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. Thomasguy
    Jun 27, 2023
    10
    Fantastic reinvention of an old series. Beautiful music, visuals and gameplay.
    The story is top tier with phenomenal voice acting.
  2. CoupDoraemon
    Jun 28, 2023
    10
    Still need to play totk and spiderman 2 before i can pick my goty but as of right now this is my goty.
  3. Kaesang
    Jun 28, 2023
    10
    iki lho game of the year tahun iki, karo sampeyan seng duwe PS5 wajib nikin sampeyan maen iki !
  4. ScottyN64
    Jun 28, 2023
    10
    I've been a Final Fantasy fanatic for as long as I can remember. Played just about all of them but my very 1st introduction to the series and beloved favorite was F.F.7 Crisis Core, a real time Action RPG. To see it get dethroned by this roller coaster of emotions, incredible adrenaline filling soundtrack & insane combat system is well-deserved with a Tale to go down in The History Books.I've been a Final Fantasy fanatic for as long as I can remember. Played just about all of them but my very 1st introduction to the series and beloved favorite was F.F.7 Crisis Core, a real time Action RPG. To see it get dethroned by this roller coaster of emotions, incredible adrenaline filling soundtrack & insane combat system is well-deserved with a Tale to go down in The History Books. It definitely will be receiving my ballot for 2023's Game Of The Year, because that title alone is an understatement of what it's worth.… Expand
  5. jetb
    Jun 28, 2023
    8
    Little to no side content, nothing to explore nor any incentive for doing so & motion blur is too distracting are my only complaints.
  6. Torgal
    Jun 28, 2023
    10
    This is a marvelous ff game. great gameplay & history, the character designer of Icons is incredible.
  7. Aboutmore
    Jun 28, 2023
    10
    The Story and World is really great. like a Movie with the Esper. The Battle System, Cutscene's, Esper, Story, Character and the World is one of the best Games in the last Years. I Love this Game!.
    But: the perfomance bzw Motion Blur is not really good... i hope she fix it with a patch.
    Sorry for my bad Englisch, but i speak and write German.
  8. Saizuchi
    Jun 28, 2023
    10
    This is a story of bonding and loss. I love the dynamic between all of the MC, Clive Rosfield, and his side character. The references to Song of Fire and Ice and other dark medical media. Torgal is best boy.
  9. Oblivion28
    Jun 28, 2023
    10
    El mejor juego hasta la fecha muy recomendado en jugabilidad gráficos historia es lo mejor de lo mejor un 100 de 100 deberíamos tener más notitas cómo está en juegos todos los meses o años posteriores deberían jugarlo para que ustedes mismos saquen sus conclusiones
  10. zanatk
    Jun 28, 2023
    10
    TLDR: Amazing game, if you are a fan of action games similar to DMC, enjoy the intense emotions of Game of Thrones style, this would be a top tier game, highly recommend.

    This is currently my game of the year, in this era of sequels and remakes, this does come as a completely fresh and new experience that has been sorely missed in many regards. This game gives a solid foundation of    TLDR: Amazing game, if you are a fan of action games similar to DMC, enjoy the intense emotions of Game of Thrones style, this would be a top tier game, highly recommend.

    This is currently my game of the year, in this era of sequels and remakes, this does come as a completely fresh and new experience that has been sorely missed in many regards. This game gives a solid foundation of story building along with an easy way to access information in most cutscenes if you are ever wondering who or what is going in, even the world to lead to this moment.

    The Action - Gameplay of this is stellar, the fighting feels very smooth, and each new ability unlock gives an excitement to try out and see if you want to change your full set to adapt this into your moves. Fighting is flashy, the stagger system adds element of strategy whether wish to pump out raw damage or stun enemies to dish it out, I found both viable but merely matters how you enjoy playing which is nice. The only complaint I have, is once you find your groove, it can be hard to mix it up, towards certain point I found -my- combo and everything extra never got used enough to find if viable, since the flow of combat was so smooth already.

    The Story - From the beginning you find it wholesome enough, but it shows its fangs and sinks its dark gritty teeth in and refuses to let go. It is extremely well thought out, even sub quests lead to expanding the world and characters, but the world feels alive, once it catches you, you want to just keep going through. You'll have characters love, others absolutely despise, and death is not lightly here, if you know Game of Thrones, you'll know every character is at risk of departing too early.

    Which can be a drawback, losing certain characters that added a mood that made it easier to deal with situations and brought humor or joy to even out those dark moments can be a hindrance. The story is solid up to about 75% way in, pacing does get little weird with certain motivations to feel for certain characters coming up short and not as climactic as feels it should have been. The good news is the ending does pay off well, feeling epic throughout as did previously and gives a satisfying conclusion.

    Graphics - Per usual Final Fantasy games have amazing graphics, emotions can be easily read in cutscenes by facial expressions alone, the landscape is gorgeous, and many details are laid about to add to the world building, if know where to look. There are some moments in the sub quests where character interactions are bit lackluster, there is issues with running 60fps even on performance mode, and I experienced very few glitches in landscape, granted none of this felt bad to knock this, only to mention, but was plans to patch these issues in works already.

    The Devs - I feel this is important to add in current sphere of gaming, compared to many other games that are triple A, the devs that were behind this game actually -care- about their players and the product they made. There is no microtransactions, no plans to milk us for profits or battlepass stuff, we get to experience a solid story, with solid gameplay.

    As final summary, obviously this game is not the shining perfect beacon to end all be all, I would certainly change somethings, even in the story. However, this an amazing game for people wanting darker stories and feeling epic, letting you battle however you feel comfortable with plenty of options. That said, concerning this whole review bombing, I felt to add my own review as I know this game and the team behind it deserve better.    … Expand
  11. TerryGF
    Jun 28, 2023
    10
    Es un juego impresionante de principio a fin, lleno de batallas épicas, la banda sonora es excelente, su sistema de juego es muy dinámico, no puedes parpadearen las batallas con su infinidad de combinaciones de combos, definitivamente Final Fantasy que no te puedes perder !
  12. Ka100ido
    Jun 28, 2023
    9
    This game can be a masterpiece if some minor flaws were fixed. Thank you Square Enix for this game
  13. PedgesHouseboat
    Jun 29, 2023
    10
    Coming from someone who has been a fan of the series since the late ‘90s, in a word this game is phenomenal. The love and care put into the visuals, story, environments, characters, battles, and last-but-definitely-not-least the freaking music.
    I couldn’t have possible dreamed this is what the series would evolve into when I was a kid. It’s a bold change for sure, but a necessary one.    Coming from someone who has been a fan of the series since the late ‘90s, in a word this game is phenomenal. The love and care put into the visuals, story, environments, characters, battles, and last-but-definitely-not-least the freaking music.
    I couldn’t have possible dreamed this is what the series would evolve into when I was a kid. It’s a bold change for sure, but a necessary one. Valisthea is an absolute treat to experience. There may be more emphasis on story over exploration but what a story.    … Expand
  14. QuovenQ
    Jun 30, 2023
    10
    Truly a masterpiece in story telling, musical score, voice acting and action oriented gameplay. It's a 10 for me in every category but I think more can be added on optional side content.

    There is no definition of what 'Final Fantasy' games should be like, or they should all be turn-based. I've been playing FF games since the 1980s from native JP FF1. in the old days, we didn't have    Truly a masterpiece in story telling, musical score, voice acting and action oriented gameplay. It's a 10 for me in every category but I think more can be added on optional side content.

    There is no definition of what 'Final Fantasy' games should be like, or they should all be turn-based. I've been playing FF games since the 1980s from native JP FF1. in the old days, we didn't have the technology to support fast pace action games, so turn-based games make sense.

    In this modern world, I'm glad to see Yoshi-P and his team is not afraid to try new things and push things to the limit, truly showcasing what the PS5 hardware is capable off. Gone are the days where you wait for the next pre-rendered cut scene to happen. Now, not only you are part of the cut scene, they managed to introduce real-time action combat within as well.

    Of course, because actions are real-time there will be less turn-base aspect to them. Instead of planning and coordinating attacks by utilizing you 'traditional' team of 3-4. You now have to learn boss mechanics in real time. For me, this is not as issue as I also do savage/ultimate raids in FF14, and this actually makes combat a lot more interesting and can actually get quite challenging at times. I get how this can be challenging or frustrating to those who are used to more slow paced battles, but Yoshi-P's team spent the extra time to introduce items to make combat easier shows that they understand and they cares.

    Lastly, I just have to add that even if some players don't like this title because it is not 'traditional' enough for them and give this a big '0'. I'll challenge them and ask if they can rate the story, music and technical spectacle a '0' as well. If they do, than I'd say most other games out there also deserve a '0' except a very selected few.    … Expand
  15. Nightstalker02
    Jun 29, 2023
    10
    Combat: 10/10
    Story: 10/10
    Music: 10/10
    Performance: 9.5/10 (just need an option to turn off motion blur, which is coming soon)
    Acting: 10/10

    The most epic boss fights in a game ever, you'll need a break after fighting one.
  16. Untimely03
    Jun 29, 2023
    10
    Final Fantasy 16 is truly a GOTY contender in my eyes. The combat is very engaging, the soundtrack really gets you into the feel of the game, the graphics truly feel next-gen, although can be interrupted by the inconsistent 60-FPS, but isn’t a deal breaker. The game still looks fantastic. The story-telling in FFXVI is incredibly well done, and is supported very well by the “Active TimeFinal Fantasy 16 is truly a GOTY contender in my eyes. The combat is very engaging, the soundtrack really gets you into the feel of the game, the graphics truly feel next-gen, although can be interrupted by the inconsistent 60-FPS, but isn’t a deal breaker. The game still looks fantastic. The story-telling in FFXVI is incredibly well done, and is supported very well by the “Active Time Lore” feature in the game, which helps fill some holes if you ever feel lost, which I truly do appreciate. The character writing for the main cast is also really well done, and really made me resonate with Clive, Jill, Cid, and the others. All in all, fantastic game, and an absolute MUST PLAY!… Expand
  17. Nadeau428
    Jun 29, 2023
    10
    This gamei s insane. Let no one tell you this game is boring or repetitive. You can make this game as easy or hard as you like.
  18. CTswag420
    Jun 30, 2023
    10
    FF16 lives up to the hype. The game is graphically beautiful with compelling characters and a gripping story. The gamplay is extremely satisfying and engaging. I don't think you could ask much more from a game. It makes the most of the PS5 and I hope to see more games like it in the future!
  19. HerpDerp88
    Jun 30, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. FFXVI’s gameplay is nothing short of exhilarating. Simplistic though it may begin, through progression, the combat becomes deep, complex, and extremely satisfying. Combat feels intuitive, simple, yet complex enough to offer variety. With “Devil May Cry-esque” combo style, when you finish a particular long fight with one of the Eikon’s final abilities (Mastered Flames of Rebirth being my personal favorite) you feel as powerful as Mythos should. Additionally, the game adds seamless transitions from in-game combat to cinematic combat in the form of QTEs (Dodge, Strike, and Clash) which enhance the spectacle without distracting you from the action.

    I played this with the Ring of Timely Focus equipped the entire time, so I can’t speak much about the difficulty save for it wasn’t as challenging as Elden Ring, but I also played it on story focused mode. I never felt underpowered or overpowered.

    Nothing more can be said about the writing accomplishments of the Final Fantasy writers other than they are some of the best in the industry and the writing in Final Fantasy XVI was nothing short of magnificent. Every story beat, every main quest, every side activity came with a compelling human story. Stories about slavery, prejudice, life, death, nihilism, everything in between give the story a more adult feel which is only made better with the atmosphere, characters, and score. Final Fantasy XVI is probably the first game in which the side missions felt just as important as the main questline. Even the dreaded “fetch” quests were brilliantly incorporated, and none felt like a chore.

    While the graphics won’t win it any awards competing with the graphical powerhouses by the likes of God of War Ragnarok, Last of Us Part II, or Horizon Forbidden West, the graphics in FF16 are a touch more improved than its predecessor FF15. Fidelity and textures aside, the environments themselves looked handcrafted and hand placed. The detail of each settlement, the topography, the atmosphere was expertly rendered making the world feel lived in, beautifully serene yet grim. From the forest, deserts, marshes, cities, hamlets, etc., the level designers have done so well with their world-building that I couldn’t help but to take a moment to admire the world around me no matter how trivial or insignificant they were to the story writ large.

    While much of the story has you follow open-world corridors, once you’ve run through the entirety of each territory, the map feels more akin to open sandboxes such as what Bioware achieved with Dragon Age II. But that’s not to say that this was poor design. On the contrary, the overall story benefits from the more linear paths to help players get invested in the lore of the world which by the way is a new feature during cutscenes.

    Amazingly orchestrated, FF16’s musical tracks perfectly encapsulate the atmosphere of the world expertly. Nothing more to say. It’s a Final Fantasy game afterall. My only complaint was the music that triggered when mounting your Chocobo which sometimes took me out of a serious moment with its goofier theme.

    I finished my first playthrough with a total of 64 hours of gametime. There is a New Game + feature in which you keep all your items and gear, but I haven’t embarked on that journey yet. However, I imagine that you can easily get more than 100+ hours of content out of this title which is becoming more of a rare oddity with recent RPG titles. And there are hopes of future DLC.

    In all my playtime, I NEVER experienced anything remotely buggy or glitchy. And as of this review, Final Fantasy 16 has not have a single update since launch and it doesn’t really need one. I should need to tell you how rare that is in today’s world.

    SUMMARY: This game is a masterpiece in my eyes. From the characters, the world, the story, its’ themes, its atmosphere, the musical score, the gameplay, the scale, everything just feels good, and I would hope after reading this review, you will give it a try. And if you are a fan of Final Fantasy as a whole, you must pick this up, you won’t be disappointed.    … Expand
  20. cliverosfield
    Jun 30, 2023
    10
    the best game this year!
    i like it so much its smooth and fun the story is 10/10 perfect
  21. HostileUnknown
    Jun 30, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I wrote a 5000 character review, but metacritic failed and I lost my review.

    I will summarize. The game is very good, not great. The first 75% of the game is vastly superior to the final 25%. There are many things to praise, like the epic moments and the fun combat, and many things to criticize, like the lack of depth to the combat and party characters. While I'm at it, I'll also criticize the FPS and worst motion blur in a game ever. And I'll praise the story and lore creation. Custcenes in the game are also excellent.

    Eikon moments are absolutely awesome. Leviathan is "Lost", and absent from the game entirely, which is super confusing. Odin doesn't get a proper Eikon battle, but does have some great cutscenes. Ultima is really lame and underwhelming.

    Voice acting is top notch. Dialogue is good. Great at points, cringe at others. Profanity is fine to introduce, but it is overdone. No one repeats "F F F F F F F" in a string of words, literally. The final part of the game does become overly dramatic with the characters dialogues.

    Characters themselves are mostly very good. Clive is excellent, but the game and subsequent supporting characters suffer from Clive being a one man army. There are however, other lovable characters, like Byron and Cid and Torgal. Other hatable characters like Annabelle and Benedikta and Barnabas. Other characters somewhere in between. Strong cast, but none of them are as deeply explored as Clive, and the game would be better if some of these and other characters would have been more fleshed out.

    The open areas of the game, and pacing of the story sections I think give me hope for FF7 Rebirth to absolutely knock it out of the park.

    There's a lot of good to like in this game. I would love to give all of my feedback to the devs, because they created a very good game, an excellent one at parts, but one that is held back by a number of things, as well as missing the boat on something can make a final fantasy game truly special. It's like they gambled it all on combat that would be fun and welcoming, while all but abandoning core elements of rpgs and final fantasy games that have gained them their player base over the years.

    For me, this is like a 7.5/10. It's absolutely worth a playthrough, as I'm well into the NG+. There's also so much room for improvement, and it would be really nice for Final Fantasy to return to form after 15 and 16 (and to some extent, 13 and even 12), kind of strayed from it to varying extents.

    As a final point, FF7 remake is the closest to a true modern FF game that we have, and I hope beyond hope that rebirth delivers an epic experience and creates the benchmark on how FF games should play going forward. Well developed characters, well developed story, and a combat system that is true to form to final fantasy, where magic and abilities and gear and items all work together to create a full FF experience.    … Expand
  22. Rex_tirano30
    Jun 30, 2023
    10
    Expectacular! es poco para describir lo bueno que es este juego. Musica, graficas, jefes, carisma...lo tiene todo.
  23. HasDan
    Jul 1, 2023
    10
    Probably the best game I've ever played. Everything about it is super amazing from the boss battles to normal battles. Only gripe I have is that it's a bit too easy and the quick time event window is too large making it feel as though they are kind of pointless. If the input window was a lot smaller and timing a lot tighter it'd feel so much better.
  24. Nomad27
    Jul 1, 2023
    10
    Story based action game that delivers a fully fleshed out cast and world. Light rpg elements and side quests for fluff don't detract from what this game is. It's a linear focused journey and one hell of a ride, the devs had a clear vision for this game and it pays off big time.
  25. arlinea
    Jul 1, 2023
    10
    CBU3 really delivered with this one. If you love Final Fantasy, this is one of the most Final Fantasy games out there! I was moved to tears at the end!

    Positives: - Very well constructed and complex narrative, especially the 2nd part of the story - well-written Characters that have their own unique struggles - Beautifully build world/lore that adds a lot to the over-arching theme of    CBU3 really delivered with this one. If you love Final Fantasy, this is one of the most Final Fantasy games out there! I was moved to tears at the end!

    Positives:
    - Very well constructed and complex narrative, especially the 2nd part of the story
    - well-written Characters that have their own unique struggles
    - Beautifully build world/lore that adds a lot to the over-arching theme of humanity/hope/willpower
    - Impactful and fun gameplay system, each Eikon fills a different "role" (which I suppose is their way of adding some complexity to the gameplay system)
    - Best boss fights I've ever seen in a Video Game
    - Side Quests that are 100% worth doing, since they provide so much context to the ending, lore and world-building
    - Beautiful graphics and scenery with a big drawing distance
    - Chests that you actually need to search, unlike how it was handled in RE4R

    Negatives, albeit minor nitpicks:
    - World feels a bit empty at times, but given the context, it's no surprise really
    - Motion-capture lip sync seems a bit off in every other language other than German/English
    - If you don't like Final Fantasy as a series or don't enjoy narrative driven games, this game might not be as good for you
    - Side Quests need to be done to understand the whole picture
    - Would have loved if we spent more time with the characters in their youth    … Expand
  26. Lennietroon
    Jul 1, 2023
    10
    Amaxing game. Out with the norm but defo an amaxing experience. The characters and the gameplay nothing like a FFexp before. Gamechanging for the FF genre
  27. 538776w
    Jul 1, 2023
    10
    画面：幻想味不足，动画演出华丽，但战斗演出稍微多了，显得审美疲劳。
    游戏系统：战斗手感优异，深度适合，不过和队友的交互少了点。
    剧情：前期展开不错，破坏水晶的铺垫不够，就是西德的一句话带过。几位显现者的刻画都不错，最终BOSS的刻画有点单薄，主要就是最后两章的叙述，和之前的章节呼应不太够，导致最后决战的带入感不强。 作为喜欢RPG玩家我看中的还是剧情和探索要素，感觉本作不太够。    画面：幻想味不足，动画演出华丽，但战斗演出稍微多了，显得审美疲劳。
    游戏系统：战斗手感优异，深度适合，不过和队友的交互少了点。
    剧情：前期展开不错，破坏水晶的铺垫不够，就是西德的一句话带过。几位显现者的刻画都不错，最终BOSS的刻画有点单薄，主要就是最后两章的叙述，和之前的章节呼应不太够，导致最后决战的带入感不强。
    作为喜欢RPG玩家我看中的还是剧情和探索要素，感觉本作不太够。
  28. likhalidx
    Jul 1, 2023
    10
    The most epic game I have ever played, yes it has it’s flaws but the enjoyment i had with this game over shadow every flaw I have
  29. DiogoPereira
    Jul 3, 2023
    10
    This is awesome!!! Hope there will be expansions and DLC's. Just loved the story, voice actings, CID IS AMAZING. Nailed it!!
  30. Ranran1234
    Jul 3, 2023
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Just wow! This game is fantastic. From the quick and rewarding combat system to the gorgeous set pieces to the insane and epic boss battles. Easily one of the best in the series. Yes, it may not be a classic final fantasy game, but each game in the series is different. Each numbered game since 12 has had a completely different combat system than the last. That is just what these games have been for a few years now. The writing, the monsters, the bosses the characters. All of it screams final fantasy. There are of course flaws, some side quests do fall flat bust some are just as equally amazing and heart wrenching. And don't even get me started on the sound track one of the best in years, in the series and in games in general. This was truly a near masterwork, and is definitely fighting it out with TOTK for my game of the year.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 146 Critic Reviews

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