Closing Fantasy 16 is the furthest the mainline collection has ever strayed from its conventional RPG roots. It is extra of an motion recreation with RPG components bolted on than it’s an RPG with motion fight, however on the similar time, it boasts all the elements that we affiliate with the best Closing Fantasy titles. Its character-driven story is grand and intoxicating, its fantastical world constructing is good, and it is match to burst with wonderful battles. Once more, it is a daring new route for the beloved franchise, nevertheless it’s additionally the most effective mainline, single-player Closing Fantasy recreation since 12 — and it isn’t even shut.
Granted, the extremely divisive 13 and 15 did not precisely set a excessive bar, however with 16, it appears like Closing Fantasy is concentrated once more. This was a venture with a transparent imaginative and prescient, and that shines by way of within the spectacular cinematic high quality of the storytelling, and the largely glorious fight system. When the credit rolled, we felt like we would been on a memorable, emotional journey and we have been unhappy to see it finish. That is what ending a Closing Fantasy recreation ought to really feel like.
For this specific journey, you are plopped within the persistently tragic footwear of Clive Rosfield — a noble-born swordsman charged with the safety of his throne-bound youthful brother. On this world, a choose few — together with Clive’s little bro Joshua — are primarily born with the facility of demigods inside them. Some nations use these ‘Eikons’ to wage struggle, whereas others worship them. These omnipotent entities are on the coronary heart of the sport’s story, and each time an Eikon takes to the stage — whether or not it is throughout an eye-popping cutscene or a mind-melting boss combat — it is laborious to not be blown away.
Closing Fantasy 16’s narrative is a reasonably intricate mixture of grounded political intrigue — all very harking back to Closing Fantasy 12 — and loopy Eikon-based chaos, with magic and crystals and superhuman feats that would not really feel misplaced in Dragon Ball Z. In some way, the sport’s plot manages to meld all of this collectively with out creating tonal whiplash, and that is maybe right down to its principally immaculate script. Certainly, the localisation staff deserves a lot reward right here, as a result of they’ve taken a Japanese script and remodeled it into one thing that feels utterly pure, topping it off with some very good voice appearing.
When the sh*t hits the fan — and it does, lots — Closing Fantasy 16 tells a very gripping story. It is up there with essentially the most emotionally impactful plots in trendy gaming, and it is additional bolstered by cinematic motion sequences that will make God of Warfare 3 blush. We’ve not seen spectacle fairly like this in a very long time, and because the story develops, it solely will get an increasing number of obsessive about one-upping itself on the “is that this really taking place?” scale.
Now, given its penchant for prolonged cutscenes, you is perhaps sitting there apprehensive that Closing Fantasy 16 is extra film than recreation. It is a honest concern when you’ve dabbled within the demo — which options the title’s cutscene-heavy prologue — however fortunately, fight and exploration are simply as prevalent as the massive story moments. Whereas there is no doubt that it is a cinematic expertise initially — it is precisely what Sq. Enix needs you to see in trailers and thoroughly curated shows — you will nonetheless spend most of your playthrough battering beasts and wandering throughout giant environments.
Structurally, the sport jumps between very linear, story-slinging ‘dungeons’, and complete chapters the place you are free to roam open areas, ticking off facet quests and attending to know secondary characters. Closing Fantasy 16’s plot pacing may be so intense that it is good to have some downtime every so often, so we did ultimately discover ourselves welcoming the chance to simply go off and do our personal factor for a bit.
Nevertheless, we are saying ‘ultimately’ as a result of a few of the facet quests — significantly early on — are mind-numbingly uninteresting. The drop off in general high quality between the primary story and these non-obligatory duties may be jarring, as participating digital camera angles and full movement seize are changed by static character fashions and flapping mouths, spewing the type of utterly forgettable quests you’d discover in an MMO (which does make some sense, seeing as this recreation is spearheaded by Closing Fantasy 14 builders).
The issue is that we’re long gone having to chew by way of such dreary facet quests in trendy RPGs. In an period the place titles like The Witcher 3 and Horizon Forbidden West have redefined what we have come to count on from branching actions, Closing Fantasy 16 could as effectively be a PS2 launch when it comes to questing. Some quests do assist flesh out the world, offering perception into the finer factors of the lore, however when the accompanying gameplay actually boils right down to discovering objective-marked NPCs and listening to their inane prattle, one after one other, you may’t assist however really feel as if your time is being wasted.
Thankfully, when the subsequent story beat kicks in and also you’re again on the rollercoaster, you may forgive the title’s (admittedly non-obligatory) missteps. The aforementioned ‘dungeons’ signify the core recreation at its peak, as Clive rages by way of a collection of beautiful places, peppered with close to completely positioned encounters and jaw-dropping boss battles.
Alongside the story, it is actually the fight system that holds every thing collectively. Accessible and flashy, but additionally stocked with an intriguing diploma of depth, Closing Fantasy 16 performs a little bit bit like a streamlined Satan Could Cry. The inputs are comparatively easy, however the, er, satan’s within the particulars, as you step by step begin to discover extra superior strategies like parries and assault cancelling. On a basic stage, it feels improbable to play, with responsive controls, slick animations, and satisfying sound design.
Second Opinion
My relationship with Closing Fantasy has been a rocky one. I’ve dabbled with some older entries that many would name classics, I’ve performed about half of Closing Fantasy 7 Remake, and none of it has ever totally clicked. I had made peace with the concept the collection simply is not for me, however then Sq. Enix made Closing Fantasy 16. Having performed it by way of — finishing my first Closing Fantasy ever — I utterly agree with Rob’s evaluation.
The fight is the true masterstroke, discovering a superb stability between exuberant flashiness and real depth; you will have plenty of instruments to work with, and utilizing all of them is extremely good enjoyable. Nevertheless, whereas plenty of the most effective moments on this recreation are its outrageously bombastic boss battles, I’ve to additionally applaud the hassle put into the writing and characters. Whereas I am unable to say with authority that that is the most effective script to grace a Closing Fantasy, I’ll say it is glorious. The general story is compelling, I actually care about many of the solid, and the voice work is essentially of a really excessive normal.
Closing Fantasy 16 trims away a lot of the fluff inherent in RPGs to ship a brilliant streamlined motion title. Whereas that will not sit effectively with everybody, it is labored completely on me. It has some lulls right here and there, however by and enormous, it is a recreation that revels in its thrilling fight and tells a mature, impactful story with out sacrificing the guts and soul of the collection. Sq. Enix lastly has me on board and, I think about, will win many extra new followers with this rollercoaster experience of a recreation.
Stephen Tailby
Assistant Editor
Extra vital fights — in opposition to foes that may’t simply be launched into the air and combo’d into oblivion — revolve round dodging incoming assaults and retaliating on the proper time. Except for only a handful of particular battles which are nearly too graphically busy for their very own good, the visible cues — the methods through which enemies wind up their assaults and unleash particular strikes — are extraordinarily effectively designed. This results in a problem curve that usually feels extremely rewarding, the place over the course of a protracted battle, you will become familiar with precisely what your opponent is able to, and study to take full benefit.
Together with Clive’s normal sword swings and magic projectiles, you are steadily given entry to a variety of elemental, Eikon-driven talents that function on particular person cooldowns. After unlocking mentioned talents with factors that you simply achieve from battle, they are often assigned to your fight bar, and you start to construct your individual type of play. Some talents are ground-shakingly {powerful} however they’re balanced with lengthy cooldowns, whereas others are rather more versatile, including distinctive quirks to the way in which you method completely different enemy varieties. Once more, the system itself is straightforward to know, however discovering methods to hyperlink every thing collectively is the place the mechanics begin to sing.
Again to the subject of problem, Closing Fantasy 16 offers you only one problem stage that may be made simpler by equipping particular equipment, that are granted originally of any new recreation. It is an odd manner of doing issues, however we suppose it really works in that there is no have to rebalance the complete fight system to go well with arbitrary settings. Nevertheless, gamers who’re extra skilled with motion video games are in all probability going to crave a better problem, and that is the place the touted ‘Closing Fantasy’ laborious mode enters the equation.
Closing Fantasy mode makes your foes stronger, remixes numerous encounters, and even unlocks the extent cap whereas including new objects and gear. The catch? It is solely playable after beating the sport, by way of New Recreation +. Now, we get it: Closing Fantasy mode is designed so as to add replay worth to the bundle — a motive to affix Clive on his journey once more, and daring you to push the fight system to its limits. However it’s a little bit of a kicker that the idea of a tougher problem is locked behind a full playthrough — a playthrough that may already final upwards of 70 hours if you wish to full every thing.
It is fairly a minor grievance, although. Regardless of its unwavering give attention to story and fight — there aren’t any minigames right here in any respect, eschewing collection custom — Closing Fantasy 16 feels sturdy and full as an motion recreation bundle. Between hunts that see Clive monitor down and slay particularly harmful monsters, to the power to replay your favorite dungeons — full with boss fights — by way of a devoted arcade mode, the title totally embraces its lovingly crafted fight system.
The PS5 is embraced in a similar way, by way of the magic of ridiculously quick load instances (critically, it takes lower than ten seconds to get out of your console’s house display screen to gameplay) and haptic suggestions, which is rather well applied all through.
Is it a technical showpiece for Sony’s system, although? Whereas its cutscenes actually rival and at instances surpass the requirements set by PlayStation Studios, it isn’t fairly on the extent of a first-party blockbuster general. Typically talking, the visuals are vastly spectacular — backed by wonderful artwork route and environmental design — however as we wrote earlier, issues can look tough exterior of the primary story, with distractingly picket animations being the most important concern.
After which there’s the body charge, which does prefer to dip on a reasonably common foundation when utilizing efficiency mode. The dips aren’t distracting sufficient to the purpose the place we would suggest the graphics possibility — which caps at 30 frames-per-second in change for barely higher visible high quality — nevertheless it’s an actual disgrace that such an in any other case refined motion recreation cannot keep a clean 60fps. It is also value noting that, a minimum of at launch, there is no choice to disable the title’s heavy-handed movement blur impact — though we daresay you get used to it.
After all, this would not be a Closing Fantasy overview with out mentioning the music. Merely put, the rating is excellent; an absolute odyssey of orchestral magic that enriches each cutscene, each location, each battle. In a phrase, immense.