Our Final Fantasy 16 Review Impressions So Far

The review embargo has finally lifted for Final Fantasy XVI so I can now tell you that the latest game in Square Enix’s long-running RPG series is pretty great — at least based on what I’ve played so far. Unsurprisingly, Final Fantasy XVI is a long game and it’s one I want to spend as much time with as possible before writing our full review for ComicBook.com. If you’re planning to pick up FFXVI for yourself and play it in the coming days, though, I have a hard time imagining that you’ll be disappointed. 

In short, many of my thoughts from my recent preview of Final Fantasy XVI have stayed true with the full version of the game. The earliest hours of the title get off to a great start as those who have played the demo are surely aware. Following where the demo leaves off, Final Fantasy XVI begins to introduce a number of new characters and elements to its story while also slowly adding in more gameplay mechanics.

Combat, in particular, I’m finding a lot of enjoyment with in Final Fantasy XVI. In some sense, the mechanics are a bit button-mashy and the more time I spend with it the less depth that I think the system boasts. That being said, every time a combat encounter begins (specifically those related to bosses) I get excited. I think a lot of that has to do with the visual flair of the gameplay, which proves to be a great showpiece for what the PS5 is capable of.

If I do have any current concerns about Final Fantasy XVI, it would simply be tied to the game’s more open, expansive areas. This game is one that feels better when it’s more linear as the more open-ended aspects of the title don’t always justify their inclusion. Final Fantasy XV also struggled as an open-world game, in my opinion, so I’m not that surprised to see it be a downside of the latest game.

There’s a lot more I could say about Final Fantasy XVI but I’ll save many of those thoughts for our proper review. Currently, we don’t have a specific ETA on when our full review for FFXVI should be live, but it should be going up at some time in the coming week. And if you want to play the game for yourself prior to reading our extended thoughts, you can look to pick it up beginning tomorrow, June 22, on PlayStation 5.