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. ImpishGamer
    Jun 28, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final Fantasy was overall a good game, also this is not the first time Square Enix has strayed from turn-based combat cough * crisis core* sorry something was in my throat anyway as *cough* "Lightning returns.. ah man hold on * drinks water anyways. the music score is as always amazing work. there is definitely an overhaul of mid-fight cutscenes.… Expand
  2. 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.
  3. Arrrchaic
    Jun 28, 2023
    8
    Amazing, spectacular, possibly my personal most favorite game of all time. Expectations were blown completely out of the park. My only major gripes are that some of the side quests aren't exactly streamlined, and that it isn't on PC. Abolish console exclusives!!! Excited for the PC release.
  4. Euphonion_Venoa
    Jun 28, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Suitable for people who enjoy video games purely as entertainment.
    Don't expect big surprises    … Expand
  5. PenultimateFan
    Jul 1, 2023
    8
    About: huge FF fan, played all mainline entries & most spin-offs plus MMO’s.

    Critic score seems overly generous. I desperately wanted XVI to achieve perfect scores, demo raised optimism, but awarding 100% is undeserved (exaggerated fandom?). Having experienced XIV from initial launch to remake, I knew what to expect from Yoshi P & MMO team. Turned out concerns were warranted, but they    About: huge FF fan, played all mainline entries & most spin-offs plus MMO’s.

    Critic score seems overly generous. I desperately wanted XVI to achieve perfect scores, demo raised optimism, but awarding 100% is undeserved (exaggerated fandom?). Having experienced XIV from initial launch to remake, I knew what to expect from Yoshi P & MMO team. Turned out concerns were warranted, but they still managed to build a superb game probably ranking 6th amongst my favourite Final Fantasies.

    Music 10/10
    Great & grew on me throughout: catchy, suspenseful, atmospheric & fits the moment more often than not. Never quite hitting heights of Uematsu’s genius — a tough ask as he’s in his own untouchable tier. Soken meanwhile is top of also-rans, demonstrating consistency, versatility & production quality, albeit surprisingly quirky in parts.

    Combat 7/10
    Shift was a big talking point I found interesting with plenty of choices on the skill tree, but I soon figured you could get away with ability spam & there’s very little challenge or strategy required if keeping equipment upgraded, even for S rank hunts. It becomes somewhat automatic & akin to MMO-style “cooldown” combat with a faster pace. Very flashy and responsive with a lot happening on screen that it’s almost a firework show with numbers plastered everywhere. Often difficult to see the character models. It definitely keeps you busy but a lack of status effects, item variety & proper magic spells simplifies things greatly. I have seen videos of people performing “sick combo’s” that flow seamlessly, but that’s completely unnecessary & requires you to work harder for the same outcome unless you are concerned with number output. FF7R has the upper hand in this department, offering a mix of action & turn-based, being overall the more interesting approach & can be played like an action game if the player chooses. I personally prefer having control of multiple party members with different styles.

    Graphics & Visuals 9/10
    The world of Valisthea is beautiful, grand & unexpectedly breathtaking mixed in with a few other drab landscapes. Overall visuals are of a high quality & warrant next-gen status. Performance mode is so inconsistent that I unusually went all-in on fidelity. Concerns of linearity are addressed early on as areas don’t appear claustrophobic without being fully open world. It maintains the right balance for story focus while allowing exploration as each region opens up. One of the main issues is that exploration is largely unrewarding in terms of items & gear. Loot in general is lacking and underwhelming, including most quest rewards. Some iffy animations.

    MINOR SPOILER: summons (Eikons) take the stage in a new way & these battles sometimes overshadow anything I’ve seen in gaming thus far, even eclipsing Marvel movies.

    Gameplay 6/10
    The is an apparent lack of traditional RPG elements where stats are concerned. Everything has been streamlined or even “dumbed-down” as some might say, possibly to expand appeal to newer fans without being overwhelming. Equipment choices are somewhat limited if you enjoy different builds & the next upgrade is almost always available to increase the few numbers that matter. Accessories offer time reductions to certain ability usage & damage increases, though this is barely relevant in the grand scheme of things. There are also ones that increase item potency, which are plentiful anyway if you can time dodges well.

    Characters 9/10
    Interesting & I cared deeply about most of the core group. Voice acting is performed well, but opinions may vary depending on taste (I did not think Ralph Ineson as Cid fit the character despite being familiar with the actor beforehand — it might have even suited Hugo more who I found dramatically awful).

    Story 9/10
    Fantastic, satisfying & shocking in parts, I was intrigued & excited for then next segment to arrive. The pacing is questionable as there are large lulls in between. My main gripe is that there are far too many inexcusably uninteresting side quests. How anyone can find fetch quests to be their idea of fun is baffling. Luckily they can be skipped entirely unless you want some extra rewards from the ??? points they give. However, I would advise to not miss the important quests having a plus icon. Or, in some cases if you want extra world-building lore then they’re also worthwhile. Being a completionist I was extremely bored by the halfway point. Most serve purely to extend the length of the game which could be half as many hours long without.

    Major positive: fleshed-out world & lore. Fellow Game of Thrones fans will notice many similarities. Lore system is incredible & may spend lots of time reading archives (sadly locked behind an NPC!). Active time lore feature a nice addition — pausing during cutscenes becomes quite distracting if used too frequently.

    TLDR; solid game w/ some inconsistencies, shallowness & genre clichés/tropes    … Expand
  6. pakle
    Jul 1, 2023
    8
    This game is F U N.
    1. Combat is top notch.
    2. Animations, cutscenes and graphic are mind blowing and industry defining. 3. Story is great. This game is also NOT an RPG. You can edit your eikons, to a different play style, but there's no gear, stats, minigame, dialogue that will meaningfully change your experience in a way that is unique to you. Gear could not exist, and the change    This game is F U N.
    1. Combat is top notch.
    2. Animations, cutscenes and graphic are mind blowing and industry defining.
    3. Story is great.
    This game is also NOT an RPG. You can edit your eikons, to a different play style, but there's no gear, stats, minigame, dialogue that will meaningfully change your experience in a way that is unique to you. Gear could not exist, and the change would be minimal.
    Gil are just a way to get orchestrion rolls.
    With just a couple of minigames, some hidden secrets, this would be a 11/10.
    AH, side quests are fine. The ones at the beginning are quite boring, later they define the world as well as giving you some materials to craft the strongest weapons.    … Expand
  7. samueldang1801
    Jul 1, 2023
    8
    I will rate this game at least 8/10, no way this game can be lower. The side quest is not good (but some of them is). This game overall is totally work the money. And the biggest plus is the story and music, it just hit so deep. I love this game, this is what I hope frome the Devs of FF14. I hope this game will have a DLC.
  8. Shinryu98
    Jul 2, 2023
    8
    Okay, let's be clear.
    The game is certainly awesome but far from being perfect and it pains me because i'm a huge FF fan.
    The quests are just horrendous, despite the stories behind them being interesting (sometimes). The gameplay is very responsive, flashy and satisfactory however, it can get old pretty quickly. Nevertheless, i would call it a must play. The game could be a GOTY contender    Okay, let's be clear.
    The game is certainly awesome but far from being perfect and it pains me because i'm a huge FF fan.
    The quests are just horrendous, despite the stories behind them being interesting (sometimes). The gameplay is very responsive, flashy and satisfactory however, it can get old pretty quickly.
    Nevertheless, i would call it a must play.
    The game could be a GOTY contender but the flaws doesn't help it.    … Expand
  9. cringeOpinion
    Jul 2, 2023
    8
    This is a very average Final Fantasy game that lacks polish.
    Pros:
    - Clive is a great protagonist, one of the best in the series. Jill is a good love interest and Cid is one of the best characters in the series. - Graphics are incredible. - Eikon fights are an awe inspiring spectacle. - Real time action combat is an improvement over some of the hybrid approaches attempted in the past.    This is a very average Final Fantasy game that lacks polish.
    Pros:
    - Clive is a great protagonist, one of the best in the series. Jill is a good love interest and Cid is one of the best characters in the series.
    - Graphics are incredible.
    - Eikon fights are an awe inspiring spectacle.
    - Real time action combat is an improvement over some of the hybrid approaches attempted in the past.
    - The game is a finished product. Its not obvious that some parts were released in an incomplete state.
    - Active time lore is a nice system and implemented well. The text is very brief and digestible and adds to game.

    Cons:
    - The lack of a party that you can switch between in combat makes it not feel like a FF title. Characters not commenting, talking or doing skits while exploring ruin immersion.
    - The ability system is stupid. You can at level 40 unlock everything and respec at will to have whatever loadout you want. Any additional leveling is just for stats.
    - Sidequest & Journal UI ruin suspension of disbelief. Older titles had quests but they where given that taxonomy by their nature. Making a distinction between types of quests in the UI ruin the suspension of disbelief and distract from the roleplaying in the game.
    - Sidequest pacing is just bad. Having a bunch of busywork to do right before an interesting story point ruins the fun.
    - The small mob variety ruins immersion. There's like 10 types of enemies that get re-used throughout the game. It gets boring relly quickly.
    - Treasure in the game tends to be crafting materials you will never use.
    - The story is really not that memorable and the ending is not satisfying.

    Overall I would not recommend someone purchase a PS5 to play the game like I did. It might be nice to get if you have nothing to play, but watching someone else play it will probably be just as satisfying if you only care about the plot. Then you can atleast skip the annoying sidequests.    … Expand
  10. MoistMelon
    Jul 2, 2023
    8
    Hours Played: 50
    The story, dialogue, voice acting and the characters are absolutely fantastic. The combat is also fantastic. It is easy to grasp but hard to master. The open zone design is beautifully implemented, but unfortunately, the game does not give you a lot of incentive to explore these open zones. Enemy variety is also unfortunately lacking, which is disappointing considering    Hours Played: 50
    The story, dialogue, voice acting and the characters are absolutely fantastic. The combat is also fantastic. It is easy to grasp but hard to master. The open zone design is beautifully implemented, but unfortunately, the game does not give you a lot of incentive to explore these open zones. Enemy variety is also unfortunately lacking, which is disappointing considering the Final Fantasy series has a massive range of monsters in the series. Between the main scenario plot points, the game gets you to carry out tasks for your team mates and associates in the game which just feels like padding which can make the pacing of the game feel very off at certain parts of the story. Performance is unfortunately not great. The boss fights and Eikon battles are some of the most draw dropping scenarios I have seen in a video game and are extremely fun to play and visually gorgeous. I wish I could score FF16 higher, but despite it's amazing highs, it has quite a few lows which takes from the experience.    … Expand
  11. Jayhawk145
    Aug 13, 2023
    8
    The Combat and the ability to customize your playstyle with each unique different skill makes that aspect alone a 10/10. The Boss battles and Ekion fights are a 10/10,

    While a lot of the "side quest" felt like a chore there were some side quests that explored and expanded on the characters and lore. Mix that in with epic Bounty Hunts, cool areas to explore, and Lore to unlock the    The Combat and the ability to customize your playstyle with each unique different skill makes that aspect alone a 10/10. The Boss battles and Ekion fights are a 10/10,

    While a lot of the "side quest" felt like a chore there were some side quests that explored and expanded on the characters and lore. Mix that in with epic Bounty Hunts, cool areas to explore, and Lore to unlock the overall side content is a 8/10

    The Story itself. The first 90 percent of the story, the world-building, and the Arcs that are happening are all engaging and might I say setting up to be a 10/10 climax/conclusion. But near the end of the game, once a lot of the "big reveals", start happening and the overall reason as to why things are the way they are, it all felt overall disappointing with what they ended up doing with the main antagonist, and the official direction the story went just isnt what was probably best, considering how it was being built up. But overall with a dissatisfying conclusion/antagonist the story itself is an easy 7/10 so overall I give FF16 a 8/10.    … Expand
  12. Piplup_Plays
    Jul 3, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. While it is a great gameot isn't without flaws. Positives: the story and characters are great and engaging. You feel for the characters and hope specific things happen for them. The interactions and tension between the characters is extremely well written particularly between Clive and Jill. Cid is another stand out character. The soundtrack is also fantastic. Negatives: the combat is not very good, the need for a stagger bar on enemies just drags out fights. They also are very predictable. Kill mob, kill mob, kill mob and then more join with a tanky stagger enemy. There is also no benefit to doing flashy combos as they don't work well on tanky enemies and they are pointless to use on the weak mob enemies. You can't even use what would be super effective moves in this as the opposite elements do no bonus damage, and it feels wrong killing a bomb with a fire attack. They are living fire. The game is also missing main stay enemies like tonberry and cactuar etc. The combat feels like a less fleshed out devil may cry combat. While I do think the story is overall great... the ending sucks so much, it really falls flat at the end. The side quests are 75%-80% garbage fetch quests or go talk to x,y,z. They do have some that are fantastic but it's like 6 side quests. The item customisation/crafting is probably the worst I've seen in a final fantasy game in a long time, and the RPG mechanics are so thin they might as well not exist.

    The game is a great game overall, but it isn't without issues. It is also incredibly easy, which is both a plus and negative.    … Expand
  13. admiralsmurfs
    Jul 4, 2023
    8
    This game is great. Its animations, graphics and cinematic action sequences are all great and captivating. Its combos are rewarding. Its skills are varied. The combat is very fun. The action is extremely fluid. There is much to say about the amazing success from the collaboration of all the great minds that went into this game. The end game credits are nutty. They did a really great job. ]This game is great. Its animations, graphics and cinematic action sequences are all great and captivating. Its combos are rewarding. Its skills are varied. The combat is very fun. The action is extremely fluid. There is much to say about the amazing success from the collaboration of all the great minds that went into this game. The end game credits are nutty. They did a really great job. ]

    The story felt elongated towards the end which made the payoff feel less impressive. The lead up felt weakened to me instead of properly empowered by a resounding crescendo. Its high points were really high so it definitely had its peaks and valleys. The story itself is decent I would argue. Very enjoyable with great scenes and memorable lines. If Square Enix describes this game and its story as a thrilling roller coaster ride I would advise you to not lose the picture of the theme park due to one ride. Its actually a mix of rides. With lines in between of varying wait time to get back on the thrilling ride.

    The enemies were fairly easy and simple as well. I am happy they were not too hard but at times the fights seemed more necessary for prolonging the game rather than giving the player a challenge. Several I would argue were not important to the plot whatsoever. Some served solely as spoon fed XP.

    For any Final Fantasy fan I recommend playing this. I would consider this a must play. We should see, note and applaud the technical depths they went to to create a such a great combat system and see where else it can be applied in their history of games. Its different than the usual battle system but its a refreshing take on the games recurring themes via an action rpg presentation method.

    8/10    … Expand
  14. RaddyC
    Jul 5, 2023
    8
    The gameplay, characters, music, sidequests, and bosses absolutely the best in any game I've played in a long, long time. RPG mechanics and the main antagonist are absolutely awful and poorly written. The first 2/3 of 16's story are easily one of the best in any game in the last 15 years. I have never seen a game trip at the finish line quite as badly as Final Fantasy XVI. The mainThe gameplay, characters, music, sidequests, and bosses absolutely the best in any game I've played in a long, long time. RPG mechanics and the main antagonist are absolutely awful and poorly written. The first 2/3 of 16's story are easily one of the best in any game in the last 15 years. I have never seen a game trip at the finish line quite as badly as Final Fantasy XVI. The main offender was the main villain. I 100% get what they were going for, I really do. But it was handled in the least compelling way I can imagine. He is generic, bland, uninteresting and has been done dozens of times before.… Expand
  15. Zenomtfr20
    Jul 9, 2023
    8
    I Will be brief:
    1) The story is good. For the first time in like 15 years we have an engaging story again in an FF game.What holds it all up are the characters and the setting/lore of the game, because unfortunately the plot has a terribile pacing and quite a few plotholes. This however can be overlooked since the other elements of the story as I said are pretty great. We are no FFX level    I Will be brief:
    1) The story is good. For the first time in like 15 years we have an engaging story again in an FF game.What holds it all up are the characters and the setting/lore of the game, because unfortunately the plot has a terribile pacing and quite a few plotholes. This however can be overlooked since the other elements of the story as I said are pretty great. We are no FFX level of writing but this Is more than enough.
    2) The combat system is also great. You can tell this was made by action- games veterans like Suzuki who know what they are doing and know what makes a good action- game. My main problem would be the difficulty but FF games have never been super difficult and so this doesn't bother me that much personally. The lack of significant RPG elements could also be a let down, but I was expecting It anyway. Overall if they can tweak the difficulty with future patches than this could became the best battle system of amy FF game ever.
    3) Exploration and side quest: this is the weak point of this game. Don't go in expecting much from this department: there is nothing here. The exploration Is better than FF13 at least but that's not saying much. The game is mostly Linear during the dungeons and than there are FF12 -style open areas in between. The problem is that in those areas most of the time there really is nothing of interest to be found( there are exceptions) except crafting materials. Regarding the side quest I didn't do them because I don't have patience but I heard they are garbage from a gameplay standpoint but good if you want to know more of the world, characters ecc... so make of that information what you will.
    Conclusions: this game is not perfect in fact It has many flaws but it's the First FF since 12 that feels complete and coherent with itself. If you are an old FF fan that has lost faith in the series after the many flops of recent years, please try this game. It's not one of the best FF games out there but it's certanly not bad or one of the worst.    … Expand
  16. Roxxxx
    Jul 12, 2023
    8
    I gotta say I have a mixed feelings for this game, this game brought me into the PS5 community which I have been dreaming for atleast 3 years, and when the demo was released, I was so impressed by its gameplay and the story. But after I trying to play the New Game + mode, I found out that the story of the game and also the ability tree itself is actually not that good. The story itself wasI gotta say I have a mixed feelings for this game, this game brought me into the PS5 community which I have been dreaming for atleast 3 years, and when the demo was released, I was so impressed by its gameplay and the story. But after I trying to play the New Game + mode, I found out that the story of the game and also the ability tree itself is actually not that good. The story itself was a mess, and the ability tree is kind of useless, at the middle of the whole game, the score was supposed to be 10/10, but once I finished it, I think 8 scores is already the highest mark that I can give. Sorry YoshiP, I think you can blame Square Enix for that :P… Expand
  17. johnnymike91
    Jul 16, 2023
    8
    First off let me say, this is a great game. But how does it hold up to the entire FF franchise? Unfortunately I’d say it still continues the faltering trend of recent modern FF games.

    The good: -Excellent gameplay. Very epic. -Plenty of areas to explore -Interesting lore -Grim and tragic storytelling -A complete and self contained story -Likeable characters -Loads of side quests    First off let me say, this is a great game. But how does it hold up to the entire FF franchise? Unfortunately I’d say it still continues the faltering trend of recent modern FF games.

    The good: -Excellent gameplay. Very epic. -Plenty of areas to explore
    -Interesting lore
    -Grim and tragic storytelling
    -A complete and self contained story -Likeable characters -Loads of side quests -Beautiful battle music The bad: -Zero reward for exploring. There's no bonus cutscenes, quests, dungeons, or unique treasures to be found by exploring more than required. -The story is pretty predictable. And I feel like all of the epic/memorable scenes were reserved only for the big battles. Everything else kind of dragged. Not every cool scene has to be about a battle. What happened to scenes like the opera from VI, the parade from VIII, or blitzball or the sending from X? Nope. When it's not an epic battle, it's bland. And this was the first FF I can actually say how bored I was. There's sooooo much dialogue that doesn't even advance the plot. And to top it all off, they way dialogue is shot in this game feels so uninspired. Just constantly switching the camera back and forth between your character and the NPC who stands around waiting for you to approach them. It feels very lifeless and monotonous. -The story also feels very uninspired. The older FF games used to have a million unique story ideas and locations. These modern games seem to have one good idea and focus the entire narrative around that. -Even though the characters are likeable, they don't have much depth either. -There are far too many fetch quests -The most forgettable world music
    -The visuals are incredibly dark and grey. The most visually unappealing FF I've played since Dirge of Cerberus. -Finally, there were so many moments where it was obvious that the developers were trying to save money. For example, there were at least 2 dozen times where the cutscene fades to black mid conversation so that the protagonist can update the NPCs on the story. It's incredibly cheesy and lazy. I know I've complained alot here. And look, it's a great game! But it's not a great Final Fantasy game when you compare it to where the franchise once stood.    … Expand
  18. TooBeaster
    Jul 19, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was very amazed at the graphoc capability of the PS5, but most of it came from cutscenes. FF16 is cutscene heavy and at times it felt as if I was watching an anime rather than playing a game. Luckly, its a very well told stroy and intersting storyline to follow. I was sad to see some gre
    at characters killed off lime Cid and Joshua, but the MC, Clive, is a complete badass. Maybe too overpowered. The final fight felt like when the MC suddenly is more powerful than god himself and felt too easy. The map is very intersting to explore and many variety of enemies and sidequest, but some parts are just ehh. Waloed is just a empty rock with nothing to give and its the final area of the game. It was very disappointing nonetheless. Some sidequest just felt like walking around and talking to diffrent npc with no real significance other than feeling like you're helping the world and building up Clive's reputation. The other characters of the game felt unique and intersting like Cid, Jill, Gav, Joshua, Torgal (ofc) Mid, etc. The cast is amazing just wish you could fight alongside more of them. As a game in general, its very well made and allows all types of players to experience the game how they want to. At times it felt like this game was designed to be paired with the new access controller beacuse of the many rings you can equip to make the game "easier" to play. You can always just not use the rings and play the game as intended and the many combinations of attacks kept every fight interesting and a bit challeging. Overall the game is great with a few thing it could improve on, but still a game I would recommend to anyone who likes a good story with a dark tone.    … Expand
  19. Mainiamanic
    Jul 19, 2023
    8
    Very fun game overall, more so action-oriented than rpg but had a lot of fun with it
  20. Ferem
    Jul 20, 2023
    8
    I start telling that Final Fantasy XVI is a good game and the main story can entertain you very well. Obviously the story line has ups and downs, especially when you have to obtain some item to achieve the new chapter of the story. Sometimes, but this is only my opinion, the story are predictable (I'm thinking about the end of Dion or Joshua, for me not really a twist). The main defect ofI start telling that Final Fantasy XVI is a good game and the main story can entertain you very well. Obviously the story line has ups and downs, especially when you have to obtain some item to achieve the new chapter of the story. Sometimes, but this is only my opinion, the story are predictable (I'm thinking about the end of Dion or Joshua, for me not really a twist). The main defect of this game are the level of difficulty: the fights are too easy and if you want a more challenge from the enemy, you have to wait until the end of the game.
    Another defect could be the almost complete absence of RPG elements:
    - you can't use other party member and even Torgal (the dog) are totally useless;
    - the menu are totally useless and also the equipment you give to Clive, except for the sword
    - no object to grind from specific enemy, neither particular strategy to build for challenge specific enemy
    - the word are amazing, but you can follow only a specific view whit no hidden areas to discover
    - the subquest are not so characterized, so as to become all too similar
    I prefer Squarenix tells to the public from the begin that this are an action game, without any role component, instead of giving false hope to all old fans of the saga.    … Expand
  21. KaizokuPanda
    Jul 21, 2023
    8
    Not certain how I feel about it. Maybe an 8/10.
    No spoilers.
    I just completed the base game doing everything you can do on a first run minus the Chronoliths which are just some challenges I can get to later. Did every side quest as they became available and got all the best gear. Here are my thoughts. I liked it, it was good, but I didn't love it. I really liked most of the    Not certain how I feel about it. Maybe an 8/10.
    No spoilers.

    I just completed the base game doing everything you can do on a first run minus the Chronoliths which are just some challenges I can get to later. Did every side quest as they became available and got all the best gear. Here are my thoughts.

    I liked it, it was good, but I didn't love it. I really liked most of the characters, but the pacing and flow of the game was not great.
    The combat is fun with a lot of ways to play it differently, but the funnest builds aren't necessarily the best ones. I ended up using a sort of super power focused build where I could just play reckless and offensive, which was effective, but kinda mostly just about rotating through abilities and made any combat against groups of enemies trivial.
    The story didn't super land for me. It was good and interesting, but the emotional punches were more like emotional taps on the shoulder for me. Like I knew the moments where I should have been crying as I am apt to do in games and movie/shows, etc. but for whatever reason it never really got me.
    The structure of the game also feels very much like running MSQ on FFXIV and the side quests feel like the blue quests. Same for the camera direction in non FMV cutscenes. The short in-game scenes when talking to NPCs have like the exact same camera direction and character animations from FFXIV lol.

    I still recommend it, but it's kinda a mixed bag. I will say it is like... 70% cutscenes or at least feels like it, so if that isn't your jam, then you might not enjoy it. Its hype moments are super bad ass though, so it was all worth it to me.    … Expand
  22. DrgnmastrAlex
    Sep 1, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'd give this an 8.5 in general, but there's no option for that sadly. There's a great deal I enjoy about the game, and the best parts of FF16 have to do with its characters, dialogue, lore, presentation, and the boss fights and Hunt Mark side quest. There's a few points where the game has some pacing issues, namely due to early side quests (basically before the 50% mark in the game's story) and how the game is attempting to balance periods of combat with cutscenes. That said, if this is a major issue for you, you've never played much of the Final Fantasy franchise (or JRPGs in general), have you?

    This is where I transition to talking about the combat, which is where a lot of the controversy and most polarized and negative criticisms exist. I think a lot of people expected this to play more like Devil May Cry 4/5 or Bayonetta, but that direction would hurt how Square-Enix is trying to open up the game to both JRPG fans and newcomers. The game plays a lot more like NieR: Automata/Replicant, and the enemy variety matches that. The level of complexity in combat is the same in FF16, where you're going to style on most enemy/mob encounters, which serve to put the game's pacing in a somewhat formulaic pattern: narrative/lore/dialogue, exploration, combat, exploration, some more combat, maybe a few sidequests involving a fetch quest or special enemies, then the next part of the main story. The only times you die are when you're fooling around too much. In that regard, the game is easy and very forgiving, but it's still reminding you that there's some challenge.

    The optimal way to handle the more challenging combat encounters is to prioritize attacks that deplete an enemy's break gauge, which leaves them staggered for several seconds, before laying higher standard damage attacks on them. Rinse and repeat. This leads to some players using cheese strategies where they cycle through the same three to four abilities and spam combo attacks, never experimenting with using abilities offensively, defensively, and to outmaneuver or reposition. While the game isn't anywhere near as complex as your standard character action game, its combat is the kind where the more you invest and experiment with the different forms and abilities, the more you get in return to really style on enemies. This is particularly helpful against bosses, some of whom will be unforgiving with their attacks in later stages of their fights.

    tl;dr for this part: don't simply spam Ignition, Will-o-Wikes, and Garuda and Odin abilities. You're the problem if you do.

    If people criticizing the game were to say that it gets repetitive and puts a damper on their enjoyment of the game, I'd understand. Many of the more bombastic moments that are meant to excite can fall flat with those who aren't familiar with tokusatsu-styled presentation or thematic elements carried from past games in the franchise. Most valid critiques specify that, but I'm not seeing that among those who rush to parrot the same hyperbolic claims about the combat and story. It's pretty easy to see who among those who rate the game poorly have never actually played the game, and who were among the hate train when excitement over FF16 grew in strength last December. Thankfully, the endeavors of those who sought to derail the game have failed, and I feel FF16 is being reviewed fairly.

    That brings me to where the game shines the most: the boss fights. Perhaps it's a bit detrimental to FF16's overall experience, but it has this narrative and gameplay flow that reminds me of Shadow of the Colossus, where the game's world and encounters are beautiful, but they serve as a means to carry you to story points and boss fights. Each fight carries its own challenges whether you're playing as Clive or during Eikonic Battles. Masayoshi Soken elevates how impressive these fights are with his music and compositions, and they're definitely a vital part to this game's identity.

    I suppose that's a good place to move on to the last part of this review: FF16's identity. A lot of people ask if this can be considered a Final Fantasy game, and even ask if there is a definitive answer to the question "What makes a Final Fantasy game?" Well, if you've been in the fanbase as long as I have (hard to believe I've followed the series for over 20 years), you'll know there's two tonally distinct halves to the franchise. One stems from FF1 through 7, while the other stems from FF Tactics and 9. 8, 10, the 13 trilogy, 15, Stranger of Paradise, the FF7 remakes, and even Kingdom Hearts share this. The other side covers the Tactics series, Vagrant Story, 11, 12, 14, and this game. Playing this game shows it has a tonal blend of both sides, and it all ties together well, though it's clearly hailing from the Tactics line.

    Easily one of the best games of this year. PC players will be in for a treat when they get their hands on FF16.    … Expand
  23. NoS1337
    Jul 25, 2023
    8
    As a big Final Fantasy fan, I was really looking forward to the new game. I have here after 90h (currently I am at the end of Final Fantasy mode) my plus and negative points recorded.

    Positives: - great characters, well developed - extremely strong story ( had once briefly cried, as a man ) - Next gen graphics, the best water I have seen - wonderful soundtrack, simply Final Fantasy!    As a big Final Fantasy fan, I was really looking forward to the new game. I have here after 90h (currently I am at the end of Final Fantasy mode) my plus and negative points recorded.

    Positives:
    - great characters, well developed
    - extremely strong story ( had once briefly cried, as a man )
    - Next gen graphics, the best water I have seen
    - wonderful soundtrack, simply Final Fantasy!
    - great atmosphere
    - good balance between action and story
    - Esper fights
    - fighting style is fun and brings variation

    negatives:
    - too short
    - side quests partly annoying and too much
    - no real minigames, puzzles, challenges
    - too easy difficulty level
    - very linear, exploring the world is not worth it
    - the crafting system is unfortunately pointless and monotonous
    - a bit too many cutscenes

    I give it an 8.4 out of 10!    … Expand
  24. blend_one
    Jul 27, 2023
    8
    It's a very good game, but it could have been better in my opinion, definitely not 10/10 overall, more like a solid 8/10

    The good: - The story and cutscenes are awesome - The Eikon bossfights are the most epic thing I have ever seen - Eikon skills are very fun and make you feel powerful - The combat is satisfying The bad: - Most side quests are incredibly boring fetch quests -    It's a very good game, but it could have been better in my opinion, definitely not 10/10 overall, more like a solid 8/10

    The good:
    - The story and cutscenes are awesome
    - The Eikon bossfights are the most epic thing I have ever seen
    - Eikon skills are very fun and make you feel powerful
    - The combat is satisfying

    The bad:
    - Most side quests are incredibly boring fetch quests
    - Story can have rollercoasters, after an epic section there is usually a very boring "go around base and talk to 5 people" section
    - RPG elements are poorly implemented and feel unnecessary
    - Item and gear progression is linear, boring and doesn't enable any interesting builds
    - Performance and resolution is absolutely horrendous ( drops to 20-25 fps even in quality mode)
    - Exploring the smaller open areas is meaningless and unrewarding    … Expand
  25. Elien6620
    Jul 29, 2023
    8
    Upon release many claimed that VII wasn't a true FF as it ditched the fantasy aspects, that VIII wasn't one as it was just a "glorified teen romance novel", that IX wasn't one a it was "too cartoony and childish", that X wasn't one is it ditched the traditional levelling system, that XI wasn't one as it was an MMO, that XII wasn't one as it ditched random encounters, that XIII wasn't oneUpon release many claimed that VII wasn't a true FF as it ditched the fantasy aspects, that VIII wasn't one as it was just a "glorified teen romance novel", that IX wasn't one a it was "too cartoony and childish", that X wasn't one is it ditched the traditional levelling system, that XI wasn't one as it was an MMO, that XII wasn't one as it ditched random encounters, that XIII wasn't one as it was just a hallway, that XIV wasn't one because it was another MMO, that XV wasn't one because you had a car and it was an action game, and now that XVI isn't one because it's also an action game and you can't control your party members. Ultimately it depends on what you value; for me, that's a world and narrative that mixes fantasy and science fiction and provides meaningful and emotive interactions between characters in a way that makes you feel as though the unique world your experiencing is actually real. Is it Final Fantasy? To me, 100%.

    Last piece of advice for anyone thinking of picking up the game - Ignore the reviews (including mine if you so choose). The 10/10 reviews generally come from a place of people already deciding that the game was great before it was even out purely because of the team making it, and the more negative reviews tend to come from a place of people already deciding that the game was bad before it was even out mostly because of 'ists' and 'isms', none of which were true. (There's a reason that most negative reviews come across as incredibly pretentious and condescending) The objective truth lies somewhere in the middle - that it is a flawed but ultimately fantastic game worthy of the Final Fantasy title. Not quite on the level of IX or VI, but leagues beyond the likes of VII, XII or even X. If you think this game might be for you, give it a shot and form your own opinion. If it doesn't look like if's for you, then that's a shame, but give it a miss. If you've already decided that you don't WANT it to be for you in classic FF fan fashion, then what are you even doing here?

    Final score - 8.5/10.    … Expand
  26. PaulBa
    Jul 30, 2023
    8
    Pros
    -Nice story -Badass characters -Intense soundtrack
    -Epic boss fights Cons
    -Repetitive combat without any strategically thinking on it
    -Use only of one character -Extremely boring side quests and filler moments
    -Some Eikon battles are too long over 20-30 minutes fight
  27. traapecista
    Aug 2, 2023
    8
    La historia principal me ha parecido increíble, con unos personajes carismáticos y únicos. Un gran final y unas batallas increíbles.

    Lo que más echa para atrás son la misiones secundarias, ya que cortan mucho el ritmo y la mayoría de ellas son ridículas e innecesarias. El rendimiento es bastante mejorable, pero ojo, su diseño artístico deja unos paisajes top.
  28. Kur0
    Aug 8, 2023
    8
    Lo primero de todo vamos a dejarlo claro, final fantasy XVI no es un juego perfecto, poco se le puede criticar que no se le haya criticado ya.

    Misiones secundarias que son un infierno, bajadas drásticas de fps, ritmo irregular... pero PESE A TODO me quito el sombrero, su historia me ha tenido enganchado y lo he disfrutado de principio a fin y debo reconocer que en algunos momentos me    Lo primero de todo vamos a dejarlo claro, final fantasy XVI no es un juego perfecto, poco se le puede criticar que no se le haya criticado ya.

    Misiones secundarias que son un infierno, bajadas drásticas de fps, ritmo irregular...

    pero PESE A TODO me quito el sombrero, su historia me ha tenido enganchado y lo he disfrutado de principio a fin y debo reconocer que en algunos momentos me ha hecho soltar una lagrimita

    juego MUY recomendable.

    Por cierto Clive es un personaje memorable.    … Expand
  29. DeathGigas
    Aug 8, 2023
    8
    It is absolutely not a Jrpg but an Action Adventure. A clear change from the past
    A step forward for sure compared to that crap that was the XV
    A step forward in terms of Story, Narration, Characters, Lore, Artistic Direction, Direction and Soundtrack Combat System cross and delight, well done, spectacular but the difficulty level is too low. Rpg side non-existent, it's just a decoy. A    It is absolutely not a Jrpg but an Action Adventure. A clear change from the past
    A step forward for sure compared to that crap that was the XV
    A step forward in terms of Story, Narration, Characters, Lore, Artistic Direction, Direction and Soundtrack
    Combat System cross and delight, well done, spectacular but the difficulty level is too low. Rpg side non-existent, it's just a decoy. A game that is basically based on the elements there are no elemental weaknesses and resistances. Absence of altered statuses
    On the one hand, I'm happy for all those who have killed and hated the XIII
    The Bosses have the flaw that once an HP threshold is exceeded if you ever die you start again from that threshold and moreover having all the potions again
    The very superfluous levels, equipment and shops
    This is pretty much a XIII done better
    It's pretty much Linear as much as that, we have pretty much the same sequence exploited. Cutscene, Fight, Cutscene, Fight. Exploration is bare bones not to say empty world. The Dungeons another negative note
    The secondaries are all fetch quests on a positive note they are well written, they improve your knowledge of the world they have created. It doesn't give you much incentive to go out fighting due to the lack of experience they give you and on top of that the rewards are mostly all useless.
    There is a lack of minigames    … Expand
  30. Fayh
    Aug 15, 2023
    8
    Beautiful graphic, great story and soundtrack, but could use more in depth RPG features like a proper party system and more impactful gear.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 146 Critic Reviews

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