A great combat system, a handful of unforgettable sequences, strong character performances, and a stellar soundtrack hold up the rest of the game, which ranges from "fine" to "actively annoying". The story isn't anything new, there's a lot of busy work, the RPG elements are thin to the point of almost being nonexistent, the quests all feel like chores, the plot pacing is atrocious, and a ton of side characters are completely wasted.

Despite my gripes however, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a ton of fun playing it. It's because a lot of the stuff here is so good that the stuff that isn't feels so bad - this game is so close to being a masterpiece but falls short in a myriad of frustrating ways. FFXVI is a tale of extremely high highs surrounded by fairly low lows.

It was going to be impossible for this game to live up to expectations given how much people have talked it up over the years, but it's good. A well-paced time traveling adventure that keeps you engaged with that's happening in the plot. Does its table setting not through cutscenes but through strong environmental storytelling in its setpieces and NPCs.

My main gripes are that the combat is a bit dull and the character writing is a little thin, but it's an old game! Games were different when this came out. RPGs have come a long way since but I can see how this game influenced the genre for years to come.

Zt the end of the day it's not XCOM 3 but (if you max out the difficulty every chance you get) there's a lot of fun to be had here!
Firaxis have done a really bang-up job of making a tactics card game interesting. It feels like a really clean marriage of XCOM and Slay the Spire - if you like those two games you'll probably like the gameplay here.
While I think most people are going to like the tactics layer, many will probably find the social side of the game tiresome - even as someone who super digs friendship simmy stuff in games I found it servicable at best. The writing isn't anything special. Whether it works or not heavily depends on you being a comics person (MCU person isn't even enough here, honestly) and having a pre-existing relationship with these characters, which I didn't.
Ultimately I had a great time with it and I'll probably revisit it for a New Game + run when all the DLC is out.

Not all the characters were for me, but this was a good game! The writing was funny (if a bit much at times), the CG art was great, and voice work was top notch. Definitely worth your time. Pick this one up if you're looking for a feel-good VN that doesn't take itself too seriously.

My favorite routes were Ryuki's, Allan's, and the secret route - it's been a minute since an otome game got me to stay up way past my bedtime so I could see what was happening, but those routes definitely had me hooked!

I had a pretty good time with it - the art was great, I loved having a voiced heroine, and the characters were all pretty interesting in their own ways. My main criticism is that the game is on the short side - the story in general feels a little underdeveloped because of that.

Also, the writing for the overarching plot is pretty weak. I didn't really care about the various mysteries they set up over the course of the common route and the reveals didn't really land at all. This game is carried by the characters and the relationships they have with one another rather than the world/narrative.