Game of the Year: #5 - Final Fantasy 16

Considering I know what the top 4 are I'd perosnally place it higher. One of the best RPG's this year along with Hogwarts Legacy.

An absolute spectacle in all the right ways, I really didn’t expect this to have the impact on me that it did. An unforgettably epic fantasy journey.

I dunno, it seems right-ish, as I was thinking somewhere 3-5 based on people's overall reaction to the game. I really did like it a lot though.

Push Square gave it a 9 too. So the top 4 must be absolute bangers... 😁😁

This is my personal goty this year, though it was a tie between this and AC6 but I'll give it to FF16 since I enjoyed the story and characters in that game. On the other hand, I'll give it to AC6 for having a fun gameplay overall

Easily my biggest disappointment of the year and might very well be my least favourite game this year i've played. Being honest the only good thing i can say about it is the soundtrack was excellent.

Honestly is fantastic - yes it’s different to previous.

But the story, the cgi, the Eikon battles, regular battles, the world and lore all excel at what they do.

Really is top notch from SE and I fully expect Rebirth to be just as good.

I enjoyed 16 but I feel like the pacing was all over the place. Getting rid of the meaningless side quests and streamlining everything else would make the overall experience better in my opinion.

For me maybe the most surface level game of the year. The highs were extremely high and well crafted but so much of it was empty and shallow. I felt pretty disappointed with it.

This game has so many issues that really should not have been there but it was amazing at times. My main complaint outside of the terrible side quests and some of the PS2 level animation is it was just so unbelievably easy. Even playing FF mode for the platinum I think I died like 3 times the entire playthrough, and I am by no means great at video games

The game is better when playing FF mode and skipping every cutscene. Seriously, FF mode should’ve been the standard difficulty.

A bit disappointing for me. The plot gets awfully muddled and the gameplay never really felt comfortable. The ending sort of made up for it at least.

Was hoping this might feature higher, but that’s okay. Final Fantasy XVI is easily my personal Game of the Year and I can’t wait to go back to New Game+ when the second DLC releases in the spring.

In fact, this got me into Final Fantasy as a series. After XVI, I went straight to VII Remake, and I even picked up Crisis Core FFVII Reunion, too. Can’t wait for Rebirth now.

My GOTY.

Waiting for Rebirth.

Respectable number. The story was my biggest issue with the game. So much potential for a real fully fleshed out story and cast of characters but it was way too rushed. But man does it feel amazing to play and you still grow to care for these characters. Gorgeous game with fun combat against fun enemies with a soundtrack of the year

I really liked this game but if the side missions had been more interesting it would of been fantastic!Seriously the side missions were extremely tedious for me.Over all I loved the story,cast and battle system.I also finished it,something I have yet to do with the previous Final Fantasy.

Even if is not my GOTY, i can't stop thinking about it after 6 months. Great story, great characters, fun combat and my god.....that MUSIC! Away is living rent-free in my brain since June, Soken really bring the videogames OST to another level imho. Can't wait for the second DLC!🔥

A great game, but becomes tired by the end and the actual story “resolution” is awful. The combat is snappy and fun but becomes repetitive, and the platinum trophy challenge requires what becomes a tedious second playthrough that I probably won’t bother to complete. Also, the terrible flat lighting makes everything look pretty artificial and ruins an otherwise good graphical display.

Impressive, but indeed there are several better games released this year, such as Like A Dragon Gaiden, Resi4 Remake VR, Resi Village VR, and Red Matter 2

On the soundtrack (which is fantastic), i dont think i've seen it reported here, but the latest dlc / season pass for Theatrhythm Final Bar Line added 11 songs from FF16 as part of the content drop in November

Did anybody else feel that the camera speed was just too fast? I played the demo and I just couldn't get my head around how twitchy the camera felt. It just didn't seem smooth. I tried slowing it down but that just made it slow and twitchy.

I don't really know how else.tomdescribe it but I couldn't get past the demo and I LOVE Final Fantasy.

I still haven't finished this game and I will tell you why. After the epic boss fights and high moments you are always interrupted with stupidly boring side quests, quests where you have to move 100 meters back and forth in the same location, boring side characters. It's baffling that this game can be one of the best and worst of the year at the same time lol
Still, when the fights kick in and the story gets on track, it's amazing. The combat system is such good fun, in particular the powers you receive along the way. I think the next mainline FF game will the the best ever.

The game had some occasional great moments but overall it was the most disappointing game of the year for me.

Could easily have been 1-2 spots higher imo. Considering the state that mainline FF was in before XVI it did a tremendous job of have 1 clear direction and going for it.

A good game no doubt. It had its problems. The side quests were pretty bad. The combat, while fun, was a bit too simple. I also would have liked a bit more control over our party in some sort of way as your companions never really made any sort of impact on combat at all really.

The highs of this game were very high however. Great characters, great lore, incredible presentation during the main quests, etc. If they could have just tightened up the screws in a few spots it could have been an all time great for me.

Final fantasy 16 is a excellent game.its up there as one of the best games this year.word up son

Lower for me. Fantastic game but it really starts to drag through the middle. Side quests are pretty poor too. However, the spectacle and acting is of another class. For me it'd be a couple places below, but definitely in the top 10

I'm really hoping to see Armored Core make an appearance in the top 5 now 🤞 along with Alan Wake (narrative) and BG3 (real RPG choices) it's one of those games that just felt fresh and offered some outstanding moments in gameplay.

Think this is a fair rating for FFXVI. Not for everyone and has flaws but I still had an incredible time with it. The music was incredible, some of the most hype boss fights I've seen and I loved the characters, although the gameplay was hit and miss. Definitely worth trying out, it's one of my favourite games of the year

One of the best games of 2023 for me, and Clive was a great character, story was great and the music was epic. Also Ben Starr was excellent for the voice of Clive.

Also he was on a episode of the Christmas Maze for Playstation Access today and he was hilarious if anybody want's to check that out.

I like the main character (nice to be able to play as a white male) but combat is repetitive and so are the sidequests. It does have a cool world and world building though.

This was my game of the year absolutely loved it.

The story was great but (except the bossfights) the gameplay felt too repetitive after a couple of hours. For me, at least. Also the world was a bit... empty. I didn't feel the eager to explore it.
It was a very great experience beside that so I guess it's about right.
Alan wake, Lies of P, Spider Man, Resident Evil 4. These are my top four.

@Reptilio strange comment, as if playing as white males is unusual in video games...?

Im surprised it even made it this far on the list but FF16 fans stay winning though! FF16 is my GOTY.

@Skratm I thought the same, like white male characters are the most common protagonists. Ah gamers, determined to never let the stereotype die.

As for FFXVI - It’s the best mainline entry since 10, easily. Truly fantastic story and characters, and Clive is possibly one of the best protagonists of all the games.

I plan to get to this one in 2024...I'm not a FF fan, never played any FF game before except demos for FF7R and 16 - I really prefer the combat in 16, the traditional one is simply not for me

While I did find the combat a bit dull and repetitive during the final act, imo it should be way higher on the list.
Clive as a character really is a treat though, best voice acting I've possible seen for a video game

Definitely higher on the list
For me it's GOTY or 2nd GOTY alongside RE4

By default it's my GOTY since I haven't completed many of the heavy hitters but even I'll admit this game is too back-and-forth for me.

Stunning boss fights, gorgeous graphics, great music, likable cast and surprisingly fun combat but tedious AF side quests, some really lulls in the story, a horrendous FF villain, gear and RPG systems that are undercooked, the intriguing GoT political intrigue eventually turns into "god-like a**hole wants to remake/destroy the world" typical plot and it feels like the Clive show and not a Final Fantasy cast like before.

Granted i did not play every major game this year, but if i had to choose one from the ones i did this would be it. Maybe more so when all the dlc is out and it feels more complete.

@UltimateOtaku91 Same.
My top 3 RPGs in 2023 are BG3, FF16 and Hogwarts Legacy.

This game should be on the podium, only 5th is ridiculous

I'm still playing it, and is really superb, amazing. For real, the Eikon boss fights are maybe the most amazing I ever seen in gaming!! The writing is powerful. I didn't played every great release of 2023, but for sure Final Fantasy XVI could be higher than 5th.

Def should be higher. I was expecting a cheesy, corridor, goofy Final Fantasy…. Boy was I wrong.

@Reptilio hahaha I don't know if you are being serious or not but when did we last have a Final Fantasy main character who was not white? Also most of them were also male...

Not that I think race matters much

I’m playing it at the moment and I would say it’s the best PS5 game of the year.

I wouldn’t call it a Final Fantasy game however.

I felt it was around an 8.5/8.7 overall. I think it's needed to improve on better side bosses and lack of mini games as well as criticism of lack of party member mechanics.

But I thought it was one of the better mainline entries since FFX. Finally improved on worldbuilding and characters overall which FF13 and FF15 lacked.

Eikon battle cinematics were incredible.