Final Fantasy XVI demo (2023) [PS5] first impressions

The arc of the Final Fantasy series over the years has been something of a contentious subject. Personally, my humors tend toward the phlegmatic, so I’d have trouble working up the heartburn-inducing passion necessary for a Twitter debate on the matter. I work with the industry I’ve got, not the industry I want. Namasté. That said, Final Fantasy XVI in particular toys with the series’ formula in some interesting ways.

Most obviously, it’s the first mainline title in the series to drop the pretense of turn-based action altogether. In contrast with the rest of the series writ large, XVI has more in common with Kingdom Hearts, Crisis Core, or even the notorious Stranger of Paradise. Now that we’ve got a demo ready for anyone to check out, let’s take a look and see if we’re here to kill Chaos or if this looks like a good place to find some ingredients.

I’ve seen XVI’s gameplay compared to Dark Souls, but in my book, it has more in common with Devil May Cry-style spectacle fighters. That which makes sense given its pedigree, which includes some notable names from that series’ development history. Based on the demo, I personally found my closest comparison was the excellent 2020 action-RPG Scarlet Nexus, but your mileage may vary.

We control hero Clive Rosfield directly. He’s got access to swordplay in the form of a multi-hit combo, some plinky magic shots for harrying enemies from afar and fancy footwork to dodge attacks. Evasion is Clive’s primary defense and properly-timed dodges lead to powerful, stylish counterattacks, but there’s a more risky option – attacking an incoming opponent at just the right moment will parry their strike, keeping Clive safe and opening the foe up to a vicious combo. Attacking an incoming opponent at just the wrong moment will, uh, get you hit in the face.

Beyond the fundamentals, Clive’s got a few tricks to spice combat up a little. He’s able to swap between various Eikonic powers, essentially channeling the magic of classic Final Fantasy summons. These allow for the use of Eikonic Feats, utility powers like a gap-closing dash, an enemy-yanking grappling hook and a mobile shield, as well as a set of cooldown-restricted special abilities. Those special abilities are the real deal, allowing you to deal sizable chunks of damage, and they’re even more effective when you’ve beaten on an enemy for awhile and caused them to stagger a la FFXIII.

Clive is eventually able to wield a wide variety of skills at once, and saving the right ability for the right moment becomes one of the keys to an effective battle strategy. In the demo, I was particularly fond of each available Eikon’s special counterattack – Phoenix can catch projectiles and respond with powerful shockwaves, Garuda can backstep and respond with a vicious flip kick, and Titan’s advancing guard will result in a massive barrage of punches if it absorbs a hit as Clive moves in. If that’s not enough, you can order Clive’s canine pal Torgal around for additional attacks, extending combos and throwing enemies off balance.

Basic combat works great, but it’s nice that FFXVI will reward more stylish play – and style really is the name of the game here. Some of those bosses are downright amazing, particularly when you weave in timed cinematic dodges and attacks.

I didn’t find much to complain about when it comes to FFXVI’s combat based on my experiences with the demo, in other words. I suppose if one’s complaint is that it’s not ATB, well, that’s reasonable, and I’m sorry for your loss. Other complaints might concern difficulty. Again, this isn’t Dark Souls by any means, and even then there’s accessibility tweaks as is the contemporary fashion in the form of rings that allow for auto-dodging, auto-healing, and so on. Clive’s stats might suffer a little because he’s not using his accessory slots for stat-boosting items, but, well, if he’s dodging everything automatically that doesn’t seem like a big deal. If you’re just here for a dose of plot right to the brain, FFXVI can accommodate you.

So how about that plot, actually? In this world, certain individuals known as Dominars possess the power to channel Eikon energy, wielding powerful magic and the ability to transform into an overwhelmingly powerful beast. The world’s balance of power is largely based around various nations’ Dominars keeping each other in check. Clive’s brother, Joshua, possesses the power of the Eikon Phoenix – a responsibility originally intended for Clive himself and one that the young and timid Joshua isn’t prepared for. Without spoiling affairs too much, let’s just say that war is on the horizon and things are going to spiral off in some unexpected directions.

FFXVI’s clearly going to be a plot-heavy experience if the demo is any indication, with around 75% of the runtime taken up with plot development. Things do move along at a brisk pace, though, and presumably in the full release there’ll be a little more room for exploration and combat on the player’s own time. Meanwhile, I appreciated the ATL, or Active Time Lore, system, which is basically the Mass Effect series’ Codex in a form accessible during a cutscene. It’s a great way to keep track of various concepts or get a refresher on what’s going on with a given character. It’s just another bit of flavor in a game that’s packed full of it, really; just as another example, I can’t recall being this pleased with flavorful descriptions for collectible items and gear since FFXII.

Those cutscenes look and sound great, but sadly we can’t quite say that about in-game performance. While nothing ever really gets in the way of FFXVI’s combat, it’s surprising to see the game struggle a bit while running around towns and non-combat areas. Even on the performance-focused graphics setting, FFXVI has a lot of trouble with complex areas like, uh, the inside of a stone building. It’s the power of the PS5 on full display, folks. Probably best to reserve any conclusive judgment until the full release is out, in any case.

It’s understandable that FFXVI’s new direction for the series might rub some fans the wrong way, but (performance issues aside) I came away from the demo feeling confident about where it’s headed. This is a well-made, polished action-RPG with a plot that drew me in and left me wanting more. If we’re going to look at what we got rather than what we’d have wanted instead, then I think we got something pretty good in Final Fantasy XVI. Let’s hope the full release keeps it up.

Cory G. believes the pen is mightier than the sword…well, depending on how sharp the pen and sword are. A child of the ’90s and a prolific writer, he strews his work about like Legos made of words, just waiting for your brain to step on them. He enjoys a devilish challenge, so when it comes to talking about some of the more difficult games out there, you might just run into the Infernal Accountant Mage. Some advice: hold on to your soul around this guy, and don’t sign anything. Read more at popzara.com.