Final Fantasy XVI (2023)

This is pretty cool so far! I just reached The Hideaway. The combat feels a bit light on options at this point, which is especially noticeable since I'm playing through Devil May Cry 4 at the same time, but it feels good to play and I'm sure more stuff will be coming further in.

You can really tell they wanted to flex that M rating, lol. It feels a bit forced at times but I appreciate how they've been using gore thus far.

Just finished with "The Rising Tide" DLC and it definitely is a must have for all FFXVI fans. The side story is very good and the two new sets of abilities are amazing. It also has tonberries and a nice set of optional quests with great boss fights.

The fight against Leviathan can be frustrating but it's also very intense and exciting. The new "roguelike" inspired game mode is also great.

Not at the point yet where i was in my previous playthrough, but some things so far:

• Side quests are mostly abysmal, these are like MMO fetch quests, and really shows this game was developed by the MMO department of SQE. This really feels like a downgrade coming back from FF7Rebirth's sidequests.
• The main story is good (so far anyway), interesting characters and it's not too convoluted yet. Locations feel almost FF13-level of corridored in though, there's not much exploration at all.
• I'm a bit on the fence on the combat, it's very smooth but it also feels... dull in a way, sometimes i feel like i'm playing DMC-light instead of FF combat, it's just mash square, dodge and wait for eikon ability cooldowns. Getting hit by a Marlboro breath and just taking some damage and nothing else just feels wrong on more levels than i can count. At least it gets more interesting over time with the different eikons.
• Music is fantastic, i feel like Soken really had a lot more room for creativity here compared to FF14.
• The game looks absolutely gorgeous in graphics mode, lots of variety in the scenes too.

For me the real GOTY of 2023, beautiful game. 200 hrs later a platinum and the best experience so far on the PS5, the boss battles, the OST, the graphics, just art, Final Fantasy 16 is why we can call videogames the superior art format.

Only cons is the boring sidequest, especially in the desert area. xd

I want more devil may fantasy games with a berserk game of thrones lore like. If you like this, play Asuras Wrath with all the DLC

Man.

Typing this directly after finishing the game. Me and Final Fantasy 16 started rocky. I was enjoying the game but the lacking combat options early game, the lacking QoL in terms of area traversal, and the design of some of the side quest felt like a slog to get through in-between the incredible highs the game gives you.

But then it clicked. I hit a point in the game where I fell in love with the characters. I felt close to them. Side quests started to get interesting as I got deeper into individual quest lines. I met new characters just as interesting as ones before them. They all had a story and as Clive develops, they become the reason Clive fights to protect the world and it's future.

The themes of Enslavement vs Freedom go through-out the entire game. People enslaved literally, by their past, by their circumstances, by obligation. The game is all about breaking those bonds, leading to an AMAZING penultimate showdown with the reason behind everyone's suffering.

Great game, the lows brought me down, but this was definitely a "man." game. Really liked it.