Final Fantasy XVI deviates heavily from previous games by embracing a low fantasy setting & real time action combat. Both are mostly relatively unexplored territory for the series and have been quite divisive. There's plenty to love in the gameplay and story, but there are a lot of broader design decisions that hold the game back from being one of the series’ best.

FF16 is worth full price, although your mileage may vary. The DLCs aren’t essential, you might be better off waiting for a sale.

Combat both looks and feels great. Clive cleaves through enemies swiftly, and chains awesome magical abilities together effortlessly. The ever growing arsenal of abilities makes the combat so fun and varied. Every eikon brings a new style of play, and the build variety that comes from mixing various abilities together is incredible. You’re bound to find something that suits you, but I loved being able to change my powers as much as I wanted.

The best battles in the game are undoubtedly against the monolithic eikons. Although their gameplay is more simplified, the spectacle of taking on these elemental giants is so captivating. Their tremendous visuals and breathtaking music are perfect climaxes to story arcs, I just wish there were a few more of these battles.

Normal bosses are still very fun, particularly against dominants that turn the arena into a frenzy of hazardous spells. The giant monsters were also cool, although these battles would occasionally feel like repetitive punching bags, especially in sidequests.

Despite my endless praise, FF16’s combat is frustratingly simple. Clive has all these cool abilities, but most enemies pressure the player or use smart tactics, they cannot counter an offensive player. With hard mode locked behind a second playthrough, the lack of enemy variety becomes such a burden in the latter half of the game, making normal battles tedious when you aren’t testing out new powers.

FF16’s visual beauty isn’t just in combat, but also its gorgeous environments. Every level is filled with details as you see a variety of rich locales across Valisthea. The loading screen renditions of the major cities are just so stunning, and the amazing soundtrack brings these locations to life while perfectly reflecting the story's tone.

I just wish more of these locations were freely explorable, you spend brief moments in these beautiful cities only to be whisked away into combat hallways far too quickly. The actual open areas are quite barren in comparison. The game dissuades exploration in general, There are no secrets or useful items to find and the settlements you do explore are quite small, and don’t contain much aside from merchants and sidequests.

The RPG elements are also annoyingly restrictive. Gear progression is so uninteresting and straightforward that it may as well not be there. Side quests, while sometimes expanding the story in interesting ways, mostly feel like unenjoyable fetch quests or checkbox tasks that aren’t unique or memorable.

These are baffling choices, and where FF16 clearly fails to live up to the series the most. While mechanics such as the ability system can partially substitute for gear, there is a notable lack of RPG feel as FF16 juggles being an Action game and an RPG, failing to fulfil the expectations of either.

Like many aspects of FF16, the main narrative diverges heavily from series traditions, but that doesn’t stop it from being incredibly captivating. The story is carried by our protagonist., Clive is one of the series’ best leads, the strong focus on one main character results in a fully fleshed out main hero, and Ben Starr’s stern but emotional performance is legendary.

The supporting characters, major and minor, are all highly memorable and develop enjoyable relationships with Clive. There are a couple major characters that unfortunately feel very undeveloped and end up being thorns in the story that should’ve been expanded further

The main narrative is quite intriguing and I liked how it twisted and developed. In series tradition, it starts getting unnecessarily complicated in the last third or so, and sometimes characters commit to big decisions or beat you over the head with simplistic messaging (did you slavery is bad?), but it's still an enjoyable and exciting journey.

I love the focus on political drama, the world is so thoroughly fleshed out with details on every major faction. I was enveloped in reading about Valisthea’s history, but the ability to bring up relevant information mid cutscene is a revolutionary feature that stops the player from getting lost, and should be in every big RPG like this.

The crucial flaw of FF16’s story which bleeds into its gameplay, is its horrendous pacing. Much like FF14, the story will build up to a climactic moment, the follow with far too much down time. This wasn’t great in an MMO but it's terrible here, the story will slow to a halt after major moments and often take far too long to pick back up, sometimes even forcing you to do tedious side quests.

As a result this game is simply far too long, and even the great combat begins to wear thin in the games final hours. You could easily chop a fair chunk of this story out or retool it heavily for a tighter adventure, but the game's notoriously slow pacing makes me hesitant to ever do a full story mode replay.

The DLCs suffer heavily from only being accessible after completing almost all of the main story and a large chunk of side quests. The game has truly run out of steam at this point, and the DLCs are too similar to the base game to counter this issue.

Echoes of the Fallen is a short dungeon wrapping in a dull story that fails to innovate on the base game. However, the gear is significantly more interesting and the final boss is one of the games best (and most challenging!).

The Rising Tide is a much stronger package. It houses new locations, boss fights, sidequests, an eikon power and more! Mysidia is one of the most beautiful locations in an already beautiful game and the story was quite good. Still, I wouldn’t say this is an essential purchase that completes the game, it's just a nice cherry on top.

FF16 is a good action game and a GREAT Final Fantasy and it's well worth playing if you’re a fan of the genre, or the series. While I do hope future titles borrow from the older games more, the unique strengths of FF16 are so great that they outweigh its flaws, even if those flaws are many.

Peak Action

Final Fantasy XVI is a decent action RPG, but it doesn't measure up as a decent Final Fantasy game.

The story takes a more mature approach compared to previous entries in the series, which often leaned into youthful themes and energy. XVI is darker, filled with tragic characters, and clearly inspired by series like The Witcher and Game of Thrones, with the latter's influence being particularly strong. While I found the story somewhat engaging, it had its flaws. The world of Valisthea, blessed with magic-giving life-crystals that simultaneously drain life from the land, provides an interesting setup filled with political intrigue and internal conflict. Early on, the story delivers some noteworthy moments but derails midway as it ventures into metaphysical territory, only to wrap up abruptly. The dialogue is generally well-written, though it can feel cold and overly formal, with characters that often come across as stiff and lacking growth or distinct personalities.

Clive, the main character, is one of the more likable Final Fantasy protagonists in years, brought to life by Ben Starr's excellent voice work. However, the game lacks the traditional party dynamic and sense of camaraderie that defined earlier entries. Most side characters and temporary party members are forgettable, leaving a void where the joy of an epic journey with friends should be.

The action set pieces are a highlight, with visually stunning battles, especially the summon (Eikon) fights, which are truly spectacular. Whether you're fighting while plummeting through deep caverns, soaring into space, or razing forests, the scale is undeniably impressive. The overall visual design is solid, with a medieval European-inspired low-fantasy aesthetic. However, the lack of distinct artistic flair makes the visuals appear dull and forgettable.

Combat starts off strong but quickly becomes repetitive. The limited variety in Eikon abilities and a reliance on stagger and damage skills make the gameplay feel shallow. The lack of side activities—such as mini-games like Triple Triad, Chocobo racing, or Blitzball eaves the experience feeling one-dimensional. Despite its semi-open-world structure, the game feels linear, with fast travel and side quests offering little to break up the monotony. Character customization is minimal, with weapons and armor providing minor stat boosts and accessories offering negligible benefits. There’s no build diversity or deep customization systems like the Sphere Grid, Job System, or Materia mechanics from previous games. Square Enix has prioritized accessibility, but this comes at the cost of depth, leaving the gameplay feeling stripped down compared to its predecessors.

The PC port is disappointing. Even on high-end systems, maintaining a consistent 60 FPS is a challenge, with frequent dips to sub-45 FPS. Frame generation is essential for smoother gameplay, but without it, you'll need to lower settings significantly or endure a blurry mess with dynamic resolution. There’s no ultrawide support, and cutscenes are locked at 30 FPS. Given the 1.5 years spent on the PC port, this feels like a lazy effort.

Final Fantasy XVI feels like the opposite of what the series once stood for. Gone are the expansive worlds, flamboyant visual designs, and intricate RPG mechanics. Memorable characters, party dynamics, and moments of levity have been replaced by a streamlined, simplified experience. Square Enix had a winning formula in earlier titles like FF10 and earlier, but recent entries seem determined to abandon those strengths.

I would cautiously recommend this to newcomers to the series. For longtime fans like myself, be prepared to feel nostalgic for the series' golden era, and disappointed by what it has become.