Final Fantasy XVI 2023
Log Status
Completed
Playing
Backlog
Wishlist
Rating
Time Played
53h 40m
Days in Journal
14 days
Last played
July 9, 2023
First played
June 22, 2023
Platforms Played
Library Ownership
53 hours after I first started my journey into Valisthea and I’ve come away with some mixed feelings about it all.
Visually, the game is stunning the cinematics are some of the best I’ve seen so far this current gen and while going into actual gameplay from a cinematic you can notice a visual downgrade, it’s not significant to the point of ‘no! Go back to what I was just seeing’. There also comes a slight framerate inconsistency with this as at times - though not often - I would notice it struggle along - even on performance mode. Most notably when there was an Eikon battle or if I’d activated too many Eikon abilities that did something flashy (Bahamut’s abilities, mainly).
Now the combat, whilst it stuck to FFXV’s deviation as a mainline title away from turn-based to realtime, as did FFVII Remake, they put far more depth into it besides ‘hold square to attack’ (unless you use the accessibility equiptment, then it is just that). My issue with it is, they didn’t take it quite far enough for it to be more than just ‘good’ action combat. You have the ability to slot three Eikons and their abilities or mix and match with upgrades, but, the basic attacks lacked variety of combos to help keep you engaged when you’e burned through the Eikon abilities and are waiting for them to recharge.
The story to me though was the main draw. Square managed to tell a completely attention grabbing plot, though it has its issues - the main being that there’s no real strong female presence within it, besides Jill, who, after halfway ends up being relegated to the background in a baffling move.
I found it also ended up being far grander and in depth than the actual gameplay itself. There’s so much lore and work they’ve put into the history of Valisthea, its conflicts, the people, but they end up being mostly just footnotes and playing the game past all the explanatory cutscenes never feels as grand as these moments want you to feel it is.
Oh and as a final thought - the soundtrack. Orchestral and empowering at times, and then, for every single boss battle be it main or just a larger enemy just the same track on a loop that gets real dull and irritating after the third listen, I didn’t really even notice many changes whilst in the overworld - no real town specific music and that was kinda disappointing honestly.
Visually, the game is stunning the cinematics are some of the best I’ve seen so far this current gen and while going into actual gameplay from a cinematic you can notice a visual downgrade, it’s not significant to the point of ‘no! Go back to what I was just seeing’. There also comes a slight framerate inconsistency with this as at times - though not often - I would notice it struggle along - even on performance mode. Most notably when there was an Eikon battle or if I’d activated too many Eikon abilities that did something flashy (Bahamut’s abilities, mainly).
Now the combat, whilst it stuck to FFXV’s deviation as a mainline title away from turn-based to realtime, as did FFVII Remake, they put far more depth into it besides ‘hold square to attack’ (unless you use the accessibility equiptment, then it is just that). My issue with it is, they didn’t take it quite far enough for it to be more than just ‘good’ action combat. You have the ability to slot three Eikons and their abilities or mix and match with upgrades, but, the basic attacks lacked variety of combos to help keep you engaged when you’e burned through the Eikon abilities and are waiting for them to recharge.
The story to me though was the main draw. Square managed to tell a completely attention grabbing plot, though it has its issues - the main being that there’s no real strong female presence within it, besides Jill, who, after halfway ends up being relegated to the background in a baffling move.
I found it also ended up being far grander and in depth than the actual gameplay itself. There’s so much lore and work they’ve put into the history of Valisthea, its conflicts, the people, but they end up being mostly just footnotes and playing the game past all the explanatory cutscenes never feels as grand as these moments want you to feel it is.
Oh and as a final thought - the soundtrack. Orchestral and empowering at times, and then, for every single boss battle be it main or just a larger enemy just the same track on a loop that gets real dull and irritating after the third listen, I didn’t really even notice many changes whilst in the overworld - no real town specific music and that was kinda disappointing honestly.