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. DemonFoxKyubi
    Sep 7, 2023
    10
    First entry to final fantasy and loving every single bit of it great action and mechanics , really like the bosses in the game with high quality cut scenes, exploration and items could’ve been a bit better but but nonetheless really GREAT story worth every penny highly recommend.
  2. terryuse
    Sep 8, 2023
    10
    Fantastic game and Eikon fight is amazing! so good!! .
  3. Sylphrena1
    Sep 9, 2023
    10
    Character- 10/10
    Story - 10/10
    Gameplay - 10/10
    Music - 10/10
    Graphics - 10/10
  4. SamuraiEdgeplay
    Jul 19, 2023
    7
    It's ok. It's not the spawn of satan that's killed the beloved RPG game line Final Fantasy. It's also not the perfect 10/10 God given gift brought to you by Yoshida P. It's an incredibly easy character action game with a Final Fantasy skin with a myriad of pacing issues, useless side quests, barebones RPG mechanics, vapid npcs that accompany you in combat to do window dressing for damage,It's ok. It's not the spawn of satan that's killed the beloved RPG game line Final Fantasy. It's also not the perfect 10/10 God given gift brought to you by Yoshida P. It's an incredibly easy character action game with a Final Fantasy skin with a myriad of pacing issues, useless side quests, barebones RPG mechanics, vapid npcs that accompany you in combat to do window dressing for damage, nothing to look forward to while progressing/skilling up... yet it sounds incredible, looks fantastic, is well made AT LAUNCH, and offers a better action combat experience than its predecessors in the Final Fantasy line (despite me liking 15 better honestly).

    I'll never prefer this over FF games with actual RPG mechanics, but you can't say they didn't create a solid experience out the gate (unlike the beautiful, hot mess that was FF15). The ultimate kicker? No tonberries or cactuars. Wait for this to go on sale for like $30 it's not worth the $70 price tag.    … Expand
  5. Kalnivia
    Jul 11, 2023
    7
    100% complete. The overall gameplay and main story is fantastic, probably 8-9/10. Unfortunately it's let down by subpar side quests and far too easy mob fights. The RPG side is the worst part of the game which is odd for an FF game, albeit FFXV had the same issue, although even the gameplay didn't make up for it there.

    All you need to know is the highs are incredibly high and the lows are    100% complete. The overall gameplay and main story is fantastic, probably 8-9/10. Unfortunately it's let down by subpar side quests and far too easy mob fights. The RPG side is the worst part of the game which is odd for an FF game, albeit FFXV had the same issue, although even the gameplay didn't make up for it there.

    All you need to know is the highs are incredibly high and the lows are mid at best.    … Expand
  6. SkateWitches---
    Jul 9, 2023
    6
    A Great story can do miracles and boy does this game need one, ffxvi is very polished on the general side of things but the gameplay is a bit underwhelming, the start is very heavy on the button-mashing side of the action genreand while it does get better later in the game, the whole hack and slash thing still feels a bit immature, this is the first ff dedicated purely to action and itA Great story can do miracles and boy does this game need one, ffxvi is very polished on the general side of things but the gameplay is a bit underwhelming, the start is very heavy on the button-mashing side of the action genreand while it does get better later in the game, the whole hack and slash thing still feels a bit immature, this is the first ff dedicated purely to action and it shows, and yes i know there's rpg stuff in it but saying that ffxvi is an rpg is like saying that rdr2 is an rpg, it has a bit of customization on the equipment you use but there's little reason to pick something other than the thing with the highest stats, and progression is very easy and very "fake", you complete a mission go back to the hobby and buy the new best thing that the shop offers, and that's it for the whole game, companions are there just because it wouldn't make sense narratively for them not to fight, they don't make any difference and they all fight the same. I Don't know if it's just me but I also feel like all enemies felt the same, only divided in 2 categories, big enemies and small enemies, I never found myself forced to adopt a new strategy during a fight, I just combod the same attacks against every enemy, and it worked, aaaand at last a very disappointing thing for me were the eikon fights, just gimmicky and laughably easy, clearly meant to look cool rather than to be a mechanic.
    I guess the experience in general wasn't too awful but it was carried by the outstanding narrative, everything else felt very underwhelming.    … Expand
  7. Pacmania
    Jul 12, 2023
    7
    At times I felt that I was not playing the game that others had reviewed. I had a good time but nothing more, the secondary missions were a bit strange, it got repetitive (because of the change to an action rpg maybe) and it never managed to captivate me. This without counting some issues that are related to the operation of the console.
  8. Kongming00
    Jul 19, 2023
    5
    This was really hard to review. As a lover of ALL rpgs, something just feels so generic. And don’t get me started how it still hurts my eyes even with motion blur off…
    Story- 7
    Gameplay-6 Graphics- 5 Sound - 7 World - 6 Replay -1 Story was generic european nonsense. Some of the characters are loveable. But most just fade into bg. I dont remember any of the non mains. I have played and    This was really hard to review. As a lover of ALL rpgs, something just feels so generic. And don’t get me started how it still hurts my eyes even with motion blur off…
    Story- 7
    Gameplay-6
    Graphics- 5
    Sound - 7
    World - 6
    Replay -1

    Story was generic european nonsense. Some of the characters are loveable. But most just fade into bg. I dont remember any of the non mains. I have played and loved every FF game. Some more than others. But this was just a slog to get through. First time I have skipped a cutscene because I just didnt care…

    Gameplay was epic in the summon battles. Great in boss battles. Everything else was so easy and boring a 3 year old could beat it.

    Graphics. Muddy. Blurry even with blur off! Why do the field areas look like ps3? And the frame drops are reaaaallllyy bad

    Sound is great. Music is great in the battles. Everywhere else is generic

    World. Again some great inside areas. All the outside areas look like ps3 and blurry. Replay. Never again. I wanted it to be over with how generic the battles were. Such a waste of time. Cant wait to get back to FF7 rebirth.    … Expand
  9. Zoddy
    Jul 20, 2023
    7
    The story and the gameplay are really good. However there are some issues regarding the rythm of the game and the optional content. Regarding the former, after a main boss you are forced to do pointless and repetitive quests the are boring; for the latter, secondary quests are too simple and too similar to each other.
  10. Fragmaster5000
    Jul 11, 2023
    5
    Just does not like a classic FF game to me anymore. The game in itself is fine, but surely is not FF to me anymore.
  11. Redrumi
    Jul 19, 2023
    6
    I don't know why people keep saying its original or brave new direction when its basically a watered down version of the Witcher and other much better action rpgs. And that description is generous. Also most of the character facial design, especially for the female characters, are awful and all look alike. Save time and just watch the cutscenes on youtube. Then Xenoblade instead if youI don't know why people keep saying its original or brave new direction when its basically a watered down version of the Witcher and other much better action rpgs. And that description is generous. Also most of the character facial design, especially for the female characters, are awful and all look alike. Save time and just watch the cutscenes on youtube. Then Xenoblade instead if you want a epic rpg with great combat and a full party of characters to care about.… Expand
  12. Spaceycakey1987
    Jul 21, 2023
    6
    Great story and graphics with weak weapon and end game side content disappointed at lack of party and weapon options crafting system is overly basic and hunt system is 1 of the weakest in the franchise theres no lore or anything unique to any of them there just reskined mobs you fight during the story with an extra move unlike past games like gilgamesh from ff12 or adamantoise from ff15Great story and graphics with weak weapon and end game side content disappointed at lack of party and weapon options crafting system is overly basic and hunt system is 1 of the weakest in the franchise theres no lore or anything unique to any of them there just reskined mobs you fight during the story with an extra move unlike past games like gilgamesh from ff12 or adamantoise from ff15 ect combat revolves around spamming abilities on a timer enemy's have no weakness and theres no status effects elemental buffs and weakness at all the verity of mobs is also lacking compared to past entrys theres no verity in weapons either just the same 1 handed sword reskined with slightly higher damage and stagger stats nothing feels unique even the ultima blade the world itself is beautifully detailed but is not worth exploring as game does reward you for doing so there is no super bosses or dungeons I would have rated lower if not for the story'main fights which are impressive but unfortunatly the game lacks the depth of others in the franchise outside of the main story with endgame now being new game plus which just ads an extra mob or two to story fights and increases level cap from 50 to 100 on a slightly higher difficulty ultimately the game looks impressive but fails in the rpg elements this franchise in known for so much so I would argue it's not an rpg at all but a character action game… Expand
  13. Thiccbob
    Jul 23, 2023
    5
    First of all, I think people should wait until they actually finish the game before rating the game a 10 or a 0 after only 6 hours of gameplay. So, I'm a lifelong Final Fantasy fan, since first playing FFX as a kid. So it pains me to give this game such a low score. I thought the series had hit rock bottom with 15, and maybe it technically had, and while the two are very different, I feelFirst of all, I think people should wait until they actually finish the game before rating the game a 10 or a 0 after only 6 hours of gameplay. So, I'm a lifelong Final Fantasy fan, since first playing FFX as a kid. So it pains me to give this game such a low score. I thought the series had hit rock bottom with 15, and maybe it technically had, and while the two are very different, I feel like both of them are a low point in the series.

    Tl;dr version: The game has incredibly flashy if repetitive combat, with the exception of the eikon fights which are the best parts of the game. The story gets interesting at times, but dull characters don't help make this straightforward story stand out. It's alright as a one time play through, but I don't think it will leave much of a positive impact on the franchise. It will probably go down as a very dull entry in the series.

    Longer version: The demo had me hooked on the game, especially with the way it ended. However, that demo hid the worst parts of the game: the pacing and by extension, the side quests. In between the highs of the eikon fights, which are a lot of fun and very flashy, are dull parts where you return to the hideaway and get bossed around by Mid or go around running inane errands for some random npc, even though I'm supposed to be the leader of their whole resistance, but whatever. The side quests are also basically just that. Dull fetch quests, with dull npcs. Sometimes they are interesting, but after running around delivering apples, it was clear they were going to be like that the entire game.

    As for the story, it can definitely be confusing at times. The game has a compendium where you can look up terms, people, and places, but until those places or people become major players in the story (which is like halfway through, since the first half focuses on like 2 or 3 kingdoms out of the 6 in the game) their roles in the game's world are kind of confusing. In the final leg of the game, you get an NPC, Vivian, and she has a map and goes through and explains each kingdom's motivations and what exactly they are doing at that point of the game, which is incredibly helpful, it's just a shame nobody does earlier in the game. But that leads me to my next point. Most of the characters are just so dull and they don't really feel that special. I liked Byron and Cid, but everyone else, even Clive himself, are just kind of boring. I've never cared less for characters in a Final Fantasy game than in 15. At least 15 had some cool DLC to flesh out their main cast. You get a glimpse of the main enemy after you get the first eikon, and I thought there would be more interesting developments, but there wasn't really. Yoshida's involvement was so hyped so maybe I was just spoiled by 14's amazing story, although that game had over a decade to develop its plot with amazing plot twists. There's also a lot of stuff that was interesting but never explored, like what about the lands outside of Storm and Ash? Why is Leviathan not there? What the heck happened to the Fallen?

    And then, finally, the combat. It's incredibly flashy and cool looking, but the game seems to boil down to: press R1 to doge, hit an enemy until they stagger, then use all your cooldowns at once, repeat. You get many eikon abilities, but you will mostly use phoenix and ifrit abilities the whole game, and near the end once you get Odin, Zantetsuken makes every non-boss enemy a joke. Some eikon abilities feel straight up useless, like Ramuh and Shiva. There are "Eikonic vulnerabilities" which are elemental weaknesses essentially, but it's so inconsequential that you won't even notice they are weaknesses. They also went the FF14 route where you can use fire magic on fire enemies, etc which I felt was weird. Things like weapons, armor, accessories, crafting, and leveling up felt almost entirely pointless. I used like the same 2 accessories the whole game, potion healing up and the one where dodging increases damage from attacks. Things like +10 defense or attack felt like they made no difference, and neither did any new equipment or leveling up. You unlock trials throughout the game which force you to use certain eikons, but I didn't love the combat, so I didn't finish them all. There are hunts which are a nice challenge if you are under leveled. It's a shame because I feel FF7R had the perfect balance of action RPG and classic turn based RPG elements, but they decided to go for style over subtstance with this game.

    Overall it's not terrible, but I just don't see any lasting appeal with this game. After I beat the game, I just had no desire to play it. Like ever again. I spoke with a few people who also bought the game, and they feel pretty much the same way I do. It's fun at first but really overstays it's welcome.    … Expand
  14. cid33
    Jul 24, 2023
    6
    The good? epic boss battles, amazing music, interesting story. The bad everything else. It feels like bootleg Witcher.
    Combat is repetitive and boring, way to easy with enemies having excessive hp, fighting the same 10 enemies the entire game, small enemy vith axesword, big guy with hammeraxe, flying bird, wyvern, bomb, and then some of the worst reskinre color I have encountered a AAA    The good? epic boss battles, amazing music, interesting story. The bad everything else. It feels like bootleg Witcher.
    Combat is repetitive and boring, way to easy with enemies having excessive hp, fighting the same 10 enemies the entire game, small enemy vith axesword, big guy with hammeraxe, flying bird, wyvern, bomb, and then some of the worst reskinre color I have encountered a AAA game. Boss battles consist of on the rails QTE nightmares. They do look epic tho, but this is not supposed to be a interactive movie. Sidequest and exploring feel like a chore and reward nothing but crafting materials that you craft 1 thing with at start of chapter then they pileup in inventory by the thousands. Enemies level with each chapter making leveling irrelevant as they stay at your level and you don't feel like you grow in strength. Visuals are amazing if it wasn't for choppy framerate and horrendous blur, the blur got patched tho, still sucked for half the game Animation is horrible reusing the same animation for 90% of the game, zoom in on Clive he waves hand zoom in on NPC shoulder shrug zoom to Clive reaches for camera to giveget item. Main character voice is like the town drunk woke up in the snow to cold to express or speak words instead of mumbling them. Barely showing feelings true game except for some random times in battle. The rest are good voice acting.    … Expand
  15. SpikeVexid
    Jul 11, 2023
    6
    Final Fantasy XVI é épico, a história, as batalhas com chefes... e só isso mesmo, o jogo oscila demais entre o épico e o trivial, uma hora você está tendo batalhas de proporções megalomaníacas, e em seguida, esta pegando uma erva pra um subordinado no esconderijo em que você é o chefe. As side Quests, apesar de algumas até te situarem de como está o mundo e outras melhorarem algumFinal Fantasy XVI é épico, a história, as batalhas com chefes... e só isso mesmo, o jogo oscila demais entre o épico e o trivial, uma hora você está tendo batalhas de proporções megalomaníacas, e em seguida, esta pegando uma erva pra um subordinado no esconderijo em que você é o chefe. As side Quests, apesar de algumas até te situarem de como está o mundo e outras melhorarem algum equipamento do personagem, eles tem personagens pouco interessantes e sempre envoltos em um drama que permeia toda a história de uma forma que nada te surpreende mais, o sofrimento é o mesmo pro mundo todo então tem uma hora que vc só quer que eles parem de chorar e que você avance logo pra finalizar o jogo e acabar com o sofrimento mundial. A exploração e a descoberta nos mundos incríveis de Final Fantasy também não existem mais. não existem raças ou culturas variadas, quando tem, não te surpreendem. Voltar pra um esconderijo depois de uma missão e sempre ver aquele mesmo ambiente durante toda a jornada que parece mais vc saindo de casa e voltando depois de ir no shopping,, padaria, mercado e afins, torna massante a avenura em momentos onde as batalhas épicas não estão acontecendo. Upar o Clive também se tornou uma tarefa chata, você não sente a evolução do Clive se ele não pegar um novo Eikon, e quando você tem seus preferidos e upa suas habilidades, eles tem um limite e os pontos ganhos vc pode upar habilidades que não quer usar, ou só deixar lá acumulando pra na, tentando melhorar seu dano com level que vc demora pra ganhar e nem sente diferença.
    A escolha por gráficos ao invés de expandir o jogo com um mundo maior e mais rico, armaduras diferentes, armas novas, culturas variadas e problemas diferentes, tornou este final fantasy, uma versão desidratada onde deixaram só aquilo que o povo sempre aclamou como aspectos importantes de um todo muito maior que deixaram de lado mas que fazia muita diferença olhando agora só história e gráficos isolado de ótimas mecânicas    … Expand
  16. Coralpearlz
    Jul 23, 2023
    5
    Fine action-game, but it's barely even an RPG/JRPG and feels ashamed to be an Final Fantasy title at times.
  17. Jon0Fun
    Aug 14, 2023
    8
    Not my favourite Final Fantasy but defiantly in my top 5.
    Has a great story (mostly) and great characters, the biggest downside for me though was the lack of party members and the fact you only control Clive.
    That said Clive and his on again off again "party" are still better than FF15's BTS on a road trip.
  18. BadLarry
    Jul 29, 2023
    6
    A pretty weak and forgettable entry in the core Final Fantasy series. I've through all of the numbered FF games since the first one released on NES. The good stuff first: I do enjoy the action based combat which has a crisp and quick feel like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. Boss fights are particularly enjoyable and you can scale the difficulty to suit how deep you want to go. GraphicsA pretty weak and forgettable entry in the core Final Fantasy series. I've through all of the numbered FF games since the first one released on NES. The good stuff first: I do enjoy the action based combat which has a crisp and quick feel like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. Boss fights are particularly enjoyable and you can scale the difficulty to suit how deep you want to go. Graphics are very good and there are some truly stunning sequences. Now on to the bad. 16 might be the most boring of the bunch outside of the huge but few cinematic clashes. You spend a lot of time in the generic swamp or grasslands fields fighting repetitive enemies. A lot of RPG elements have been stripped away to the point that there's very little use for the money that you earn in the game. Only 3 pieces of equipment with essentially only 2 stats each. Side quests are really afterthoughts that add little to the plot or universe and aren't very rewarding. I really missed having a cast of protagonists that you team up with, have their own unique stories, and you come to love as they develop. This game seems much smaller since it's really a one man show. You get temporary sidekicks but you don't have any control over them at all. The biggest gripe i have which is worth 4 points off the score alone is how the game cheats you out of really experiencing the world it's set in. The world is broken up into kingdoms each with their own mountain sized crystal shards. It's clear from a distance that the fantastical cities sprung up around these crystals. When you see the cities at a distance, you get excited to finally leave the generic wilderness that 90% of the game takes place in. Eventually you go to these crystals as part of the main plot, so you assume on the way you'll get to pass through these amazing looking cities. You'd be wrong. The first time, your allies talk of a secret tunnel to sneak in. Once you initiate that key mission, you literally warp from home base to within a stones throw of the objective, skipping over ever getting to see that city or any of the world on the way. They cut a big chunk out of the 'adventure' of this well....adventure. Kinda like Frodo and Sam setting out to Mordor and five minutes later they're there dropping the ring in Mount Doom. This was disappointing the first time. It's downright insulting that this happens every time you have a big 'mission'. There's a secret tunnel, back entrance, or mine shaft that you end up sneaking right up to the boss through and never get to see any of the locations. It's generic fields, or generic dungeons, and not much more. Almost as if the devs blew their budget on the big 'eikon' battles and didn't have any time or money to develop the rest of the world. A truly shameful design tactic.… Expand
  19. shado474
    Jul 16, 2023
    8
    While the game overall feels like a high-quality game, there are clear shortcomings in world-building and story-telling. The story has its high points, but there is an overall lack of soul and atmosphere and very few characters are likeable. For a game that seems to push for realism, it has its fair share of unrealistic progression, dialogues and animation. The combat is satisfyingWhile the game overall feels like a high-quality game, there are clear shortcomings in world-building and story-telling. The story has its high points, but there is an overall lack of soul and atmosphere and very few characters are likeable. For a game that seems to push for realism, it has its fair share of unrealistic progression, dialogues and animation. The combat is satisfying although it feels more like a hit 'em up at times and the difficulty level is very low even on action mode. The absence of weaknesses or resistance against attack types also makes all the fights pretty much more of the same old thing. The OST is forgettable, but it has a few great tracks that stand out. The frame rate is all over the place while exploring, in what the game calls "Performance mode", which is quite disappointing for a PS5 release.… Expand
  20. Rix91
    Jul 9, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game tells a great story, and it does it in a visually stunning way. I cannot think of any modern game that does spectacle combat as well as FF16 does. Underneath that, however, is a really shallow game. The combat receiving so much praise has felt strange to me, because while it is beautiful and bombastic, it’s flawed in design. The stagger system encourages you to *not* use your abilities until your enemy is staggered, due to the often long cooldown times. So during boss fights, you will find yourself just smacking the boss with your sword forever while you chip away at their stagger bar so you can drop all of your big abilities at once. Rinse and repeat usually 2-3 times before the boss dies.

    The Eikon combat feels even more shallow, offering basically no challenge and instead serving as eye candy while you press one button over and over, occasionally dodging attacks or charging to the enemy. There’s no room for customization here, and I can’t help but feel like this could’ve been something more than a spectacle.

    The game feels like it’s teetering on the edge of being an action game and an RPG, but ends up lukewarm in both regards. The RPG elements are mediocre at best, and they feel sacrificed to transform the game into an action game, but it feels like they were hesitant to make the game challenging in that regard, and it suffers as a result. The shallow RPG elements, the lack of agency on how you build your character, and the flashy but simple combat keeps the majority of the game feeling like a chore to carry you from plot point to plot point, because the plot is the only thing holding this game up. It’s fantastic, with lots of twists and turns up until the very end. Unfortunately those amazing cutscenes keep getting interrupted by mediocre combat and long hallways full of forgettable enemies. The side quests feel so bland and chore-like, I can’t help but feel that the game would’ve been better off without them. There’s a few decent stories hidden in there, but across 50+ side quests, only about 10 of them felt worth doing, not including the ones that directly benefited Clive with upgrades and such. For the most part, they fall flat. I beat the game less than 12 hours ago and honestly cannot remember the majority of them.

    If you’re into a good narrative experience and don’t care how you get there, you will love this game. If you enjoy a challenge or the RPG elements that have been present in most numbered FF games to date, this game is gonna disappoint you. It feels like playing a movie.    … Expand
  21. todobramble
    Jul 29, 2023
    6
    Boss battles and music score is a 10/10. Really enjoyed the Titan boss fight. But the side quests were pointless and mind-numbingly repetitive fetch quests with dialogue that felt like it never ended.

    The story also goes downhill about midwway through the game and becomes really dull. The world itself was the biggest major disappointment. There was no attempt to make the world feel like    Boss battles and music score is a 10/10. Really enjoyed the Titan boss fight. But the side quests were pointless and mind-numbingly repetitive fetch quests with dialogue that felt like it never ended.

    The story also goes downhill about midwway through the game and becomes really dull. The world itself was the biggest major disappointment. There was no attempt to make the world feel like a lived-in world. This game is a huge step backwards for Square Enix after making FF7 Remake.

    The RPG aspect regarding gear customization and play style abilities were superficial. Doesn't matter what boss you encounter, just spam the same combos to defeat. The game is incredibly easy.    … Expand
  22. dangyosabyss
    Jul 19, 2023
    7
    It is very much aimed at Game of Thrones fans who want that feel in a video game in 2023. It does straight up steal wholesale from ASOIAF and people who have read the books will be able to guess a lot of the story. While story-wise it nails it the aesthetic is slightly off. The creators stick too closely to FF staples and paradigms to the detriment of cohesion. The grimdark subject matterIt is very much aimed at Game of Thrones fans who want that feel in a video game in 2023. It does straight up steal wholesale from ASOIAF and people who have read the books will be able to guess a lot of the story. While story-wise it nails it the aesthetic is slightly off. The creators stick too closely to FF staples and paradigms to the detriment of cohesion. The grimdark subject matter is offset by our grizzled and haunted heroes riding giant eyepatch-wearing chickens. It undermines what they were aiming for. The cuhrazay anime nonsense also undermines the tone. I have 1000 words more but for some reason metacritic keeps 403'ing when I try to post it. Detailed reviews be damned I suppose.… Expand
  23. 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
  24. Awwlexis
    Jul 25, 2023
    7
    Disappointing Story, Fun combat but lacks identity and depth, forgettable characters, MMO side quests.

    Story: The most generic story I've seen in a video game in some time. You could literally predict the entire outcome very early in the game. I did like the mix up by making the bigger fights radically stupid and anime in that you're literally just recreating DBZ or KLK or other    Disappointing Story, Fun combat but lacks identity and depth, forgettable characters, MMO side quests.

    Story:
    The most generic story I've seen in a video game in some time. You could literally predict the entire outcome very early in the game.

    I did like the mix up by making the bigger fights radically stupid and anime in that you're literally just recreating DBZ or KLK or other Shonen fighting moments, but in a setting that has such a realism style to it, it feels weird jarring and extremely out of place even though I overall enjoyed it as a shake up.

    The actual story itself though was full of forgettable characters, many poor voice acting performances, and nothing to remember or rave to your friends about. The only incredible voice performance was Cid and Benedikta, the rest were very average to poor.

    One of the most important character's to the story and the main love interest Jill is the most wet blanket female MC in a long time. I absolutely hate that any and all women in video games MUST be one of two things, either absolutely useless wet blanket personality or Mario Movie Princess Peach and can literally save the world by herself because she's a super OP Mary Sue. Benedikta again had more personality and I wanted to learn more about her than I did Jill. A better voice acting performance might have helped save her character some, but she has again the most generic backstory, she gets captured, spoilered, and she's otherwise just quiet and a non-character for most of the story. She is only there to bang the MC and give up the ghost to aid his suicidal quest to stop god. No "I'll fight to the death with you" nope, with the exception of like two scenes she's just as useful as Gav the scout that get's caught and half blinded in combat. What could have been a really good potential lead character was just another pixie dream girl following a suicidal loner "I must do it all, I'm special, I'm the only one who can do it" main character.

    Gameplay:
    While the combat is by far the best and most standout feature of this game, it still feels like it heavily lacks identity and that they couldn't make decisions while developing if they wanted the game to be a serious hardcore combat game or made simple to appeal to the masses of casuals. It has this weird in-between where there are some advanced mechanics, but they are clunky at best.

    Some of the core highest damaging moves that you get at the end of the game and are meant to combo into require the most awkward inputs of all time. You have to press and hold the attack button down to do one for example, but you must also first make sure your Eikon ability is toggled on, and then the hold down duration is changed by your other hold down button skill. It is the most awkward terrible keybinding of all time for what is supposed to be the ultimate strongest ability in the entire game.

    Additionally, you only get to assign 3 of the 7 eikons you unlock, removing 99% of the customization and creativity of the game. Why give us 4 abilities per eikon if you're only going to let us use 6 of them total? That is 22 cool and unique abilities you can't use ever. The combat in this game could have just gone the Devil May Cry direction and been very advanced with a toggle for simplicty making it extremely fun, or let you cycle all eikons for a blast but they instead just decided to let you use almost none of it. I get they probably decided they wanted some but not a lot of depth to fit somewhere in the middle but it just feels like the combat designers had ADHD and half implemented things rather than making up their mind one way or the other. It would have been better to give us less ability options if they were going to so severely limit us after overloading us with cool stuff.

    An example of this poorly designed middle system where they couldn't make up their mind was air combat. They give you a double jump, eikon powers to get you in the air, and air attacks and skills, but you fall at the speed of light making air combos really irritating to perform. The air attack itself is only a 3 hit combo which if you perform it, because the endlag of the last swing is so long, you drop to the ground like a brick right after with no option to maintain your height without eikon abilities or wasting both of your extra jumps just to get one extra attack before falling to the ground. It is single handedly the worst designed air combat I've seen in any combat focused game.

    Additionally, your 5 hit basic ground attack combo, NEVER CHANGES. The ENTIRE game your primary attack combo remains the exact same with the only variation to that being when you limit break. I don't understand what in their right mind didn't think to give us a main combo enhancement, change up, or even just adding a tiny bit more to the main combo. It's so boring seeing the same attacks the entire game. At least have multiple animations for the same combo.

    I'd say more but I'm out of characte    … Expand
  25. Stawkuj
    Jul 25, 2023
    6
    Story and music are great but gameplay lack what made FF series unique.

    - Elemental weakness/absorption went missing , casting fire on bombs = casting blizzard on bombs

    - No status effect , bad breath from malboro = fire breath from drake type enemies

    + Eikon battles are great and probably the best of all FFs
  26. CaballitoRojo
    Jul 10, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ni es un gran juego, ni está a la altura de la saga. No se han currado absolutamente nada. El final fantasy xv está muchísimo más currado. La gente que le pone mucha puntuación no se por que, tienen el listón muy bajo. No te creas lo que dicen los youtubers están comprados. La historia es pésima, ni se han esforzado, terminas pasando todas las parrafadas que sueltan por que dicen tonterías. Y eso que lo he puesto en acción, si llego poner historia... me muero del asco. Le pongo un 6 por los combates, gráficos.… Expand
  27. Ivan
    Jul 9, 2023
    7
    finally a final fanatasy with an exciting story. perhaps excessively copied from Games of thrones but very beautiful. extraordinary graphics. Everything else is boring . even facing the most dangerous bosses there is no risk of losing. I still don't know what the game currency is for and the sense of introducing money. driven equipment. poor skill tree. you can play safely with your brainfinally a final fanatasy with an exciting story. perhaps excessively copied from Games of thrones but very beautiful. extraordinary graphics. Everything else is boring . even facing the most dangerous bosses there is no risk of losing. I still don't know what the game currency is for and the sense of introducing money. driven equipment. poor skill tree. you can play safely with your brain off. very bad for a final fantasy. not to mention that the world, even if graphically gorgeous, is poor in any activity or search for something that is unfortunately missing. the second half of the game inserts secondary missions as main ones, also breaking the rhythm of the story. one step forward and three steps back. perhaps a step up from 15 but still far from the depth of 9-10-12.… Expand
  28. Guiyerod444
    Jul 8, 2023
    6
    The game is a movie game let's make it clear. Everything relating to this is good: plot, cutscenes, characters, etc...

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

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

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

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

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

    Very average game dressed as a ''GOTY candidate'', it makes a great movie because everything that is not gameplay is very very good however if you look to the gaming aspect it's utter **** and very lazy coming from such a huge AAA company.    … Expand
  29. Rynosully
    Jul 8, 2023
    6
    Not a true Final Fantasy. If you are looking for an RPG you will be disappointed with this one. I’ve been a fan since the first Final Fantasy and at 45 years old this one is as disappointing as FFXIII was to me. Please go back to your RPG roots. This is not what I expect from a Final Fantasy experience.
  30. jonnyfiftka
    Jul 9, 2023
    6
    I think that this is a very strange game. There are parts that are good (combat, which can shine only through boss fights and some elite monsters/hunts, spectacle and music) and then there is really bad stuff (extremely dry writting, specially side quests, npc keep on talking and talking, soo many cutscenes, repetetive combat encounters, repetetive gameplay loop, non existent rpgI think that this is a very strange game. There are parts that are good (combat, which can shine only through boss fights and some elite monsters/hunts, spectacle and music) and then there is really bad stuff (extremely dry writting, specially side quests, npc keep on talking and talking, soo many cutscenes, repetetive combat encounters, repetetive gameplay loop, non existent rpg progression elements, where 9 out of 10 times you get to make new equipment you already have the items and the upgrades are so boring too.) Personaly I do not like the muted brown, gray color palete, which this game has most of the time. I get It that this is the end of the world mood, but still. This game feels like crippled FFXIV, It plays exactly the same (ofc the combat is different), exept, in FFXIV there is so many other things you can do.… Expand
  31. Akin_
    Jun 24, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is exactly a role-playing game of Clive.
    The main story is a royal road fantasy, and the sub story request allows you to deeply enjoy the reality of the story world.
    It's a really great role-playing game that lets you relive Clive's story alive with all your senses.    … Expand
  32. lebrownjeans
    Jul 15, 2023
    6
    I don't care about the weirdos giving the game 0's or 10's this game is neither. I also don't care about the "this isnt a ff game" sure it is. It just isn't a good one. It isn't even a good game in general.
    What ff16 is, is a mediocre action game by a devil may cry dev stitched together with a mmo dev that doesn't know how to make a FUN game.
    Graphics: amazing soundtrack: passable    I don't care about the weirdos giving the game 0's or 10's this game is neither. I also don't care about the "this isnt a ff game" sure it is. It just isn't a good one. It isn't even a good game in general.
    What ff16 is, is a mediocre action game by a devil may cry dev stitched together with a mmo dev that doesn't know how to make a FUN game.

    Graphics: amazing

    soundtrack: passable but totally forgettable

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

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

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

    All in all this game is flashy and beautiful but completely shallow.    … Expand
  33. FFXVIRules
    Aug 15, 2023
    10
    Just a daily reminder to everyone, just completely ignore those Baldur's Gate losers who are trying to review bomb this great game. Baldur's Gate 3 is just another pointless overrated and over hyped garbage. Either way, FFXVI is about million times better game and that's objective fact. GOTY!
  34. Brannon44
    Jul 17, 2023
    7
    Weird game. It has so many great things and so many bad things but it has an undeniable charm and is fun to play.
  35. neqlol
    Jul 10, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Graphics account for 90% of FF16. The graphics are insanely good, but other than that, I have nothing to praise.

    Producer Yoshida and many other key staff said, "This is a dark fantasy for adults. We put the most emphasis on the story. We are very confident in this work."
    However, what I saw was an incoherent and childish story.
    The end of the story? I don't really understand, but I beat the final boss and solved it with god-like power! Maybe, maybe.
    Is this for adults? No, unless you're a child, you'll frown.
    Even the end of the hero and heroine was ambiguous. I want my dozens of hours back.

    I think it's worth the price, but honestly it's a waste of time. I recommend watching a video of someone playing.    … Expand
  36. DarkRhyme
    Jul 15, 2023
    6
    A disappointing game that could have been so much more. Some of the characters, the voice acting, the fluidity of the controls, the music, visuals and the likes are all golden. However the story itself, some of the other characters, the pacing, side quests and some of the worst itemization and rpg mechanics (or lack thereof) bog down what could have been a great game down to somethingA disappointing game that could have been so much more. Some of the characters, the voice acting, the fluidity of the controls, the music, visuals and the likes are all golden. However the story itself, some of the other characters, the pacing, side quests and some of the worst itemization and rpg mechanics (or lack thereof) bog down what could have been a great game down to something barely above mediocre.

    As the dust settles and time passes, I think more people will see the game's massive flaws hidden behind it's gorgeous facade.    … Expand
  37. FF16GOTY2023
    Aug 15, 2023
    10
    Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year! Game of the Year!
  38. KingofGaming22
    Aug 15, 2023
    10
    Phenomenal masterpiece and one of the best FF games ever made. All those who give 0 out of 10 are just envy losers who don't even have the game or PS5. And of course, if they can't have fun, then others shouldn't have either. These people are pathetic, but thankfully this game already sold millions of copies and was huge success, therefore nobody gives a f...ck if you dislike this game.Phenomenal masterpiece and one of the best FF games ever made. All those who give 0 out of 10 are just envy losers who don't even have the game or PS5. And of course, if they can't have fun, then others shouldn't have either. These people are pathetic, but thankfully this game already sold millions of copies and was huge success, therefore nobody gives a f...ck if you dislike this game. Your opinion is literally meaningless, because you don't even own this game. End of discussion lol.… Expand
  39. Dreccc
    Aug 15, 2023
    10
    Baldur's Gate fanboys are review bombing both Final Fantasy XVI and Tears of the Kingdom right now. Even tho seems like some Tears of the Kingdom fanboys are also review bombing Final Fantasy XVI. Don't believe me? Scroll down and read the 0 out of 10 reviews and then check what game they gave 10 out of 10. Not sure what they are trying accomplish, other than people just starting toBaldur's Gate fanboys are review bombing both Final Fantasy XVI and Tears of the Kingdom right now. Even tho seems like some Tears of the Kingdom fanboys are also review bombing Final Fantasy XVI. Don't believe me? Scroll down and read the 0 out of 10 reviews and then check what game they gave 10 out of 10. Not sure what they are trying accomplish, other than people just starting to dislike them more and more, but who cares, FF XVI is already huge success and likely GOTY, those review bombers just show their immaturity with their review bombing.… Expand
  40. valeriozaglio
    Jul 25, 2023
    5
    E niente ci ho provato ma alla fine la noia ha vinto e l'ho abbandonato a metà... Le missioni sono quanto di più piatto e ridicolo abbia trovato in un videogioco e il sistema di combattimento è solo un pigiare bottoni a più non posso, non capisco come facciano a dire che è divertentissimo, queste persone hanno mai giocato ad un Souls like? Peccato per la pessima deriva presa dalla saga cheE niente ci ho provato ma alla fine la noia ha vinto e l'ho abbandonato a metà... Le missioni sono quanto di più piatto e ridicolo abbia trovato in un videogioco e il sistema di combattimento è solo un pigiare bottoni a più non posso, non capisco come facciano a dire che è divertentissimo, queste persone hanno mai giocato ad un Souls like? Peccato per la pessima deriva presa dalla saga che ormai è completamente diversa dai capitoli che me ne hanno fatto innamorare. Credo che dopo 25 anni sia ora di mettere una pietra sopra a Finale Fantasy, molto meglio le produzioni occidentali.… Expand
  41. Tnuggs
    Jun 26, 2023
    10
    A great story with amazing and lovable characters. The combat is also so fun. I highly recommend playing this game.
  42. dmppm
    Jun 26, 2023
    10
    Great music, top notch graphic, good story, awesome characters, bold topic, action is so so so so smooth and could be easily adjust accordingly. PS5 not over heated once so far. This game will be my top 3 this year without a doubt. Have been playing ff games for years and FFXVI did well put a well managed and interesting action elements to the series and I love it.
  43. Baobunx
    Jun 27, 2023
    10
    Great combat, looks great, fantastic story. A return to form for the series.
  44. Hamam
    Jun 27, 2023
    10
    Absolutely amazing game,everything is too epic and addicting.Only issues is performance mode and i hope they will fix.This combat should be default for every FF game.YES ABSOLUTELY MASTERPIECE
  45. Jame_s_Guides
    Jun 27, 2023
    10
    This is the first time I bother writing a review. This game deserves the effort.
    I'm an OG Final Fantasy fan, I played the very first FF1 and FF2 on SNES and have been in love with the franchise ever since. FF15 was a disappointment, even though there were some cool elements to it.
    So when I saw FF16's first combat trailers, I was worried. I really hoped for a good old turned based JRPG    This is the first time I bother writing a review. This game deserves the effort.
    I'm an OG Final Fantasy fan, I played the very first FF1 and FF2 on SNES and have been in love with the franchise ever since. FF15 was a disappointment, even though there were some cool elements to it.
    So when I saw FF16's first combat trailers, I was worried. I really hoped for a good old turned based JRPG and what I saw was more like a Devil May Cry type action game.
    But I was WRONG, the combat system is extremely FUN! I'm 100+ hours playing the game and I'm still going out of my way to fight extra enemies, NOT because I need the extra XP, but because COMBAT in FF16 is really fun, there's no ending to the amount of new combos you can do, and switching Eikonic Abilities allows for a lot of customization.
    And of course... the storytelling is one of the best ever made, it doesn't pale in comparison to The Witcher, The Last of Us or Cyberpunk2077.
    This is a game of the year contender, without a doubt. Everyone who can play it, should play it ;-)
    Heck, I'm even writing a Platinum Walkthrough for this game as we speak!    … Expand
  46. GEHAMAN
    Jun 27, 2023
    10
    正直、俺は叫びたかったよ。
    　｢見たか！！｣
    　って。

    　｢これがアクションゲームの日本代表だ！！｣
    　って。

    　そして、
    　｢これが俺たちの『ファイナルファンタジー16だ！！』｣
    ってね－－。
  47. Ryzaerrr8791
    Jun 27, 2023
    10
    FF16 is the best game of the Final Fantasy saga ever.
    Completly amazing, I hope he will be released soon on PC.
  48. WickedEye
    Jun 27, 2023
    10
    This game is beautiful. It may not be your typical, turn-based JRPG, but it tells an amazing story!
  49. Rvi16
    Jun 27, 2023
    10
    Absolutely incredible game. My first final fantasy game ever was FFX almost 20 years ago and it showed me what final fantasy game is all about. I have played almost the whole series by now and there was some up and down but more down than up lately.FF16 has completely make me trust in the series again. The characters are incredible, the story is dark and unforgiving; I am a casual actionAbsolutely incredible game. My first final fantasy game ever was FFX almost 20 years ago and it showed me what final fantasy game is all about. I have played almost the whole series by now and there was some up and down but more down than up lately.FF16 has completely make me trust in the series again. The characters are incredible, the story is dark and unforgiving; I am a casual action role playing gamer but I found it intuitive; the voice actings, my god, they were visceral and gut wrenching at times. Please try this game if you are a veteran or never play a final fantasy game before… Expand
  50. Genci
    Aug 11, 2023
    9
    The music in this game is next level, as well as combat and cinematic scenes! I found the story good for the most part! I did not enjoy the side quests, despite that I think that the game is a must play!
  51. twoman45
    Sep 4, 2023
    10
    voice acting is amazing! Love this game!!! .
    .
  52. Gropisfgc8
    Sep 4, 2023
    10
    Masterpiece! Amazing history, cool gameplay, charismatic characters and one of the best protagonist I have ever seen in a videogame, just one of the best videogames I have played in my life
  53. PS-Dyon
    Sep 4, 2023
    10
    Excelente game, enredo extremamente bem elaborado porém totalmente necessário assistia às CGs para entender a história o que agrega em muitas horas de jogo o que para mim foi excelente. Minha crítica vai para os personagens que tem expressões robóticas feitas manualmente e acabam não trazendo o sentimento do personagem.
    Gráficos são uma mistura de "está muito lindo" com "podiam ter feito    Excelente game, enredo extremamente bem elaborado porém totalmente necessário assistia às CGs para entender a história o que agrega em muitas horas de jogo o que para mim foi excelente. Minha crítica vai para os personagens que tem expressões robóticas feitas manualmente e acabam não trazendo o sentimento do personagem.
    Gráficos são uma mistura de "está muito lindo" com "podiam ter feito melhor aqui e ali".
    Em suma é um jogo longo, com história bem estruturada, gráficos muitos gostosos de se ver, personagens secundários cativantes com participação importante na história principal.
    Tem New Game+ o que é excelente pra quem amou o jogo como eu.
    Sim ele possui MUITOS extras para fazer além da campanha principal e mais extras ainda a serem feitos após o término do jogo.    … Expand
  54. sandy0711
    Sep 5, 2023
    10
    Incredible game and this is my favorite FF game !! .
  55. King_of_RE
    Sep 5, 2023
    10
    Absolutely amazing game, only people who hate this are losers who want their idiotic turn based combat back. Well guess what, you can't get it back, deal with it.
  56. thegold
    Jul 14, 2023
    7
    Sometimes very pretty, somtimes very mid. Soundtrack is phenomenal. Loot/rewards/crafting is incredibly dumb and unbalanced, feels like it was added last minute. Gameplay is sooo good.
    The Eikon battles are tedious, stupid and ridiculous. You fight some bosses over and over again. Kill boss, cutscene, fight boss with full HP again, kill boss, cutscene, fight boss with full HP again    Sometimes very pretty, somtimes very mid. Soundtrack is phenomenal. Loot/rewards/crafting is incredibly dumb and unbalanced, feels like it was added last minute. Gameplay is sooo good.
    The Eikon battles are tedious, stupid and ridiculous. You fight some bosses over and over again. Kill boss, cutscene, fight boss with full HP again, kill boss, cutscene, fight boss with full HP again cutscene.... Get some new writers Yoshida!    … Expand
  57. Danthewolfusmc
    Jun 25, 2023
    9
    Story is amazing FPS moves between 40-60 combat is great ( also combat matains 60fps)
    The side quest are the weaknesses that I have found. New game plus is where the game truly shines . Sony has a wonderful game on its console PC gamers will enjoy it soon. DLC expanding on exploration and more end game content should make an overall enjoyable experience grow into a much more exciting    Story is amazing FPS moves between 40-60 combat is great ( also combat matains 60fps)
    The side quest are the weaknesses that I have found. New game plus is where the game truly shines . Sony has a wonderful game on its console PC gamers will enjoy it soon. DLC expanding on exploration and more end game content should make an overall enjoyable experience grow into a much more exciting adventure. To summarize FF XVI has amazing Visuals that pull you into a captivating story that blends over the top combat with character growth that will have you invested. Open world exploration and side guest are the only thing holding the game back but it makes up for it with all the times you find yourself staring at your screen going " Damn that just happened!"
    Now any true gamer will tell you graphics are a nice feature to a game but with a pour story and boring dull characters it doesn't matter how good it looks. Most gamers want an experience that makes us invest or time and emotions into the world give us story and interesting characters hours of content to watch our characters grow in a world that expands as the characters do.    … Expand
  58. SayingTruth
    Aug 11, 2023
    10
    Overall one of the best games of past 3 years years, well designed fun modern combat, likable interesting characters, amazing bosses and beautiful graphics. Music is also phenomenal. Would highly recommend this to everyone, GOTY!
  59. GamingHistorian
    Aug 15, 2023
    10
    Surprisingly good modern Final Fantasy Game! I had no idea what to expect, but trailers looked epic, so i just had to buy it. In fact this was one of the reasons i finally bought PS5, even tho it was also for few upcoming games (Spider-Man 2 & FFVIIR Part 2), but regardless of that, FFXVI was the reason i bought it so early.

    But yeah, this game is so well made. I have seen some    Surprisingly good modern Final Fantasy Game! I had no idea what to expect, but trailers looked epic, so i just had to buy it. In fact this was one of the reasons i finally bought PS5, even tho it was also for few upcoming games (Spider-Man 2 & FFVIIR Part 2), but regardless of that, FFXVI was the reason i bought it so early.

    But yeah, this game is so well made. I have seen some complaints that it's not open world, but that's pretty much last thing i would want from FF game. It is mostly linear, but has some decent open areas where you can free roam and that's exactly how FFVII Remake was and i like it that way. Real open world would never work with FF imo. Combat is very enjoyable, bosses are well designed, main character is just as epic as Cloud, story is great and well written. It became quickly one of my favorite FF games. I might still like FFVII Remake little bit more, but FFXVI is very good game.    … Expand
  60. Raul0582
    Jul 8, 2023
    6
    Bonjour .... personnellement ils bcp de défauts qui compte pour moi . Map vide mécanismes dépasser les combats répétitif. L'histoire est bien les cinématiques magnifique mais le jeu couloir est mal amené. En résumé je trouve que le jeu est largement surcote sur la presse un très moyen final qui depuis un moment n'arrive plus à trouver la recette.
  61. Rami_el_maton
    Jul 13, 2023
    5
    Es el mejor final fantasy desde el IX, la historia es muy buena, tiene un sistema de combate espectacular, unos gráficos impresionantes y es el juego con las escenas más épicas que he visto nunca.
    Compra obligatoria.
  62. Killa87
    Jun 24, 2023
    10
    This new Final Fantasy has all the essence of every Final Fantasy, it's truly brilliant in every sense so far after Ragnarok the best exclusive that could come.
  63. Chabs1985
    Jul 26, 2023
    5
    What happens to Final Fantasy?

    Since FF10 I wonder what Square is doing with its license. FF6,7,8,9 were masterpieces. The 13 very average but I had fun but the 15 and 16 looks like discount games for the series. The 15 had at least the merit of having great music and a good design chara. The 16 fails almost everywhere, an agreed scenario try to be inspired by Game of Thrones.    What happens to Final Fantasy?

    Since FF10 I wonder what Square is doing with its license. FF6,7,8,9 were masterpieces. The 13 very average but I had fun but the 15 and 16 looks like discount games for the series.

    The 15 had at least the merit of having great music and a good design chara.

    The 16 fails almost everywhere, an agreed scenario try to be inspired by Game of Thrones. Music sometimes good but forgettable. A gameplay without depth and easy, not subtle and stupid. No alterations of states, no reflection to have. A false side rpg used to hide a linear path that makes us go from scene to scene. (well realized, we must recognize it).

    The side quests are catastrophic, the pnjs are despicable because they look like robots without souls. The chara-design is infamous, Clive is the worst main character of a Final Fantasy, his outfit is disgusting, it looks like Castlevania.

    Apart from the scenes of great shows, I found this game very poor playfully.

    I have a lot of hope with FF7 Rebirth because I loved the remake, please go in this direction for your future games. The fighting system was perfect, as was the story and the characters.    … Expand
  64. nxldusk
    Jun 25, 2023
    9
    Finish this game with around 48 hour playtime
    / no any Auto acc. / All hunt board / all side quest / not PLAT yet
    Graphic 9.5/10 + Sometime I thought it pre-render but it real-time - TOO MUCH DARK SCENE sad I'm broke gamer that play this game with IPS monitor ( Alienware aw2723df ) but when PC version came out I will buy new OLED monitor and bought this game again ? not sure it only    Finish this game with around 48 hour playtime
    / no any Auto acc. / All hunt board / all side quest / not PLAT yet
    Graphic 9.5/10
    + Sometime I thought it pre-render but it real-time
    - TOO MUCH DARK SCENE sad I'm broke gamer that play this game with IPS monitor ( Alienware aw2723df ) but when PC version came out I will buy new OLED monitor and bought this game again
    ? not sure it only my monitor problem but Blue shade get some dimming with some dark area

    + Story 8.5 / 10
    excelent until around 60% of the game after that feel a bit rush and maybe I will call " normall jpn anime story problem " but yes it still good.
    Gameplay 9/10 ( only Combat and Boss fight)
    + GIVE THE TEAM WHO DESIGN EIKON BATTLE WITH 12 MONTHS BONUS PLZ SQEX
    Gameplay 3/10 ( other than Combat and Boss fight )
    - YES CUT THIS TEAM SALARY TO GIVE THE ABOVE TEAM BONUS.
    - - Lack of RPGish yes they want you focus only Skill set build mix&match and yes only that for this game
    - - Equipment really plain and braindead like we use in P9S
    - - some Skill/Eikon power really OP and some really useless
    - - TOO EZ yes it really EZ like Yoshi-P said before
    - - Even in FINAL FANTASTY MODE (New Game +) still a bit EZ because you know every monster mech from previous play it jusr more HP /ATK and add some random high level mech monster at beginning map

    BGM / Song / VA (JPN )8.5/ 10
    + EPIC BOSS FIGHT BGM
    - Some emotional scene get umm uhhh mismatch ? not sure maybe only my problem lol
    - ONLY JILL (Adult) I have problem with her voice that feel too OLD they use same VA with Jill kid WHY you ask her for OLD voice like this , , REALLY SAD for weeb like me.
    Yes we don't need CUTE ANIME VOICE but DUDE she can do better if you ask her (example that I feel more match , kind of 2B voice not feel Old one-san voice like this )
    other VA very very impressive as always for JPN VA
    *****
    So overall I will give it 9/10 because problem come from my perspective / weeb problem Lol
    can't wait for 100% clear on PC version and with PC we can have atleast stable 60-75 FPS 2K MAX Graphic setting .    … Expand
  65. Sjur_Caelum
    Jun 25, 2023
    9
    Having officially played the game via my brothers PS5, I can safely say this is one of the best entries in the series. The story and characters are absolutely phenomenal, Ben Starr absolutely steals the show as Clive and floored me with his performance. Every character is so well written and voiced that for a moment I forgot I was playing a video game and not watching a TV show. FromHaving officially played the game via my brothers PS5, I can safely say this is one of the best entries in the series. The story and characters are absolutely phenomenal, Ben Starr absolutely steals the show as Clive and floored me with his performance. Every character is so well written and voiced that for a moment I forgot I was playing a video game and not watching a TV show. From Benedikta to Barnabas, from Hugo to Dion, each of the dominants left me wanting more of their characters and stories.

    The combat is top tier, while some may miss the slower more tactical pace of turn based combat, my combo labbing itch has been scratched. The Ekionic abilities offer so much variation in your gameplay and combo into each other nigh seamlessly. As I move into NG+ and Final Fantasy mode (Ultimaniac when I. Good and ready LMAO) I find myself experimenting more and more with different abilities, finding what works and what doesn't.

    The music, utterly magnificent. But that much is to be expected of Masayoshi Soken. The man brings his years of musical experience with FFXIV into FFXVI with ease and continues to show why exactly he continues to run shoulders with some of the best composers Square has to offer.

    Now the game isn't perfect, it has its pacing issues, sidequests at the start are basically MMO fetch quests, and locking Final Fantasy mode behind a first game completion to me was the wrong move as it would have certainly helped people who wanted a harder difficulty from the beginning and didn't understand the differences between Action focused amd Story focused. But it's Pros heavily outweigh those cons. FFXVI proves that FF is still a fantastic franchise and I cannot wait to see what else Square has in store for FF7R Rebirth.    … Expand
  66. Kiasha87
    Jun 27, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Just one word: it's PERFECT!!..............................................… Expand
  67. potus83
    Jul 2, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Would have gotten higher if it wasn't for the ending. I didn't want another Notcis but that's what it is. Stop killing the protagonist. Watching Joshua and Dion die was hard enough but then Clive dies alone on some stupid beach instead of old age with Jill. F that!

    Otherwise, the story and game play were great.    … Expand
  68. hypnoticVGK
    Jul 9, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final Fantasy Mode should be the base game difficulty; although challenging in some stages, I felt that the game was way too easy. Side missions are a great way to see more of the world, but they are repetitive and boring after a while—great story, very grounded and dark with specific themes. One of my favorite parts of the game was explaining the branded and the quests. Overall good game but after one playthrough, I felt that's all you need.… Expand
  69. bucs
    Sep 4, 2023
    9
    just about to give up on any fun ps5 games this year and along comes this well done work of gaming. If you buy it you can get to the final boss, unlike most games today.
  70. Gipsojo
    Jul 27, 2023
    7
    This game has some of the most epic boss encounters I've ever played. That makes it all the more disappointing that you spend a couple of hours or more in between boss encounters doing boring fetch quests and watching people talk. The side quests are poor and I would recommend skipping them!

    I think they could have cut about 5-10 hours of fetch quests and dialogue from this game and it    This game has some of the most epic boss encounters I've ever played. That makes it all the more disappointing that you spend a couple of hours or more in between boss encounters doing boring fetch quests and watching people talk. The side quests are poor and I would recommend skipping them!

    I think they could have cut about 5-10 hours of fetch quests and dialogue from this game and it would be an 8 or 9 out of 10. As it is, Final Fantasy 16 is one of the best games of the year, but definitely not the best game of 2023.

    Pros: Amazing boss fights, good graphics
    Cons: Hour after hour of dialogue, boring fetch quests    … Expand
  71. Trigue
    Aug 11, 2023
    9
    Gran historia y muy satisfactorio combate, al que le sienta estupendo este estilo en tiempo real al estilo hack n slash. La banda sonora y el trabajo de doblaje son simplemente espectaculares, de lo mejor visto jamas en un videojuego. Lo que se cuenta y el tono con el que se cuenta la historia, de una forma más madura y cruda, le sienta genial, es una apuesta ganadora que muchos jugadoresGran historia y muy satisfactorio combate, al que le sienta estupendo este estilo en tiempo real al estilo hack n slash. La banda sonora y el trabajo de doblaje son simplemente espectaculares, de lo mejor visto jamas en un videojuego. Lo que se cuenta y el tono con el que se cuenta la historia, de una forma más madura y cruda, le sienta genial, es una apuesta ganadora que muchos jugadores veteranos como yo llevábamos mucho tiempo pidiendo.

    Por otro lado tiene cosas mejorables como cierto momento del juego en el que todo baja de intensidad después de momentos muy épicos, aunque luego vuelve a levantar el vuelo y llega a su tramo final por todo lo alto. Las misiones secundarias, aunque puedan aportar más información del lote y personajes, me parecen muy flojas y no se ajusta el tono y tipo de encargos al estatus que el protagonista tiene.

    En resumen, con sus luces y sombras, estamos ante uno de los mejores Final Fantasy en décadas, que todo el mundo debería jugar.    … Expand
  72. michelin1
    Aug 10, 2023
    10
    i love this game so much!
    the music ,
    the character ,
    the story
    it is very amazing !!
  73. AtariPup
    Aug 29, 2023
    5
    I’ve played more than half of the final fantasy games and this one is my favorite. I didn’t want it to be over and I’m still sad that I’m done with the game now, like 6 weeks after I finished it. It’s an incredible game. The story is beautiful. The characters are special and wonderful and the graphics are brilliant. I’m not into the mechanics - I love the story and consider myself a casualI’ve played more than half of the final fantasy games and this one is my favorite. I didn’t want it to be over and I’m still sad that I’m done with the game now, like 6 weeks after I finished it. It’s an incredible game. The story is beautiful. The characters are special and wonderful and the graphics are brilliant. I’m not into the mechanics - I love the story and consider myself a casual player and if you select story mode they give you accessories to be able to skip the technical stuff of the battles. There is something here for everyone. I also love that they reduced the male gaze quite a bit and additionally they gave us some major eye candy with Clive. Thanks for remembering that women play games too SE! Anyway - Best game ever.… Expand
  74. thecoolusername
    Sep 4, 2023
    10
    Amazing Game! Amazing Game! Amazing Game! Amazing Game! Amazing Game! Amazing Game!
  75. Aromdar
    Jul 9, 2023
    7
    Un buen juego, con momentos magníficos, un combate entretenido y una trama que en general se desarrolla a un nivel muy alto. El problema llega con la excusa del worldbuilding, alargando la historia con contenido innecesario, aburrido y de muy baja calidad , sacado de las peores misiones que hayáis realizado en un mmo. El mismo juego con 20 horas , un 12.
  76. Benderthefourth
    Jul 2, 2023
    6
    Long time fan of Final Fantasy. I was excited for this one. I was ok about the shift to action JRPG. But I gotta say, I'm disappointed. The game graphics look really good, the story is interesting and the concepts are good too so it's a shame that it didn't delivered in many aspects.
    Many of the aspects it disappoints are actually very surprising. Lets dig them out:
    - Corridor levels.    Long time fan of Final Fantasy. I was excited for this one. I was ok about the shift to action JRPG. But I gotta say, I'm disappointed. The game graphics look really good, the story is interesting and the concepts are good too so it's a shame that it didn't delivered in many aspects.
    Many of the aspects it disappoints are actually very surprising. Lets dig them out:
    - Corridor levels. How can you do this in 2023? After FFXIII... After all these years of game design and plenty of examples/Inspiration ( also from old FFs)? Didn't they took inspiration from God of War too... I was totally fine with the news it was not an Open World game... but man level design!!!
    - Combat system... It doesn't fell right. It really feels like they weren't totally sure about going full action and then decided to go full at a certain point in the development. There's no strategy, There's no good feeling of anticipating the enemy's moves and worst of all it's too easy. Didn't SquareEnix received the memo that easy games are over? It was sent years ago! We need a challenge. It could have less enemies, but more challenging ones... But of course if you don't have any exploration you gotta have hordes of easy bait that can be overcome by mashing square.
    - UI... Damn people. Again, this is 2023 and there's so many good examples and yet we receive a game where you can't toggle of UI elements like: goal arrow, text that tells you exactly what to do. Like, you end up in the hideout, you have a map of the place and there's a text telling you all the time what to do and also a pointer!!! Why some games treat gamers like handicapped monkeys? It's not enough that the NPC tells you what to do??? So frustrating, what's the point of playing if you can just watch it... like a movie or something. By the way: the arrows you see around the "corridor levels" that supposed to indicate a jump or a crouch?? Why? The character jumps, crouches automatically, no need to press a button... why are you putting them? And why such evident designs?
    - Active Time Lore. Just a fancy name for that which every other JRPG has been doing since forever. But what's the best thing here? Well you can't access the lore through the menu... No! You need to go talk to an NPC at the Hideout... So no revisiting some info while you're outside. This is nuts, but wait:
    - No Bestiary. A JRPG without a bestiary! Even Action games have them these days...
    - Loot is mostly a cone of light in the corridor... and no button pressing to obtain it, it just come to you while you're passing by. You can spot the loot in a distance... This is mad. Walk simulator, corridors, little button pressing to interact with the environment and mashing buttons. Ah right that's why loot is automatic they knew you'd be mashing button in the fights... or?
    - Yet again: 2023 and there's this Motion Blur that makes you sick. No option to turn it off. It feels like there's no gained experience from the past (Like decades of making games SE!) in the team on this game. Which takes me to my next point:
    - EXP and the usual stats we so much love about JRPGs... Useless.

    There's more. But let's stop here. With FFXV was clear that they had (the team, the game, the company) a lot of existential crisis. This one feels a bit the same. Other than that the games is fine! Eheh.
    It's still interesting but it raises questions about the future of Final Fantasy. Where do they go from here? Embrace action ok fine, but you can do it and have JRPG DNA intact and, you know, make exploration appealing. Just look at Jedi Survivor did with exploration! Even God of War, a super linear game, they found a formula that works. The new era of Final Fantasy it's not here yet. The formula needs a lot of tweaks still. I sense fear of failure conditioning innovation. Somehow a game like YSVIII had a 10 times better exploration and that's a low budget JRPG!
    Godspeed SE.    … Expand
  77. DarkwingSchmuck
    Jul 7, 2023
    6
    Final Fantasy XVI is a big, bloated, inconsistent, but memorable and often times beautiful mess that is in desperate need of trimming the fat. There is a really good 15-20-hour action game hiding within this 40-50-hour slog.

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

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

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

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

    I respect the attempt -- despite its various flaws, there was real effort put in here -- but this is not what I want to see Final Fantasy become.    … Expand
  78. straydogstrut
    Jul 3, 2023
    7
    The game can be really fun and exciting at times but it's held back by so much bloat. It also fails to deliver on many aspects. The story starts off interesting but by the end it gets pretty anime and lame. The combat is held back by only being able to equip 6 abilities at once. Many of the side characters are under utilized and the RPG elements are almost non existent....they are justThe game can be really fun and exciting at times but it's held back by so much bloat. It also fails to deliver on many aspects. The story starts off interesting but by the end it gets pretty anime and lame. The combat is held back by only being able to equip 6 abilities at once. Many of the side characters are under utilized and the RPG elements are almost non existent....they are just there for the sake of being there. By the time I finished the game I was left disappointed.… Expand
  79. nunokalhau
    Jun 30, 2023
    5
    I love the story, some visuals, and I accept that the action is great, even though I don't like action heavy games that much. That being said, some details on why I'm on the fence:

    Story: Its really good, but sometimes I can't help but feeling that they added a lot of spam just to make the game longer. I really don't understand why people are praising the side quests as well, so far the    I love the story, some visuals, and I accept that the action is great, even though I don't like action heavy games that much. That being said, some details on why I'm on the fence:

    Story: Its really good, but sometimes I can't help but feeling that they added a lot of spam just to make the game longer. I really don't understand why people are praising the side quests as well, so far the side ones I did didn't have anything to add to the story that I personally value.

    Visuals: yeah, combat is great and all with a lot of details. Running on a LG C2 TV, I can't help but feeling that sometimes all the details get mushed together along with the motion blur and it looks like sh*t. When it doesn't it looks good. Some environments are lacking "life" or some details. I feel that some locations got more attention than others.

    Gameplay: uff, you know what I really hate the most? when we return some items to a NPC... first we need to select the items, and then we need to press confirm... and there's always that small delay when delivering stuff and the quest actually completing, I just started skipping all this **** And people complained about unskippable merlin trials...

    I'm probably around mid game now: so far only crafted 1 (!!!!) sword, I rarely take notice on what I'm picking up, rarely go to see the items I have to equip, rarely look at the abilities or stats... there's just no point in caring about these systems.

    I'm playing on normal, but I don't like fast action games (or I'm not mentally able to play these anymore), so unfortunately either I use that ring that gives "auto attack" by spamming square (also the dodge ring) , or I'll just need to learn how to play the game like a pro: I don't want to neither do I have the time for that. With that said, my playstyle is like the following:

    watch movie > run straight > spam square > occasionally press R1 > repeat

    Not enough depth for me, but again, main story has been really good so far.    … Expand
  80. JSagittarius
    Jul 17, 2023
    7
    Souhrnně, chválím hlavní příběh, svět, grafiku, souboje monster. Nechválím, vedlejší úkoly, zdržování na všech frontách, často divná designová rozhodnutí. Vůbec nerozumím, jak mohla hra dostávat 90-100%. To ty věcí fakt nikomu nevadili? Nebo tou hrou ty lidi jen proletěli v hlavním příběhu?
  81. terrorbilly
    Jun 24, 2023
    9
    Amazing game! Only two problems: Performance on the PS5 and the sidequests…other than that its almost perfect. Great combat, nice story, incredible soundtrack, cool characters and beautiful graphics.
  82. Flixter
    Jun 26, 2023
    9
    I'm loving this game. It makes me sad so many fans don't see how beautiful and with hos much love this game is created. I'm enjoying every minute of it and will probably play it from start to finish a few times more. I like it a lot better than the final fantasy vii remake. I'm still the biggest fan of Final Fantasy IX. But this one comes close to my all time favorite.
  83. Tonberrian
    Jun 26, 2023
    10
    A flawed masterpiece, but more than a sum of its parts.

    Cons: -Lack of enemy variety -Disjointed world map(s) -Missing QoL features; no mini map, no sprint button - Character and gear progression is dull Pros: - Amazing visuals - Amazing story and characters - Amazing voice acting - Amazing soundtrack - Fun, fluid combat that is as deep or simple as you want it to be -EPIC boss battles    A flawed masterpiece, but more than a sum of its parts.

    Cons:
    -Lack of enemy variety
    -Disjointed world map(s)
    -Missing QoL features; no mini map, no sprint button
    - Character and gear progression is dull

    Pros:
    - Amazing visuals
    - Amazing story and characters
    - Amazing voice acting
    - Amazing soundtrack
    - Fun, fluid combat that is as deep or simple as you want it to be
    -EPIC boss battles

    Overall a very even experience with incredibly high highs, while the lows are few and far between.    … Expand
  84. Akuma72387
    Jun 24, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To be honest I do prefer the older school turn based FF games and FF16 battle is not my cup of tea but I personally am enjoying it. The game has great visuals, lore, and all around has been enjoyable. Now there are some that are complaining that "it has too many white people" who cares it is based off of British medieval times. And if your looking for something that nods towards darker skin colors.... THE GAME IS ABOUT HOW PEOPLE ARE TREATED LIKE CRAP OR DIFFERENTLY JU AS T BECAUSE OF ONE PART OF THEM EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE THE SAME AS THE NEXT PERSON AND HOW SLAVERY IS BAD.

    It is a PS5 exclusive for 6 months. You and be happy that is all it is because ff has been with playstation for the last 10ish mainline games. There has been some variation where they released on Xbox at the same time but Square Enix is a playstation company st the end of the day. As far as the overheating you ps5s. That is 100% your fault as I tested what people claimed caused it and with it set to the most graphic intensive setting and my ps5 in a 85° room it didn't come close so my guess is that people keep their gaming consoles locked inside boxes and pack the air vents (intake or outtake your pick) with dust and animal hair. Buy a can of compressed air and clean your systems it takes less than 3 minutes and you can buy compressed air most places they sell any electronics.

    In conclusion FF16 is a good ARPG but not the best FF RPG. Your social takes have 0 to do with the quality of the game. If your and Xbox player you will get it the same time PC players do in December while us playstation players enjoy our next timed exclusive Final Fantasy. FF7 rebirth. Which you will get to play anywhere from 6-12 months later.    … Expand
  85. Koustav04
    Jun 26, 2023
    9
    Good: Visuals, Eikon fights, the plot, characters and music
    Average: Combat, dialogue and pacing of story
    Bad: User interface and level design

    I'd say its 8.5/10 critically, but as a Final Fantasy fan I'd give it 9/10.
  86. Ikutothereaper
    Jun 24, 2023
    9
    I understand people are upset about the transition away from turn based and i think i actually like the combat of crisis core and ff7 remake a little more as its like a hybrid but this is still really fun as you unlock more abilities. There are different ways to fight if you pay attention and i like that they have accessories to make it easier for those that need them. Not every combatI understand people are upset about the transition away from turn based and i think i actually like the combat of crisis core and ff7 remake a little more as its like a hybrid but this is still really fun as you unlock more abilities. There are different ways to fight if you pay attention and i like that they have accessories to make it easier for those that need them. Not every combat system has been my favorite but i appreciate that every final fantasy does something new and i know they'll continue to do so. Personally I can't wait to see what comes next. The story, music, and characters are all great. It still absolutely feels like a final fantasy game. I think if more people gave it a real chance and try different abilities and experimenting they may enjoy it more. Also sad if youre rating it low because its not on your console since every single one of them has stuff on their own hardware. Enjoy them all and stop fighting pointlessly.… Expand
  87. SD_DOGAN_03
    Jun 24, 2023
    10
    final fantasy 16 is a beautiful game both gameplay, graphics, and story. ff16 is a game you have to play and shows what the ps5 can do
  88. Sesam007
    Jun 24, 2023
    10
    The game is just brilliant, new gameplay, a big amount of opción y in abilities. The story just wow, kinda feels GOT. This is so refreshing to see FF franchise innovations and taking risk. GOTY for me
  89. Strife1425
    Jun 25, 2023
    8
    Spoilers if ONLY you haven’t played the Demo, i ask you to try it

    The game is amazing, the story is captivating, the side characters i liked the most were Cid and Cyril and Jill and Goetz and of course Torgal and Joshua and Byron, the rest could use some more perspective I also liked the combat, it’s simplistic in a good way and too many games opt for the souls like approach nowadays that    Spoilers if ONLY you haven’t played the Demo, i ask you to try it

    The game is amazing, the story is captivating, the side characters i liked the most were Cid and Cyril and Jill and Goetz and of course Torgal and Joshua and Byron, the rest could use some more perspective I also liked the combat, it’s simplistic in a good way and too many games opt for the souls like approach nowadays that they think hard=good, although one caveat is that i wish we can use all Eikon powers simultaneously since you can only equip 3 at a time

    The music is beyond great, the cutscenes as well, i wish we controlled the characters and performed the crazy moves in the cutscenes instead though, the game takes control too often, i also wish we could’ve transform all the Eikons we have, but you can’t unfortunately, even a mini version would’ve sufficed

    The side quests were mostly boring, i found myself skipping them and just getting it done so i earn exp, the crafting system is really just a small bump (very small) in stats, i wish they could’ve incorporated the element of the Eikon into weapons so we have fun since we can’t transform to them willingly unless it’s story related

    Really a 8.5/10 game, i enjoyed it and on my way to platinum it, but this falls in comparison to ff7 remake intergrade for example Is it an immediate buy? Yes if you can overlook all the things i mentioned above

    Is it worth it? Yes because the foundation is excellent but falls short on some ends

    Is it a good final fantasy game? Somewhat, the real time combat pushes people away from it because it was what essentially made the series, but players don’t really know what they want, it’s a creative director’s responsibility to make something and make it presentable to us, so i would say it’s better to be open to new things rather than a biased look, relax…you’ll live longer    … Expand
  90. juanchito0006
    Jun 24, 2023
    10
    People just have too many prejudices when playing FF XVI, especially these purist players that think everything old and classic is better and everything new is trash or garbage. Why would you go to Burger King expecting to eat pizza? People need to do some proper research before playing a game. From the very start FF XVI developers stated that the game was going to be full action and theyPeople just have too many prejudices when playing FF XVI, especially these purist players that think everything old and classic is better and everything new is trash or garbage. Why would you go to Burger King expecting to eat pizza? People need to do some proper research before playing a game. From the very start FF XVI developers stated that the game was going to be full action and they were hiring the Devil May Cry combat director. Game is fantastic and there's so much to appreciate about it, top notch performances, great voice acting, beautiful graphics and designs, top class music and the story is so good, this game is a visual spectacle and it surely doesn't deserve the bad review bombing. It will surely be nominated to game of the year award! It's simply a delight to play.… Expand
  91. Shadow_Wolf_XVI
    Jun 26, 2023
    10
    Best game in the last 5 years I think I'm going to play this for the next 10 years I hope they make a dlc for this or even better a sequel
  92. mulkyelly
    Jun 26, 2023
    10
    I guve this game a 10 out of 10 because of bunch of idiot here who give this game a 0 out of 10, look this game is not perfect but this game is worthy to be the mainlain off Final Fantasy Series, this game have so many good quality heres the pro and cons of this game

    PRO * Beautiful graphic one of the best in PS5 * Masterpiece of a Music this game have one of the best music in FF Series *    I guve this game a 10 out of 10 because of bunch of idiot here who give this game a 0 out of 10, look this game is not perfect but this game is worthy to be the mainlain off Final Fantasy Series, this game have so many good quality heres the pro and cons of this game

    PRO
    * Beautiful graphic one of the best in PS5
    * Masterpiece of a Music this game have one of the best music in FF Series
    * great story
    * M rated

    Cons
    * Pace of the story
    * Lacking RPG element

    If you ask me is this game worth the money i would say absolutely it would be a 9 out 10 game for me if not for the review Bomber    … Expand
  93. Vinsanity200
    Jun 25, 2023
    10
    This game is what FF brand needed. Fresh new combat system e darker environment/story. While still keep FF souls from the character design and OST
    However what’s outstanding of this production are in my opinion the story and art direction, absolutely astonishing. I can’t stop playing this game and Clive is a very nice main character. Although it some critical point to be improved like:    This game is what FF brand needed. Fresh new combat system e darker environment/story. While still keep FF souls from the character design and OST
    However what’s outstanding of this production are in my opinion the story and art direction, absolutely astonishing. I can’t stop playing this game and Clive is a very nice main character. Although it some critical point to be improved like: side quests, combat system can be deeper and RPG mechanics no makes sense at all. This could be a new huge starting point and in my opinion is one of the best FF ever    … Expand
  94. Fawwiz
    Jun 25, 2023
    10
    Amazing game, story, music, graphic more than totk , good goty game , no doubt
  95. Meeno6456
    Jun 26, 2023
    10
    A modern masterpiece! One of the most gripping stories I have ever experienced. Everything from the intense action, the score, the characters and dialogue absolutely blew me away.
  96. JulianS04
    Jun 26, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Perfect story, perfect characters, perfect combat! One of the best games i ever played!… Expand
  97. check21
    Jun 26, 2023
    9
    The game play is good but the story is vague.
    The country setting feel crude and fleeting in the story. World map is beautiful but lack of interaction and exploration. Running in the world map is boring.
  98. Edencross
    Jun 26, 2023
    9
    Some want to say this game is bad but it isnt. It has great graphics, a fair and unique ability system that lets you try many builds with jo penalty. There’s no super overwhelming build that can carry you and then you want to forget everything else. You can with anything if you just put points into the magic type. I found the cinematics and cutscenes nice but maybe dull more often than notSome want to say this game is bad but it isnt. It has great graphics, a fair and unique ability system that lets you try many builds with jo penalty. There’s no super overwhelming build that can carry you and then you want to forget everything else. You can with anything if you just put points into the magic type. I found the cinematics and cutscenes nice but maybe dull more often than not when I was normally engaged in other FF games. But they give you so many surprises and fights i never had imagined they make them go certain ways. All in all its a worthwhile time.… Expand
  99. SaiDharmaTej
    Jun 26, 2023
    10
    Best game of 2023 so far
  100. belrioze
    Jun 26, 2023
    10
    Final Fantasy XVI is a heartfelt masterpiece that touches the depths of your emotions. The characters are not only visually stunning, but their journeys are filled with profound moments of joy, sorrow, and self-discovery. The story weaves a tapestry of emotions, drawing you in with its epic scale and intimate moments of vulnerability. The combat system not only delivers thrilling actionFinal Fantasy XVI is a heartfelt masterpiece that touches the depths of your emotions. The characters are not only visually stunning, but their journeys are filled with profound moments of joy, sorrow, and self-discovery. The story weaves a tapestry of emotions, drawing you in with its epic scale and intimate moments of vulnerability. The combat system not only delivers thrilling action but also conveys the emotional stakes of each battle. The stunning visuals and mesmerizing soundtrack amplify these emotions, immersing you in a world where every triumph and tragedy resonates deeply. Final Fantasy XVI is not just a game; it's an emotional odyssey that will stay with you long after the credits roll. It's an undeniable contender for the game of the year, offering an experience that will touch your heart and soul.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 146 Critic Reviews

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