That design philosophy seems to carry through the entire game, which could end up being polarizing for fans. It was a fairly linear collection of sparsely designed rooms with not much personality. In my first demo, I noted that the castle I explored felt a little underwhelming. There is, however, a notable difference in scope between those sequences and the game between it. Anytime an Eikon is on screen, Final Fantasy XVI shines. Later, I get to try a new Eikon battle where I control Phoenix in a glitzy 3D shoot-em-up that’s unlike anything else I’ve seen from the game so far. It’s an incredible, expensive clash that puts the power of the PS5 to good use. In the intro, I got to see an enormous titan battling against Shiva. What continues to impress most about the narrative is its spectacular Eikons, which make this feel like a high fantasy spin on Godzilla. Though it would seem somewhat odd to explore societal injustice when we already know that there’s a lack of diversity in its characters, according to Producer Naoki Yoshida. That thread about privilege isn’t followed up on immediately, but I hope it digs into that more. An early scene has Clive’s younger brother Joshua questioning why his kingdom should have so much power just because of the magical abilities they were born with. There’s certainly room for it to explore some exciting dramatic territory, too. Whether or not it can freshen up what’s become a somewhat tired string of modern gaming tropes will depend on where the revenge story goes in the final game. And once I got through that flashback, I was in a familiar storyline where Clive played the role of an emotionless sword-for-hire at rock bottom who unwittingly comes into a protector role shortly after. The opening isn’t that much different from that game if I’m looking at it beat by beat. It’s perhaps a little cliché to say this, but I can’t help but feel like the team at Square Enix is drawing from The Last of Us a little here. It seems like Final Fantasy XVI is a dense fantasy story that balances larger-than-life mythology with high personal stakes. Though once it did get there, I was much more captivated. It’s a slow burn that requires a lot of table setting to get to the emotional meat. Early on, I’m admittedly a little bored as the story walks through a dryly delivered political drama filled with a sea of flat, homogenous characters spouting lore. The storytelling in that introduction is a bit of a mixed bag. That’s where the present-day tale picks up from.
A bloody inciting incident would not only break Clive’s cheerful spirit but thrust him into a cold life of military servitude. I’d met him 13 years earlier as a bright-eyed member of a royal family sworn to protect his sickly younger brother, who was destined to become the embodiment of the Phoenix. Through the course of the cutscene-heavy opening, I’d get a lot of justification for why Clive follows the tortured hero archetype. That’s because Final Fantasy XVI opens with a long flashback that plays like a feature-length film. But the first two hours of the game go a long way toward building out his history. I found his generic gruff guy demeanor a bit flat and I still feel that to an extent. I didn’t connect with Clive too much when I first met him in February. The story begins with an introduction to Clive Rosfield, who starts the tale in the midst of a military operation in the desert. The game’s explorable world, on the other hand, seems notably more compact than those cinematic cutscenes so far. If you can accept that change, you’re in for what seems like an engrossing political drama punctuated by visually stunning titan battles. Instead, what I saw was a pitch-black dark fantasy that reminded me more of Game of Thrones and even The Last of Us.
If you’re looking for a classic Final Fantasy game, it remains clear that the new installment won’t scratch that nostalgic itch.
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