs and be straight with them. I know the gaming industry has an infatuation with Japan. But that does not mean everything they put out must be worshipped like it's the second coming. They won't improve if you keep praising even the crappy aspects of their games.

    Another thing Square in particular needs to get better at, and this was a problem with XIV as well. Stop utilizing other peoples cultures from India to the Middle East whilst not actually portraying those people. Everyone always jumps down western developers throat over representation or appropriation, yet here Square is constantly utilizing non-western nation's cultures whilst portraying the people of said cultures all eurocentric. This same thing happened in the Endwalker expansion in XIV where they took influence from India in one of their zones, but they had everyone looking like they walked out of Sweden. Give Japanese developers the same energy you give western devs when they do this.    … Expand
  13. BreatFR
    Jul 2, 2023
    3
    after 2 days of intensive play, here is my feeling:

    - graphics / ost: 10/10 - outfits: 4/10 - story: 7/10 - secondary quests: 1/10 - combat system: 2/10 25/50 -> 5/10 to this I will add: - fights based on one thing: yes, dodging -> -1 - world map: not visitable, only teleportations -> -1 - slow, soft, repetitive game: yes -> -1 - if we remove the primordials and put    after 2 days of intensive play, here is my feeling:

    - graphics / ost: 10/10
    - outfits: 4/10
    - story: 7/10
    - secondary quests: 1/10
    - combat system: 2/10

    25/50 -> 5/10

    to this I will add:

    - fights based on one thing: yes, dodging -> -1
    - world map: not visitable, only teleportations -> -1
    - slow, soft, repetitive game: yes -> -1
    - if we remove the primordials and put lambda monsters instead we have the same result, I haven't currently felt the "magic" of final fantasy -> -1
    - ff10, ff15, ff16: same face hero design, square-enix can't make new one?

    25/50 - 5 = 20/50 -> 4/10

    please square-enix come back to good rpg and not action/rpg to create next good final fantasy.

    after 3 days:
    too much thing to remember ff14

    after 2 weeks:
    story: 6/10
    lenth: 1/10

    25/60 - 5 = 20/60 -> 3/10    … Expand
  14. Mortanius_lok
    Jun 23, 2023
    0
    J'espère que les prochains jeux AAA ne fassent pas comme FF16 qui pousse l'assistanat à un niveau honteux. On en est encore en 2023 à se rertrouver bloqué pendant 15 minutes dans un tuto qui t'apprend à appuyer sur carré pour attaquer au corp à corp, et triangle pour à attaque distance... on te met le jeu sur pause dès le début pour t'indiquer que le petit truc sur ta manette, ce qu'onJ'espère que les prochains jeux AAA ne fassent pas comme FF16 qui pousse l'assistanat à un niveau honteux. On en est encore en 2023 à se rertrouver bloqué pendant 15 minutes dans un tuto qui t'apprend à appuyer sur carré pour attaquer au corp à corp, et triangle pour à attaque distance... on te met le jeu sur pause dès le début pour t'indiquer que le petit truc sur ta manette, ce qu'on appelle stick gauche sert à déplacer ton personnage, star pour ouvrir le menu et stick gauche pour contrôler la caméra....etc, je vous le jure ce n'est pas une blague, FF16 te met encore en 2023 des indicateurs lumineux de 5 mètres de hauteur sur les objets pour te signaler leur présence, histoire de ne pas le rater dans ta progression dans des couloirs fermés, on sait jamais, y en a peut-être qui oriente la caméra tout le temps vers le ciel quand ils parcourent ces couloirs vides. J'ai 10 heures de jeu et je n'en peux plus... c'est du vandalisme intellectuelle et le jeu ne fait aucune confiance à notre intelligence en tant que joueur qui considère qu'on est des attardés.

    Edit (30-06-2023) : Je reviens changer ma note après 30 heures de jeu, je sais qu'il me reste encore beaucoup à faire mais j'arrête définitivement. Heureusement je peux toujours me faire remboursé 90% le prix que j'ai déboursé.    … Expand
  15. Marvilion
    Jun 24, 2023
    0
    Poor gameplay and bad optimization, performance mode drop to 30fps and resolution drop to 720p this is 2023 and this is not acceptable, and very disgusting story, this is not final fantasy that I know
  16. siksik81
    Jun 23, 2023
    0
    Boss fights are super Easy, boss doesn't damage you much, Boss health is enormously huge, it feels like you are hitting a huge rock which doesn't respond back and above that when boss staggers he doesn't wake up for 30 seconds which is huge feels like hitting a dead body. Story is like Ubisoft's game like you start with a good mission that creates hype and then the game leaves you like anBoss fights are super Easy, boss doesn't damage you much, Boss health is enormously huge, it feels like you are hitting a huge rock which doesn't respond back and above that when boss staggers he doesn't wake up for 30 seconds which is huge feels like hitting a dead body. Story is like Ubisoft's game like you start with a good mission that creates hype and then the game leaves you like an orphan and you keep doing the same thing over n over again. Overall Boring game… Expand
  17. MaxPainAlchmst
    Jun 23, 2023
    0
    As long time Final Fantasy fan, as a man who's life was somewhat touched by the FF series, especially 7,8,9 and 10. This game is blasphemy.
    THIS IS NOT A FINAL FANTASY game period, it might have the same name, but that's about where the similarities end.
    I'm all for trying new concepts and game ideas, however, don't mess with the original formula. you only get to make one of these games    As long time Final Fantasy fan, as a man who's life was somewhat touched by the FF series, especially 7,8,9 and 10. This game is blasphemy.
    THIS IS NOT A FINAL FANTASY game period, it might have the same name, but that's about where the similarities end.
    I'm all for trying new concepts and game ideas, however, don't mess with the original formula. you only get to make one of these games every 6-7 years, go experiment with a spin-off
    If I can refund this I'm definitely going to.    … Expand
  18. gun661
    Jun 24, 2023
    4
    It's sad to see they actually and purposefully tried to copy Games of Thrones' style. Especially in the case of Final Fantasy... that's even more disheartening than FF16's story itself. So many big games and other works of fiction try to copy that style nowadays. Because of this, it very much isn't a bold shift.

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

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

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

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

    I had hoped Square Enix would stay true to themselves instead of seeking similarity, reinventing themselves with a fresh and different take and a level of maturity on par with the old Final Fantasies - all way more mature, authentic, and profound than this installment.    … Expand
  19. JohnHamad5050
    Jun 24, 2023
    0
    You can watch this game on YouTube and you will not miss anything. You watch a cutscene then walk for 5 minutes and another cutscene. The game play is repeatitive and the abilities are not satisfying. I miss the old FF, it was at least unique.
  20. nearwind
    Jun 24, 2023
    1
    I have been playing for over 20 hours now, and I'm around 60% through the main storyline. The following review is based on my current progress.

    As someone with 35 years of gaming experience, I can confidently say that Final Fantasy 16 is not only the worst in the series but falls far below the average quality of similar games. In the 20 hours of gameplay I've experienced, I can only    I have been playing for over 20 hours now, and I'm around 60% through the main storyline. The following review is based on my current progress.

    As someone with 35 years of gaming experience, I can confidently say that Final Fantasy 16 is not only the worst in the series but falls far below the average quality of similar games. In the 20 hours of gameplay I've experienced, I can only describe it as dull and agonizing. It requires deep breaths and self-encouragement just to hold onto the DualSense controller. This game is an exceptionally boring and uninteresting RPG from a major game developer.

    The weapon and equipment system feels superficial and pointless. Any new weapon that appears only provides a permanent +5 attack boost without changing the attack style, making them indistinguishable. The repetitive tasks for forging materials are uninspired and offer no significant rewards.

    The team system lacks presence and interactivity. The characters have monotonous attire and limited attack styles. The maps or level designs are small and uninteresting. It's shocking to discover that even at 60% progress, there are only two area maps available.

    The variety of enemies is extremely lacking. The bestiary lists only 47 non-playable creatures, including 15 eikons, 1 owl from cutscenes, 2 Chocobos, and the rest being various types of enemies and bosses. In actual gameplay, only encountering around ten different enemy types on the maps is disheartening.

    All side quests involve simply traveling from point A to point B to either defeat enemies or engage in dialogue. They are repetitive and lack creativity. The material rewards obtained upon completion are meaningless since new weapons and upgrades are only obtained through story progression, making the rewards feel insulting.

    If I were to describe it, Final Fantasy 16 can be seen as a realistic version of "Tales of Arise" without an equipment, companion, and skill system, with severely reduced maps and enemy variety.

    As someone who has reached a mature age and has been gaming for 35 years, I have learned not to be driven solely by emotions. I have been able to appreciate controversial titles such as The Last of Us Part II, Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy 13, and Final Fantasy 15, finding the positives in each of them. However, this time, Final Fantasy 16 has brought me nothing but agony. Skipping through dialogues quickly has become the norm, and now I can only hope that my patience will allow me to complete the game.    … Expand
  21. lman
    Jun 24, 2023
    2
    Combat is very basic, simply press square to win. The characters are boring, and it tries and fails to draw inspiration from Game of Thrones. This game is only an RPG in name. If you want to watch a movie while simulating playing a game, then this is for you. It also includes quick time events.
  22. KateJN
    Jun 24, 2023
    0
    Massively disappointing Final Fantasy game.

    - Absolute shallow RPG elements. - Tries too hard to be a Devil May Cry game. - Generic, dull, boring and unrewarding side quests that actually hurt the pacing of the game. - Tries to be so many things but fails to be the one thing it needs to be: a Final Fantasy game - Poor performance and limited graphical settings. - Good characters    Massively disappointing Final Fantasy game.

    - Absolute shallow RPG elements.
    - Tries too hard to be a Devil May Cry game.
    - Generic, dull, boring and unrewarding side quests that actually hurt the pacing of the game.
    - Tries to be so many things but fails to be the one thing it needs to be: a Final Fantasy game
    - Poor performance and limited graphical settings.
    - Good characters and voice acting, held back by a terribly written story that falls apart quickly.
    - Cinematic battles feature Quick Time Events that give you more than 1 minute to react, completely eliminating the intended effect.
    - Semi-open areas that feel genuinely lacking; they either have the same types of monsters and/or bland side quests.

    I don't personally recommend this at full price.    … Expand
  23. Ceratking
    Jun 25, 2023
    0
    So much cutscenes, so much interruptions, so much fps drops, so much quality drops, so much performance issues, There is no RPG elements in the game which is actually JRPG game. I don't want watching anime bro! I just want play the game!
  24. ShaoTairo
    Jun 23, 2023
    1
    I started out thinking the game was a 10/10. Very strong start.
    After Cid exits everything goes downhill fast. And they draw inspiration from GOT but too pansy to actually show nudity in the sex scenes ? Witcher did it tons. I dont really care either way. What bugs me is this is just more typical SE acting like children again. If you’re going to take inspiration from something, then TAKE    I started out thinking the game was a 10/10. Very strong start.
    After Cid exits everything goes downhill fast. And they draw inspiration from GOT but too pansy to actually show nudity in the sex scenes ? Witcher did it tons. I dont really care either way. What bugs me is this is just more typical SE acting like children again. If you’re going to take inspiration from something, then TAKE it. Too scared to use the C word apparently too.

    The lack of depth in customizing your characters performance really starts to show itself. It is VERY similar to what they did over the years in ff14 by dumbing things down far too much and instead of stopping, they just dumb it down more. A lot of people praise Yoshi like a cult leader but Ive seen this coming from him for awhile. The guy does not know how to give depth to the games player base and that bs continued in 16.

    The other problem is the dungeons. The pattern is literally a copy paste of FF14 dungeons….. Trash mob > mini boss. > trash > mini > boss

    I did not buy a single player expansion for 14. I bought ff16.
    Honestly think after 24 years of FF games this is the last one im getting. I play this and I cant just pretend I dont need a lot of depth in my character gear weapons and even level up abilities.

    If you quit finally ff14 and dont plan to go back, chances are youre not going to like 16 at all.    … Expand
  25. Mokon
    Jun 23, 2023
    0
    Basically Final Fantasy 16 is the worst Final Fantasy game, made in the worst possible way
    And I say this as a longtime fan of the franchise
    Who blindly yell the praise for this isn't able to get what the Final Fantasy franchise is
  26. neonvega
    Jun 23, 2023
    0
    Game lacks the feel of FF , slow movement, easy and unrewarding combat system, bland and non looking FF characters , poor optimization, this isnt FF this is bloodborne LITE meets Oblivion with slightly upgraded graphics from Ps4 era , Story is boring and slow as molasses pace, Clive is stoic and boring, no minigames or other content; Non-Linear gameplay worse than FF13 with scriptedGame lacks the feel of FF , slow movement, easy and unrewarding combat system, bland and non looking FF characters , poor optimization, this isnt FF this is bloodborne LITE meets Oblivion with slightly upgraded graphics from Ps4 era , Story is boring and slow as molasses pace, Clive is stoic and boring, no minigames or other content; Non-Linear gameplay worse than FF13 with scripted battles and events ;

    This title is only in name of FF and does not represent the core tradition of its predecessors they should have called it FF: Interactive Edition because the amount of time your watching cutscenes vs exploring or doing battles is about 70%-30% it would make the Yakuza series blush the amount of time your forced to watch scripted cutscenes back to back to back

    the demo fooled everyone core and casual audience alike I feel sorry for those poor souls that I read many a times on forums and YT that claimed they actually bought a PS5 system for this abomination at least you will have Spiderman 2 to have for hope ;;; wow 2023 was supposed to be excellent for gaming so far outside of Hogwarts its been poor to deliver    … Expand
  27. Phasi
    Jun 23, 2023
    0
    Usually in a series of JRPG games you would expect to have an RPG to play.
    But unfortunately that's not the case in Final Fantasy 16.
    Since FF16 is an Action Adventure game with "rpg" elements... It's literally like a bad copy of Devil May Cry or God of War, and if it's good for you to morph a historical JRPG series for another generic action game, then Final Fantasy as a series is    Usually in a series of JRPG games you would expect to have an RPG to play.
    But unfortunately that's not the case in Final Fantasy 16.
    Since FF16 is an Action Adventure game with "rpg" elements...
    It's literally like a bad copy of Devil May Cry or God of War, and if it's good for you to morph a historical JRPG series for another generic action game, then Final Fantasy as a series is really over.
    Because this Final Fantasy 16 is not a real Final Fantasy game    … Expand
  28. VaultingIn
    Jun 23, 2023
    1
    Final Fantasy 16 tries to be anything but Final Fantasy.

    In its attempt to evolve as an RPG franchise, FF16 completely loses its identity and consistency. At one point you feel like you're playing a Devil May Cry wannabe game, suddenly shifts to being a shallow MMO RPG with laughably dull and outdated side quest design, to over the top cinematic battles held back by Quick Time Events    Final Fantasy 16 tries to be anything but Final Fantasy.

    In its attempt to evolve as an RPG franchise, FF16 completely loses its identity and consistency.

    At one point you feel like you're playing a Devil May Cry wannabe game, suddenly shifts to being a shallow MMO RPG with laughably dull and outdated side quest design, to over the top cinematic battles held back by Quick Time Events (QTEs) that have a very long window that takes away the purpose of QTEs which is to be engaging and interactive.

    This is not how to evolve a franchise; this is just a poor uninspired attempt at copying other games while shoehorning bland RPG elements in the mix.

    And the story is another story; without going into much details, but everything the game does well to build up its story and characters throws it away mid way through the game and takes a completely uninteresting pivot that ends badly.

    This is by far one of the worst Final Fantasy games and one that doesn't bode well for the franchise's future, because despite having a somewhat good combat and characters, the game ignores the things that it needs to excel and innovate on as a Final Fantasy game.

    My advice: don't think of it as a Final Fantasy game. You'd enjoy it for its combat that is clearly and heavily inspired by Devil May Cry. Otherwise, I don't recommend it at all as a Final Fantasy game.

    * Game's performance is not well optimized by the way.    … Expand
  29. Valkyreo
    Jun 24, 2023
    0
    Mashy gameplay, horrible fetch quests, zero exploration, no party, no likable characters, no customization, barebones RPG elements, policital boring story, bad soundtrack. What else? Huge dissapointment, was very hyped but in the end it turned out worse then FXV and XIII. Il stick to FF VII Remake and other RPGs. This is clearly not it.
  30. saptar
    Jun 24, 2023
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. FFXVI is a bad game and the worst FF ever made.
    -Story has poor pacing, many inconsistencies and dropped plot points
    -Characters are dull and some have incomplete arcs -Performance is terrible -The action combat has no dept and every enemy can be countered in the sale way, no strategy is required -Exploration Is either non-existent or pointless since the rewards are poor -Side quests

    The 16 flaws of Final Fantasy 16:
    1 - the game is an ignorant action that can be completed by holding down the square button all the time
    2 - the framerate dancer slows down the flow of gameplay and cutscenes too often even with the DayOne Patch
    3 - flat and linear level design makes corridor exploration useless
    4 - the gameplay becomes repetitive already after the first three hours, given how the combinations of elements do not lead to different results of the battles, marking its disarming superficiality
    5 - texture pop up is ugly to see in 2023
    6 - the plot starts with rhythm and ends with boredom.
    Bringing ridiculous motivations and turning many situations into meaningless bad moments
    7 - there are no minigames
    8 - once the story is completed there is no secret content or endgame. Only the New Game +
    9 - the "dungeons" are all linear, flat and copy paste
    10 - it's too easy even on hard mode. So much so that I could call it a joke even for a casual gamer
    11 - there is no party, only Torgal the dog who can do 2 commands and that's it
    12 - there is no World Map, but only a map menu where you can select the mission...
    13 - The final Boss is an insult compared to all previous Bosses in the game.
    And it's also one of the worst when compared to the Final Bosses of previous Final Fantasy games
    14 - side quests are awful. Deliver flowers, escort items, collect item, etc...
    15 - the "hunts" are not well built and indeed are tedious and essentially useless since they are nothing but mobs that are easy to exterminate
    16 - the inconsiderate and bad use of the Quick Time Events. Because usually in games like God of War they have a more marked value to affect the game itself. But here in Final Fantasy 16 they're overdone, to the point where 99% of enemies are demolished by these Quick Time Events just to disguise a load-up between the end of a battle and the start of a cutscene    … 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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