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. 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.
  2. Edmundo
    Aug 2, 2023
    9
    Pros

    - Combat gameplay: it's new, it's refreshing and it's spectacular. Fat plus, that outweighs many minuses. - Game tries to be comfortable and flexible for player in every aspect. Starting from difficulty, ending with descriptions of everything in the game. - Again, game has many spectacular episodes: starting from cut-scenes, ending with boss fights. Sometimes you do not fully    Pros

    - Combat gameplay: it's new, it's refreshing and it's spectacular. Fat plus, that outweighs many minuses.
    - Game tries to be comfortable and flexible for player in every aspect. Starting from difficulty, ending with descriptions of everything in the game.
    - Again, game has many spectacular episodes: starting from cut-scenes, ending with boss fights. Sometimes you do not fully understand of what is going on the screen, but, who cares, just press square. :) Many cut-scenes, i like cut-scenes.
    - Interface is ok.

    Cons

    - IMHO, main story is too long, too many side quests. Structure and content of side quests are simular and repetitive.
    - I like to explore, and game do not encourage you to do so
    - Mob hunting, no direct mark like in sidequests. I think perfect game do not require you to google, this activity require you to google rather often. It's tiresome to run through whole location in search of the monster, especially when you do not have any other incentives to do so.
    - Pathos of NPCs.

    Neutral

    - Story is interesting to follow, but... it has novelty is under the question, main motive of story is somewhat similar to FF7 (doh...). From logical point of view of NPC behaviour and reasoning not everthing is perfect also.
    - Semi-open world. It's hard to build good open world. And you do not need to, to make RPG good.
    - Hero progression and abilities: are simple and straightforward. Many abilities to choose from, but my top was unambiguous.
    - Some characters are charismatic, some are not not: for example, main hero.
    - Soundtrack is... meh

    Overall, game is great and I advice you to try it, it's a new level in terms of spectacular combat and cut-scenes in action RPG.    … Expand
  3. Franco_Tech
    Aug 2, 2023
    9
    Great high quality game with Epic battles and good story. Highly Recommended!!!
  4. mc0030
    Aug 2, 2023
    0
    Metacritic has now deleted 3 of my accounts because I called out this game for dropping to 720p and sub 30 fps. At least I now know for a fact this site is paid off
  5. Nimmer
    Aug 2, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I really liked the demo and, generally speaking, the first half of the game. The characters were very interesting across the board, the story had me very emotionally invested, the politics between nations was amazing, the world building was excellent. Yes, the side quests and RPG features were pretty lame, but the fantastic gameplay in the fantastic story with it's fantastic characters made none of it matter. If the game kept up with it's quality throughout the entirety of it, I'd be giving it a 9, despite the flaws.

    But the story falls off a cliff at some point as they've built up a "big bad" enemy. Characters that were once interesting either cease to exist or become very bland and predictable. The convoluted politics disappear and the story begins to drag as each and every objective is guessed ahead of time. I was excitedly playing every chance I got and then I was forcing myself to play the game so that I could complete it. And if the big bad was satisfying to kill, I'd maybe be okay with the ending, but the only feeling the ending left me with was dissatisfaction. I didn't care about killing the big bad in this game, at all, and the ending is set up to make the player satisfied with the death of the MC and his pals because they stopped the big bad. But the big bad was lame and uninteresting, so the MC and pals that were the last things I was emotionally invested in died killing a mostly faceless enemy that I didn't care about.

    Also, while the general gameplay is fantastic, the eikon fights were absolutely boring to play comparatively and I found myself disappointed when having to switch from human combat to eikon combat when it really should have been the opposite. Overall, I feel like they fumbled their execution on what could have been an amazing game, leaving the game feeling generic and unsatisfying.    … Expand
  6. arlass
    Aug 2, 2023
    10
    Man all of the music in that finale was amazing. So many great cinematic clash moments
  7. Vectorecho
    Aug 2, 2023
    10
    A game which made me cry plenty times. Greatest action show in the video game history. The plot is wonderful and touching.
  8. jjredit
    Aug 1, 2023
    10
    I love this amazing game!!
    this game is so addictive!! ..
  9. Lo0twig
    Aug 1, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final Fantasy 16 has completely fulfilled my expectations. The story is captivating and, despite clear Game of Thrones parallels, still deviates well from G.R.R. Martin's influence towards the end of the story. The Eikon fights offer a good change within the gameplay, although the fight against Kupka was much too long. Especially the fight against the final boss was absolutely brilliantly staged.
    The side missions increase in value as the story progresses and are no longer quite as trivial as they were at the beginning. Important: Play the many side missions before the end of the game. They hide a lot of information about the lives of the individual characters, and you'll learn to love them even more.
    If you like DMC5 and Final Fantasy, you will absolutely get your money's worth and love the game. The Final Fantasy mode in NG+ massively increases the replay value.
    IMHO: Simply a perfect game!    … Expand
  10. QCF2
    Aug 1, 2023
    10
    This Game is a 10 out of 10 for me.

    From the moment the game starts, you're going to feel this sense of Excitement, action, and adventure. this game never disappoints. The story is well made, and the combat feels amazing, what you see in the cut scenes, you can do them in the game while fighting enemies, so there is no disconnect. The Characters are well-written, they almost feel like    This Game is a 10 out of 10 for me.

    From the moment the game starts, you're going to feel this sense of Excitement, action, and adventure.
    this game never disappoints. The story is well made, and the combat feels amazing, what you see in the cut scenes, you can do them in the game while fighting enemies, so there is no disconnect. The Characters are well-written, they almost feel like real people. The world feels alive, and the world-building is amazing. This is my new Favorite Final Fantasy game. This is a classic and don't let the negative reviews sway you from trying this game. one of the best stories ever told in a final fantasy game, best characters, and no Harem crap, or moe crapping the seriousness of the story. it's perfect.    … Expand
  11. godadd
    Aug 1, 2023
    10
    Final Fantasy music is really beautiful always hit my heart deeply .
  12. camsulol
    Aug 1, 2023
    10
    This game compelled me to create a metacritic account, because I am overwhelmed how good this gaming experience was overall...

    It is just amazing. The story, the characters, the world, combat system, visuals, UI, presentation and especially the music... are all phenomenal. I would deduct 0,5 points, because I think the crafting is lackluster and sometimes the exploration does not    This game compelled me to create a metacritic account, because I am overwhelmed how good this gaming experience was overall...

    It is just amazing. The story, the characters, the world, combat system, visuals, UI, presentation and especially the music... are all phenomenal.

    I would deduct 0,5 points, because I think the crafting is lackluster and sometimes the exploration does not feel rewarding. And I would prefer if the harder game mode were available from the start,
    But honestly the positive points outweigh this so much.

    Btw I grew up with turn-based games, but this iteration into the action combat system felt really good. The accessibility options made the game enjoyable for my wife as well.    … Expand
  13. Reed618
    Aug 1, 2023
    7
    Long time fan of the series, I've finished every mainline entry except 11 plus many spinoffs. Personally found 16 to be a mixed bag. The combat is fun but does get repetitive and lacks any strategy. It's mostly a case of waiting for cooldown timers. Very surprised there's no elemental damage, you can literally fight fire enemies with fire and it works fine.

    Personally didn't like the    Long time fan of the series, I've finished every mainline entry except 11 plus many spinoffs. Personally found 16 to be a mixed bag. The combat is fun but does get repetitive and lacks any strategy. It's mostly a case of waiting for cooldown timers. Very surprised there's no elemental damage, you can literally fight fire enemies with fire and it works fine.

    Personally didn't like the characters, they seemed kinda tropey and dull. 15 had its flaws but that was a charming crew. I did quite like the new Cid though. The story also felt a bit generic. I had high hopes for this one with YoshiP leading the project but it wasn't for me. Looking forward to the next ff7 remake game though.    … Expand
  14. Bebos
    Aug 1, 2023
    10
    Wspaniała gra najlepsza jaka grałem w tym roku gra ma pewne problemy ale zasługuje na 10/10
  15. Kailo09
    Aug 1, 2023
    7
    I'm a huge FF fan, especially of CBU3 as I have put in over 800 hours into FF14. So I went into FF16 with high expectations. The game has the highest of high's but is drastically brought down due to poor pacing and terrible side quests.

    Pros The Eikon encounters are absolutely amazing and an superb spectacle. Even some of the normal boss encounters are incredibly well done. I have no    I'm a huge FF fan, especially of CBU3 as I have put in over 800 hours into FF14. So I went into FF16 with high expectations. The game has the highest of high's but is drastically brought down due to poor pacing and terrible side quests.

    Pros
    The Eikon encounters are absolutely amazing and an superb spectacle. Even some of the normal boss encounters are incredibly well done. I have no faults with this.

    The story and quality of writing is excellent, at least for the main scenario quests. Scenes are emotional, exciting and some really great voice acting work.

    The music is top notch, classic Soken quality that I have come to expect from his work in FF14.

    Cons

    Graphics and Performance - This is a big disappointment to me with the poor frame rates and jerkiness. The developers really hyped up how the game is in a complete state and has had plenty of time for polish so I was expecting a solid 60fps experience. They definitely delivered on a bug free game though!

    The graphics are amazing but there are too many dark and muddy areas, it really reminded me of the early PS3/360 era of gaming in terms of the colour pigment. I get its a serious dark fantasy medieval tone, so I understand the choice. I just wish there was more colour to it.

    Side quests - I did about the first half of the games side quests before giving up and just skipping the rest. It was really hurting the games pacing. The pacing loop went like this:

    Build up of interesting narratives and travelling to a new area to do something important
    Epic boss fight happen with extremely amazing spectacles
    Great story cut scenes to follow that change the world and the overall situation
    Then it drops massively by going back to the hideaway, helping the locals with fixing a fence or something really mundane.

    The amount of side quests really increases as the game goes on and I was overwhelmed with green dots everywhere on the map by the end. I am sure there are some really interesting side quests within the sea of green but the sad thing was, I stopped caring. This was really sad, especially for someone who looks to complete every side quest. I gave up and kept on at the main story to avoid these drastic slow downs in the pacing.

    Combat - I enjoyed the overall combat mechanics, they were fun and engaging. However, it was sad the system couldn't accommodate things like status effects, buffs, debuffs and making it a bit more strategic. The game attempts to make use of enemies using buffs like Protect, but this is few and far between. A Marboro's bad breath, just damages you and will not give you status effects like poison and sleep.

    Crafting and Items - This is probably the weakest aspect of the game. Crafting feels absolutely pointless. You are showered with crafting items at all times and you will upgrade your gear. But its all very linear, by the numbers and ultimately pointless. I think they should have taken this feature out entirely honestly.

    I sound very negative on the game but the game makes it through to a 7 out of 10 thanks to its excellent characters, main story and spectacle of events. The pacing and RPG elements of the game really drag it down due to their poor execution and I almost wish they just made a full on action game that is 25 hours long with none of the filler and weak RPG elements.    … Expand
  16. scooer
    Jul 31, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Best ending ever!!
    the ending left me shock with a little bit of tears .. .    … Expand
  17. RipRyu
    Jul 31, 2023
    10
    For me personally, I'd list it as one of the best games I've played. Certainly, it has its low moments- but those highs, those oh so perfect highs shatter the atmosphere and make you feel "this was all worth it". Not to mention the stellar combat that never gets old due to build variation, the amazing story that moves you to tears, the well written characters that carry so much depth andFor me personally, I'd list it as one of the best games I've played. Certainly, it has its low moments- but those highs, those oh so perfect highs shatter the atmosphere and make you feel "this was all worth it". Not to mention the stellar combat that never gets old due to build variation, the amazing story that moves you to tears, the well written characters that carry so much depth and attachment. You owe it to yourself to at least try this masterpiece- it's that good.… Expand
  18. feddyfedfed
    Jul 31, 2023
    0
    I finished the game but can't get myself to do NG+, but I will do it anyway since I already paid for this game.

    I'm happy that this is catering to the vast majority whose standards are low. At least Square-Enix will thrive. But for anyone with even an inkling of having a critical eye, it's not difficult to see that this game has deviated so much from what the whole franchise was all    I finished the game but can't get myself to do NG+, but I will do it anyway since I already paid for this game.

    I'm happy that this is catering to the vast majority whose standards are low. At least Square-Enix will thrive. But for anyone with even an inkling of having a critical eye, it's not difficult to see that this game has deviated so much from what the whole franchise was all about. Sure, I did get excited when you got to the new hideaway, and when a certain uncle went with you. But that was all the takeaway. The high-octane battles and "story" that everyone else were praising were really lackluster to me. I give it a zero the same way unjustified 10s are being thrown in this utter disrespect to the legacy of Final Fantasy.

    If they really cared, they should look at what the negative comments are highlighting (there's already so many valid points raised) and publicly address whether they're justified or not.    … Expand
  19. DinboNomad2z2
    Jul 30, 2023
    8
    I did enjoy playing the game. Very mature set of tone compared to their predecessor and loved it.
    Story wise, it was interesting while the game was building it's momentum of the story. After the character arc ends half way into the game, it gets pretty stale. This is pretty much an issue with every recent Square Enix title. The rest is this is how it suppose to be because we told you type    I did enjoy playing the game. Very mature set of tone compared to their predecessor and loved it.
    Story wise, it was interesting while the game was building it's momentum of the story. After the character arc ends half way into the game, it gets pretty stale. This is pretty much an issue with every recent Square Enix title. The rest is this is how it suppose to be because we told you type of game. There is no dept to it other than it's main story. Everything else feels like a chore.

    Combat was really satisfying to play and is what brings up from being a 7.    … Expand
  20. chatwan
    Jul 30, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I just love how this game's ending has made us all cry like babies. Yoshi-P enjoying our collective suffering.… Expand
  21. Ardalan1
    Jul 30, 2023
    10
    This game is a masterpiece. It took me 70 hours to finished the game. It is unbelievable much money, energy and love they have put into making this game. The art style is 10/10
    Story is 10/10
    Characters 10/10 Combat 10/10 Music 10/10 Boss fights 10/10 Optional bosses 10/10 Side quests: 8/10 If someone plays this game from beginning to the end and thinks this game is not 10/10 that person    This game is a masterpiece. It took me 70 hours to finished the game. It is unbelievable much money, energy and love they have put into making this game. The art style is 10/10
    Story is 10/10
    Characters 10/10
    Combat 10/10
    Music 10/10
    Boss fights 10/10
    Optional bosses 10/10
    Side quests: 8/10

    If someone plays this game from beginning to the end and thinks this game is not 10/10 that person has a very very terrible taste.    … Expand
  22. tufu
    Jul 29, 2023
    0
    Regretting purchasing this game, poor frame count, poor combat experience, poor side quests, poor ending, and the gameplay made people feel sleepy.
  23. francescoc2007
    Jul 30, 2023
    10
    La scrittura dei personaggi, la trama, gli intrecci, le dinamiche dei personaggi, la loro evoluzione durante la storia, è da applausi. Degna di tanti film o libri che hanno avuto riconoscimenti importanti. Il comparto sonoro è assurdo, le musiche, gli arrangiamenti (con le citazioni ad altre soundtrack del passato), il mixaggio sono sbalorditivi. Inutile sottolineare come anche quelloLa scrittura dei personaggi, la trama, gli intrecci, le dinamiche dei personaggi, la loro evoluzione durante la storia, è da applausi. Degna di tanti film o libri che hanno avuto riconoscimenti importanti. Il comparto sonoro è assurdo, le musiche, gli arrangiamenti (con le citazioni ad altre soundtrack del passato), il mixaggio sono sbalorditivi. Inutile sottolineare come anche quello video sia alle stelle. n un panorama videoludico sempre più povero di idee e valori, volto sempre di più al gacha, al pay to win, alla tossicità, al rendere il player uno schiavo dipendente a cui spillare soldi, a giochi senza un minimo di anima, senso ed amore, un’opera come questa è la SALVEZZA. Perché oltre a divertire, intrattenere e fare il videogioco, ha l’intenzione e cerca in tutti i modi di trasmettere un'idea, un messaggio, delle emozioni al player, come un romanzo di formazione cerca di fare. Vorrei dire tantissime altre cose, approfondire ogni sfaccettatura data ai personaggi, ogni passaggio della colonna sonora, ma risulterei tedioso. Non mi soffermo neanche su tante cose lette nelle recensioni italiane perché si capisce benissimo la povertà degli scriventi, forse perché non più abituati a scrivere mossi dalla curiosità verso l’opera e la voglia di analisi, anche se, visto il pubblico sempre più pigro, non posso biasimarli più di tanto, sono anche loro figli del loro tempo. CAPOLAVORO… Expand
  24. Humiure
    Jul 30, 2023
    10
    El juego me sorprendió para bien, historia madura, gran gameplay, buenos gráficos, la música es maravillosa y Clive es el mejor protagonista de la saga. Las misiones secundarias al fin importan algo y no son simple relleno, realmente hacen que sientas que importe que las hagas, juego lleno de plot-twist, no me importaría comprar DLCs para ver la historia del resto de Eikons ya que losEl juego me sorprendió para bien, historia madura, gran gameplay, buenos gráficos, la música es maravillosa y Clive es el mejor protagonista de la saga. Las misiones secundarias al fin importan algo y no son simple relleno, realmente hacen que sientas que importe que las hagas, juego lleno de plot-twist, no me importaría comprar DLCs para ver la historia del resto de Eikons ya que los personajes del juego son simplemente una maravilla. De 10.… Expand
  25. Naecov
    Jul 30, 2023
    10
    One of my favourite games ever made. It blends stellar action combat with fantastic writing, a well fleshed out world, captivating characters, and a banging soundtrack all wrapped up nicely with callbacks and references to previous titles to really make it scream "this is final fantasy!" My experience was completely bug free, but performance mode does suffer from frame drops at times. IOne of my favourite games ever made. It blends stellar action combat with fantastic writing, a well fleshed out world, captivating characters, and a banging soundtrack all wrapped up nicely with callbacks and references to previous titles to really make it scream "this is final fantasy!" My experience was completely bug free, but performance mode does suffer from frame drops at times. I urge anyone with a PS5 to pick up this game and I truly hope it gets ported over to more systems so more people can experience this near masterpiece!… Expand
  26. Zanzoltan
    Jul 30, 2023
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So, I spent a lot of money on this game, only to find out the game was as empty as it gets.

    Music was good, graphics were good, but gameplay was TOO EASY, to the point that by the 30 hours gameplay I stopped using completely potions or items.

    There was no use of getting new equipment, unless you got it from the Blacksmith after defeating some boss on the hunter board (Which I used to do, each time a new one would appear, since those were the only challenging monsters you could fight after 40 hours into the game).

    The story, is almost a carbon copy of Tales of Arise, but with minor differences and generic tropes (FF: Slaves are used for their magic powers = TOA: Slaves are used for their Astral Energy. FF: There are 5 Crystals in 5 kingdoms = TOA: There are 5 master cores in 5 Kingdoms. And I could go on and on). But, alas, it's not as good as Tales of Arise, which in that game, once you get to the end of the story and beating the 5 Kingdoms it opens up a new story. In this one, you just fight a one last boss, some silly explanations, "sad" ending, curtains.

    Yeah, this is not a game I recommend for $70+taxes. Once you see it on sale for $40, perhaps.

    But, it's an empty game. Barely 100 hours of "gameplay" (I put that between quotes, because once you get the Phoenix Wings, Garuda Tornado and the Bahamut Ray, the game ends. Everything gets beaten in less than 5 minutes. Most fights or scenes, last more than 5 minutes thanks to the dialog and cut-scenes. No joke).

    I don't recommend this game honestly. If you want to play the same game, but with better characters, a better more enriched story and better gameplay, do play Tales of Arise. It's the same story...and no, I'm not joking. FFXVI just added the Eikon fights to the story. That's it.

    OHHH! and as a PS: You only play with Clive the entire game. You can't change characters nor give orders to your companions. Only to the Wolf that accompanies you. Which...I barely used, after I found out monsters died with three powers...    … Expand
  27. Reidyroo
    Jul 30, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As a long time FF fan and having just completed the game. Overall, I feel this game follows the franchise well but does strip away a few things which makes FF games what they are. For example, if there were no chocobo's or a moogle (which I feel they just threw in to hang around a hunt board just for the sake of it) in the game, then I would not know that this is a FF game.

    Firstly, the story is very good, the first few hours as demonstrated in the demo for me was pretty mind blowing and I was hoping it would keep this trend throughout, but it does drop and picks up its intensity once more near the end of the game.

    The combat is very Devil May Cry-esq as we were expecting. It is fun to experiment with the different variations, but I feel can get quite repetitive after a while. The fights and bosses weren't really that much of a challenge and there wasn't really a consequence if you were get to get a game over, as you just jump straight into the fight again but with full health whilst the enemies health is how it was before you died.

    The voice acting for the majority of the game is excellent. Credit to SE for getting the right people for the job.

    The music is brilliant. But then again I expect nothing less from SE. For me, they never fail to disappoint.

    There were a few things that I found a little disappointing with the game. Firstly, I find it very one dimensional with not much variety. Story - fight - story - fight and so on. I miss the relaxing side challenges; the chocobo breeding, the card games, the blitzball. It would have been nice to see something like this and would have boosted my ratings on this game for sure.

    Secondly, other than Clive and Joshua, I didn't fully connect with a lot of characters. I was thrilled to hear that Clive's sidekick would be a dog. But I honestly felt nothing for Togul, he didn't have any sort of personality which I felt would have been easy to put in with just little things, most of the time I forgot he was with me. All the other interesting characters were soon killed off, so they never had a chance to be fully memorable.

    The ending. I'm not into these 'open for interpretation endings'. I get that it gets people talking about the game further. But come on, at least give us closure on something we've dedicated hours to playing.

    Overall, I enjoyed this game and it was well worth my time. However, I just hope the franchise can return to it routes a little more and not continue to create games that aim for the wider audience. I get from a business perspective that doing this brings in the ££. But don't forget the fans that loved the previous games for what they were and have given the platform the franchise has today.    … Expand
  28. YakusokuNoJi
    Jul 30, 2023
    10
    Final Fantasy XVI is definitely off tone in direct comparison to the other games. That much is true. It wants to establish atmosphere and does that by forcing itself to be as "mature", dark, gritty and miserable as it can be by having graphical violence, sex and other elements all the time that DID exist in FF but wre glossed over by the fact it was in the old games that were from the 90s.Final Fantasy XVI is definitely off tone in direct comparison to the other games. That much is true. It wants to establish atmosphere and does that by forcing itself to be as "mature", dark, gritty and miserable as it can be by having graphical violence, sex and other elements all the time that DID exist in FF but wre glossed over by the fact it was in the old games that were from the 90s. This makes it very hard to enjoy some scenes if you expect something similiar and that is the one thing that I fully admit can be too off for an FF. Nevertheless for what it wants to tell you, it utilizes these things well but I think this would have fit better for a Drakengard game because Drakengard and Nier are full of misery, violence and sex.

    Action combat: It is true that this is vastly different but if we are being honest, this is nothing new. Final Fantasy since XII re-invents its combat system all the time. XIII had a teeny-tiny bit of its system but XII was different, XV war different and heavily action focuses - and you could also only control Noctis before the patches, btw. - and here it is even more action packed. The switching of the summons is nothing special. They did that in Lightning Returns with the immediate costume changes for Lightning. Whether you like the change or not, you must be extremelly picky to say the combat and the boss battles are bad. However I would have liked if they at least gave the other party memvbers a small health bar below Clives and rudimentary commands that Clive could give them - similiar to Torgal. Their AI also needs improvement.

    Sidequests: Yes, it is undeniable. There are sidequests, especially early ones that do not tell a rewarding enough story but the ones that are good, are really good. A few of the bounties are also good and if can even do the time attack monoliths if you want a challenge. Overall I like that the sidequests and bounties made use of every single "somwhat of a village or bigger space." Especially some of the villages you might not even know of. They are not really there for much but it is a nice discovery. And again if people want to complain: Elden Ring and Zelda is full of repetitive, no value tasks. That is not an opinion. I played them for long enough and I would criticise them for that as well, because a lot of it is also "just there." So all of those games and not just Final Fantasy could do better. FF especially should bring back some minigames for the sidequests. In their essence repetitive sidequests that are drawn out because of constant conversations are not necessarily greatly executed.

    Story: Touching as always - especially the further it goes. A good chunk of it was in Lightning Returns as well. But what it wants to tell and how it presents it is beautiful. It gets a little corny but THAT is Final Fantasy. But it has pacing issues.

    Characters: Clive and Joshua and their dynamic are really good.

    Music: The boss theme, prelude and main theme are all fantastic and properly used.

    Metacritic is extremely pathetic and deletes everything I mention about the idiocies of the review bombs, so I will mention it again: The review bombs of 0s are extremely idiotic and pathetic. Even if you do not like the game, there is no reason for it to be a 0. This is still a high-quality game. People are also foolish enough to claim this is not an RPG just because it is pretty action-heavy. The game has everything that an RPG has. If you want to see which kind of people downvote the posts and the game, check their profile. Many of them were just here to give Zelda a 10 and have nothing else - at least a lot of the older reviews. That should tell you everything.    … Expand
  29. Gaaroth
    Jul 30, 2023
    9
    This game had a clear idea in mind and on that notes is truly a masterpiece.
    Story, characters, world building are the one of the best in the franchise: real, mature, credible; a couple of soft "holes" but nothing breaking.
    The combat system has the incredible property of being easy to pick up but a ton of mastery is required if one wants to dig deeper; unfortunately true difficulty only    This game had a clear idea in mind and on that notes is truly a masterpiece.
    Story, characters, world building are the one of the best in the franchise: real, mature, credible; a couple of soft "holes" but nothing breaking.
    The combat system has the incredible property of being easy to pick up but a ton of mastery is required if one wants to dig deeper; unfortunately true difficulty only comes up in NG+ or arcade mode. Still it's deeply satisfying.
    The OST is as usual godly, Soken is quickly ascending in my personal pantheon of musicians.
    The graphics are nothing mind blowing but the artistic direction is incredible.
    And this was the goal, a good and satisfying story, relatable characters and fun combat: a complete hit.
    Final Fantasy 16 falls flat, unfortunately, on mainly two other aspects: side quests and RPG systems.
    Side quets are not overall "bad": they do what I care the most, the world building, and they do it perfectly. In fact I highly suggest to do them, because they expand the world a ton. But they are mechanically uninteresting. A minigame or something different from the usual game play would have a huge impact.
    The RPG systems instead are a complete failure in my eyes. There is a levelling system and stats, they have impact sure, but you don't have control over them, there is no choice to be made and thus no consequences. An example: on the "offense" side you have "attack" and "stagger" as stats, but ALL weapons have the same value for both, this means I'll always equip the best weapon available and I cannot "build" a "heavy attack" or "heavy stagger" Clive. Same idea goes for belts and bracelets regarding HP and defense. The accessories, on the same vein, do not impact stats heavily, so you end up equipping the ones that give extra XP, AP, etc. This, by consequence, kills the utility of crafting and looting/exploring, especially because you naturally get the best equip by simply playing the story.
    Fortunately this is an easy fix since is mostly dependent in on tweaking stats, and I hope CBU3 makes a balance pass on items.
    The RPG part basically comes down to Eikon and skill selection: all are different and interesting, but without other layers like elements or statuses, they do not have the impact they could have had in a more complex system.
    This is not a dealbreaker but with better systems in place, the game would ascend to the masterpiece level.
    Given the quality of the main goals the dev had in mind, it would be criminal not to still give 9 to this title: I enjoyed the ride very much and it landed in my top#3 FF tier list easily. If you pick this up, just do not expect deep RPG systems and you'll enjoy it too.    … Expand
  30. Lorddark19
    Jul 30, 2023
    9
    Die Story hat mich sehr überzeugt und das Kampdgameplay ist auch ziemlich gut. Es gibt jedoch so ein paar Aufgaben die mich gelangweilt haben
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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.
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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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