Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

Final Fantasy XVI (PS5)

I began playing Final Fantasy back in 2016 when my interest for JRPGs started blooming. I decided to play through the games in order and since then, I've played through the first seven Final Fantasy games. At first the games felt like your bog-standard JRPGs but when I arrived at Final Fantasy IV, I began to understand why this series is so special. It's the world, the feeling of being immersed in a fantasy universe where anything's possible. This is what defines Final Fantasy, at least to me.

Unfortunately, my interest for the series started dwindling after Final Fantasy IV. I was no longer playing the games back-to-back but with a year, sometimes longer, in between each game. The series was getting progressively better but I was still not a huge fan of the franchise. Not even Final Fantasy VII, arguably the most significant title in the series, managed to sway me.

Then Final Fantasy XVI came along and I decided to break my approach of playing through the entries in order. It looked so promising and I've been dying to play something new on my recently acquired PS5. So I just had to get it.

It took me roughly two weeks and 70 hours of playtime until I beat the game. I rarely play a single game that much in such a short period these days. I get so easily burned out otherwise. But FFXVI managed to captivate me from beginning to end and that's thanks to its engaging plot as well as intense combat.

I won't get into details regarding the story as that would be too much to cover. But in short, the game takes place on a continent with a multitude of kingdoms that seek to conquer. You play as a prince who is out for revenge for what another kingdom has done to yours. It sounds like your standard medieval storyline but what makes the plot so engaging is the integration of Final Fantasy lore along with a high level of world-building.

With prior experience of the series, I'm aware of the so called "summons", i.e. mythological creatures you summon to aid you in battles. However, this is the first time I've seen them actually integrated into the story of a Final Fantasy title. This is what makes the game so spectacular and engaging, it's absolutely thrilling watching these massive beings duke it out. It's like a dream come true for a Final Fantasy fan. Watching Titan fight Shiva or Bahamut fight Odin is so awe-inspiring. And it's not like these battles are few. There are tons of them, including ones you partake in. It's one of the reasons why this is the most "Final Fantasy" game I've ever played. It doesn't get more Final Fantasy than this, because this is iconic stuff the series is known for.

Naturally, the game also has many other aspects that makes it a "Final Fantasy experience". For instance, crystals play a huge part in the plot. People are in need of them in order to survive. Fire, water, they cannot live without the crystals providing these elements to them. I found this part of the lore very interesting because it paints the inhabitants of this world as heavily reliant on a finite fuel. Sounds familiar? That's because you can draw the same comparison to our world and our need for fossil fuel. Just like it, the crystals are destroying the environment the more they are used. Which is why the protagonist and his gang seek out to destroy them so that people can become free.

That's one of the themes of this game: freedom. Freedom from materials, freedom from having your fate be predetermined but also freedom in a more grounded way: freedom from slavery. In this universe, some humans are born with the ability to cast magic. These people are shunned and regarded as lowly individuals to be used as slaves. The history behind this is that humans were afraid of people having more power than them. So after years of war between magic-users and humans, the former lost and all kingdoms agreed that all people born with magic abilities henceforth would become slaves. They are only seen as tools, nothing more. The more magic they use, the more they're killing themselves. After having used up so much magic, they'll eventually become petrified and disposed of.

It's a heavy theme, which is the case with a lot of things in this game. It's a more dark and mature Final Fantasy game than we're used to seeing. Killings, profanities, nudity, it's all here. But all those things pave way for a more realistic experience because that's how our world is. It makes this entry more refreshing and interesting than previous ones. In spite of this, the game never loses its focus of being first and foremost a Final Fantasy experience.

I briefly touched upon the world-building aspect but do know that there's much more you can learn about this world and the game does a fantastic job of providing information about it. For instance, you can pause cutscenes and read about the characters or areas in those specific cutscenes. In other words, if you see a character on the screen, you can pause the cutscene and read more about them. You don't need sit in a menu and spend hours reading. You can just read from time to time. I absolutely adored this more streamlined approach to lore reading, especially when considering that the game doesn't explain most of the stuff during the story. But that's for the better in my opinion as that would've only ruined the pacing.

Speaking of the pacing, I found it to be very good and refreshing. First of all, the story goes full-throttle with epic story moments right from the start and continues like this for ten hours. Then the game introduces a lot of side activities, which are negligible if you only want to focus on the story. I did all the side quests and felt a bit overpowered by the end, so it shouldn't be any issues to go through the game without doing much of the side content. Regardless, the epic story moments don't let up even after the first ten hours. In fact, they keep getting better and better, which is absolutely incredible. However, this can lead to some fatigue from all the action and that's where doing side quests in order to relax is a good idea.

The part about the pacing that I found refreshing is the strong start. Naturally, it's not uncommon for games to have strong starts. But for it to go on for around ten hours is very impressive and something I haven't seen in many titles. I think it's great that a game respects your time and gives you a phenomenal experience right from the beginning because it helps draw you in and keeps you hooked. I can't think of no better time than the start of a game where it should put in the effort to keep you engaged. If the game manages to grab you from the start, then you're more likely to keep playing it. After all, I don't want to sit through hours of story expositions and side quests at the start of a game. I want to potentially do that once I'm invested in the game and want to experience more of its world. That's why I find the pacing of Final Fantasy XVI to be great and suitable to me.

Another thing that contributes to the game's pacing is the linearity of the levels. There are minor distractions along the way and the levels themselves are short. Long gone are dungeons that take hours to get through. You can get through most levels and arrive at the boss after maybe 15-20 minutes. Like I said, the game respects your time. That's not to say though that all levels are like this. One thing I like about the game is that all areas of a kingdom are on the same map. You just don't get access to everything the first time you visit it. But there are most certainly vast open areas with branching paths if you want to explore. The primary reason to do so is to find the so called "hunts" in this game, which are mini-bosses you battle against in order to gain great rewards. You can also find some good gear if you go off the beaten path.

While it's not the most explorative game, it's still on par with previous Final Fantasy games. The older entries were just as linear as this game, they just gave off the illusion that you were exploring an open world when you were on the world map. But you were still following a set path each time, with very little exploration on the side. This structure is honestly for the best because it lets the developers focus on more important aspects, such as the story, the characters, the quests and so on. I prefer a more focused approach like this instead of constant distractions.

Just like with the level design, I adore the simplicity of the combat system in this game. After all, Final Fantasy has never been about complex battle systems. In the older titles, you just picked either "Attack", "Magic", "Items" or "Flee". It's simple and it works. Even though the combat is simple, there is a level of depth to it. You have some combos you can perform as well as abilities that you gain throughout the story. You can have up to six different abilities available at a given time and each set also has its own special move, such as teleporting to the enemy or grabbing them towards you. You can upgrade your abilities and you can also "master" an ability, which lets you assign it to a different set. In other words, there's a good amount of flexibility in terms of customising your abilities.

The combat gets more in-depth as there's also precision dodges, parries and stagger. You can stagger an enemy halfway through and all the way. Different abilities have different stats in terms of actual damage and stagger damage. So some are more useful for inflicting a lot of damage, while others are better for staggering enemies. Figuring out what works best for you is a lot of fun and I'd always look forward to acquiring my next set of abilities. In short, I absolutely loved the combat and it's one of the reasons why I'd always search for enemies to fight. It's just too much fun.

The game isn't that difficult even if you play on action-focused. The difficulty is actually just about right, even if you do improve your character outside of the main story. You'll receive plenty of potions throughout the story levels and if you lose, you'll get to retry with more potions in your inventory. The point is that you won't have your experience ruined by challenging moments. The game wants you to have a good time and you will. If you're still looking for more challenge, there's always the aforementioned hunts as well as new game plus.

I can't forget to mention the side quests in this game. They start off very simple, e.g. collect flowers and deliver them to the recipient. But they eventually become more involving and plot-heavy, especially the ones that focus on key characters. Unfortunately, these ones aren't differentiated from the rest of the side quests. Regardless, I found myself absolutely enthralled by most of the side quests in this game. One aspect of them that I really like is that you're constantly revisiting previous areas and the people there. It's not like you're just passing through these places once, you'll actually go back and spend a lot of time with these characters. Getting to know them, their history, their struggles, it's just so well done. This is something you'll do with the main cast as well, so there's plenty of side content for getting to know the characters in this game, which are all so well-written.

There are also quests where you'll get very useful rewards, such as more slots to carry potions and even a chocobo to use in the world. You'll also get recipes for the best weapons in the game from some of these quests. So overall, I found the side quests to be well worth my time.

Before I round off, I have to mention just how phenomenal the soundtrack is. The tracks in this game truly elevate the experience to much greater heights. If the story moments alone weren't epic enough, they become even more epic from the music. Just to give you an example of this, I'd like to show one of my favourite fights in this game along with the track that plays during it (caution: spoilers, don't look at the video if you don't want anything spoiled at all).

Absolutely incredible stuff! And there's more where that came from.

In conclusion, Final Fantasy XVI is an absolute masterpiece. I haven't been this invested in a game in a very long time. The story is engaging and epic, the characters are memorable, the combat is fast-paced and intense, and the soundtrack is absolutely exceptional. It's not often we get a game of this caliber. The last ones that I've played that are similar to FFXVI are God of War (2018) and NieR: Automata. If you like games like these, you'll absolutely love Final Fantasy XVI, regardless if you're a Final Fantasy fan or not. This is just an incredible game all on its own and should not be missed out.

@LtSarge A very nice summary and really good piece there on FF16! Like others mentioned, I do appreciate reading your viewpoints to add with some of the less enthusiastic ones. I really glad it struck such a chord with you and I am hoping that it does for me too.

I might have another stab at it this weekend.

@RogerRoger I somehow missed your Burning Shores review last week, but saw it last night and waited until today to give a proper response to it given how big of a Horizon series fan I am. I am glad to see such positivity for it, especially given how Forbidden West got overlooked last year and how even some received the DLC (not just the obvious part). This is basically my review posted on another site back in April edited to fit as a response.

With that said, I don't agree with everything, particularly the spoiler. I opted to not kiss Seyka, and it's not because I have anything against gay people or anything. If that ended up being the route they went with Aloy in the end, fine, but my main problem with it in Burning Shores is it felt so rushed and so forced. Even the moments where you get hints of those kind of feelings that are throughout the game are forced and unnatural. Yes, it can happen, but for the most part people that have only known eachother for that short amount of time don't get that attached to eachother. It would have been so much better if they had just had them be friends and then possibly explored a relationship in the third game. At least then they would have spent a lot more time together and it would have been a lot more realistic. Aloy's response to Seyka when you do the thoughtful decline is 100% what I would have expected Aloy to say in that situation prior to Burning Shores.

I also thought The Frozen Wilds was better than Burning Shores as a whole. There was nothing I thought was particularly bad about Burning Shores outside of what I talked about in the spoiler, but it was a flawed experience for me all around. The story obviously had to be flawed for me, even though I thought the overall arc itself was perfectly fine, but the lack of side missions for the most part along with other gameplay issues dragged it down for me. The Aerial Captures were glitched at launch (they have been fixed long ago now of course), but I also flew the entire map over the course of the game and only unlocked a fraction of the Devotee Camps and Aerial Captures. I didn't bother going back and trying to finish them otherwise out of frustration that traversing the entire map wasn't enough. I will say that the "A Friend in the Dark" side quest with Gildun was vintage Horizon with a very heartfelt ending to that particular quest.

All is not doom and gloom though, as it would be hard for a diehard series fan to be completely unsatisfied. Getting to return to the world of Horizon and spend more time in it will always be a good thing, so it was still nice to get to spend another 10-15 hours playing as Aloy. In other words, despite my issues with Burning Shores, I'm still glad I got to play it. The main story was fine, the end boss fight was great for the most part, and the A Friend in the Dark side quest was an obvious highlight.

@Ralizah Yeah, I thought of you whilst playing (and then again whilst writing that review) because I knew you'd be exploring the Forbidden West on your PS4. Whilst it's a shame, it's also a credit to the core game that I don't think you'll feel like you're missing out on anything. Burning Shores is great, but it's also largely separate, even though it's also interconnected... which sounds paradoxical but trust me, it works!

And please know that my use of the word "controversy" was just a shorthand to let folks know what was beneath the spoiler tag. I hate that it was called a "controversy" but also am gonna damn well draw attention to the ridiculousness of it even being a "controversy" in the first place.

Thanks for reading, and for being kind with your feedback, as always!

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@Th3solution Knowing your attitude towards DLC, I'd encourage you to see how you feel once you've seen the base game's credits roll, for sure. If you think you want more, or don't have anything time-sensitive to start up next, then it'd absolutely be worth the investment. Burning Shores doesn't feel like it was pre-planned DLC, and there certainly weren't bits arbitrarily removed from the Forbidden West in order to "save" them for premium content; if I recall, those were your primary issues with previous DLC, like Spidey's The City That Never Sleeps and other stuff trickled out in season passes, yeah?

Regardless, I just hope you enjoy Forbidden West when you get around to it, and am looking forward to seeing your thoughts as and when. Thanks for reading, and for your generous feedback!

@KilloWertz Replying separately in case spoiler tags don't work in email notifications...

I debated whether to tag you or not, but am ultimately not that self-promotional. Am real grateful for your reply and personal perspective on Burning Shores, given that you're probably the biggest Horizon fan around these parts (myself included). It's such a shame that so many overlook Aloy's adventures, you're right, to the point where I felt bad about being late to the Burning Shores party!

All of your comments about the DLC are fair, to be honest. I'm glad you still enjoyed it overall and yes, I'd agree that 'A Friend in the Dark' was a superb side quest (the ending really got to me, too). I'd be interested to play all of Burning Shores in isolation someday, as I'm left wondering how much of my enthusiasm for it was simply me riding the high from the base game (although, given that you can't access it until you've cleared the main story, I'm wondering if that'd ever be possible). Attitudes will also likely shift once Horizon 3: Nemesis is out, and we can step back and view the series as a whole.

Of course, it probably didn't help that it was glitchy at launch, either. It's never fun to be a glorified beta tester, even though it seems to be an increasingly common part of modern gaming. Heck, they were still patching it whilst I was halfway through my NG+ playthrough! Well, you know what they say when it comes to works of art: nothing's ever truly finished, it's just "finished enough".

@RogerRoger Yes, you remember my DLC contention well. Burning Shores does seem more in line with my expansion philosophy, and just a step away from the ‘expandalone’ games that Sony puts out like Miles Morales, First Light, etc. which I really like.

It reminds me that I still need to try the Iki Island content for GoT. If there was one defense that I’d concede to the quick release, pre-planned DLC it would be that when too much time passes from finishing the base game, it’s harder to go back to extra content the further from the original you get. Fortunately for me, I’ll be able to play Burning Shores in close proximity if I am feelin’ it upon concluding HFW.

@RogerRoger Any patches for Forbidden West while you were doing NG+ were for Burning Shores as far as I know, but obviously they would be applied to Forbidden West since it's just DLC that was added on to the main game file.

It would take quite a bit of effort on Guerrilla's part in order to make me truly dislike mainline Horizon content (not counting Call of the Mountain as I'm not spending over $500 for one game), which is why I said I was still happy to be back playing as Aloy in the world of Horizon. There is also nothing wrong with liking it even better than me, so I wouldn't worry too much about second guessing yourself. I also see you came up with the same title as me for Horizon 3. It wouldn't be surprising at all if it ends up being exactly that.

@LtSarge Wow, glowing Final Fantasy XVI review! It's nice to see that it has re-invested you in the series. I take it your hope is that the series will continue in this direction with future entries?

Interesting to hear how the series' classic staple of focusing on elemental crystals has been re-contextualized in a way that's more grounded and not unlike modern human civilization's struggle to move past a dependence on fossil fuels. How would you say the game's Game of Thrones-esque dark medieval story/setting evolves throughout the game? I've heard mixed opinions in that regard.

It's definitely true that older Final Fantasy games tended to funnel you down a path through the games. One interesting aspect is how they eventually opened up full map exploration via the use of vehicles. Does FFXVI feature anything similar in terms of having a moment where the game opens up more fully?

The music does sound pretty epic! Square-Enix has almost never disappointed with their orchestral scores for their more RPGs. How would you say the game balances these big battle pieces against softer themes throughout?

Sounds like you really loved this game. It's always nice to just thoroughly fall in love with a game like that. Although I've personally found that pumping 70 - 100+ hours into a game in a short span of time tends to lead to a way longer burn-out period (still recovering from my initial burst of time with TotK; haven't played almost anything in almost 1.5 months now!)

@RogerRoger I'm sure HFW doesn't feel incomplete without Burning Shores, much in the same way that Zero Dawn didn't really need its expansion... it was just an extra thing. It's possible I'll be playing it on PS4, although, at this point, I'm considering waiting for the inevitable PC port as well. We'll see. If I get through my current PS4 backlog and its still not out on PC, I'll probably pony up for the PS4 version.

I didn't mean to sound like I was dragging you for addressing the "controversy." Largely just emoting frustration that it's considered a "controversy" at all! America, and even the state I like in, has been hit with a fairly ruthless onslaught of anti-LGBT legislation and judicial activism as of late, and I see a lot of it reflected in these absurd 'controversies' that keep hitting the gaming scene. People throw a fuss, others talk about the fuss, and it ends up creating momentum for the right-wing hate machine that seems to be dragging us decades into the past.

Started the original Devil May Cry for the first time via the HD Collection on PS3 and have already made my way through the first 7 missions!

I've been itching to play DMC for the longest while as a massive Capcom fanboy and I've gotta say: it's been really fun so far! Stringing together hits on large amounts of enemies (constantly interlacing sword slashes with gun blasts) is incredibly satisfying, the music is a fantastic mix of unnerving ambience and kick-ass rock and the gothic horror aesthetic, while very much a bi-product of DMC1 being a reworked version of beta RE4, is done super well and makes the locales infinitely more atmospheric and memorable.

However, for as much as I am enjoying it, it's fair to say there's been a few bumps in the road along the way.

Firstly, in an issue exclusive to the HD Collection rerelease, the cutscenes are entirely out of sync with their audio, causing them to feel incredibly disjointed and bizarre. I managed to find a workaround to it by simply skipping the cutscene, pausing the game immediately after and pulling up an 'All Cutscenes' compilation on Youtube, but it's still a shame given how delightfully cheesy they are.

The other big problem is something that's a bit harder to ignore unfortunately: THE GODAWFUL CAMERA. DMC was very much a pioneer of it's genre (being 3D hack-n-slash action games) so I suppose I can't fault it too hard for not getting it right on the first attempt but Sparda almighty; whereas it's relatively serviceable when moving from room-to-room via the old RE fixed camera angles (not great, but serviceable), this gets entirely thrown out the window during boss fights where the camera will simply not focus on the boss in question no matter how hard you try, leading you to get completely pulverized by attacks you had no idea were coming (DAMN YOU PHANTOOOOOOOOOOOM).

This, combined with the bosses in question basically being giant damage sponges, is certainly enough to put a bit of a dampener on the experience so far, but the good stuff is so good that I'm still enjoying my time regardless. DMC really feels like a game I'll have to play through more than once to fully know my thoughts on but as of right now? It's pretty damn good 😈

@Th3solution Your point about large expansions being too far and separate from the base game's launch window is well-taken. It's why I ran through NG+ before attempting Burning Shores, because I was certain that I'd spend half the DLC struggling to "find my groove" which isn't fair on a five-hour story (especially one that's a direct sequel to events I couldn't remember in precise detail).

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@KilloWertz Funnily enough, I saw a glitch in a base game cutscene the day before it got patched, so they were clearly still fixing a few things outside of the DLC, too! Although it was an issue specific to NG+ so I can kinda understand it being overlooked for a while.

And absolutely, 100% agree with you regarding different interpretations. I think that's where gaming can be the most awesome storytelling medium, because we connect with protagonists in a unique way when directly controlling them. Had we been discussing Horizon Forbidden West: The Movie then I'm sure things would've landed a little differently (probably because they would've been written differently, too). Like I said, I was in the same camp as you to begin with, so it's interesting to see the impact events had on us both, and how we ended up making different decisions from the same starting point.

But it's also why I'm always up for reviewing and re-assessing my opinions, so don't worry, my comment about going back and seeing if I felt differently in a second, isolated playthrough wasn't some kind of existential crisis of self-doubt! I'm just always interested in looking at things from a different perspective, and understanding where others are coming from, s'all.

And yeah, if the third game isn't called that, we should totally riot!

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@Ralizah Well, regardless of how well Forbidden West runs on PS4 (because it really does; I'm in awe of whatever witchcraft they used to get it working) you'll forgive me if I hope your PS4 backlog takes you a while, because I'm sure a PC port would include Burning Shores by default, and it's always preferable to at least have the option to continue with extra content.

And you absolutely didn't, so don't worry! I got where you were coming from, and was sharing your disdain for the current state of affairs, because I hate that what I wrote was the best way to convey the subject at hand. We only see a handful of your most ludicrous examples reported in our media, but I know that they're merely the tip of the iceberg. You (personally and collectively) have my sympathies. It's only a matter of time before something gives; I just hope it does so in a positive way.

@LtSarge Really, really enjoyed your review of FFXVI, buddy! I'm glad your out-of-order approach ended up working so well for you; whilst it was obviously the right choice in hindsight, I can totally understand how you decided to take the risk in the first place, given your reaction to those previous games. It's great that you say the game feels like "the most Final Fantasy game" you've ever played, because honestly I've glanced at its screenshots and trailers and thought the opposite; it looked like a major departure to me, at least in aesthetic terms (no blend of fantasy mysticism with modern technology, no steampunk influences, no flying cars, etc.) so for the story and game design to come through in this regard must be excellent news for fans. Everything else you've discussed, the pacing, the linear-plus layout, the immersion, the balanced combat and accessible difficulty... and my goodness, that music! It's all stuff I love to see (and hear). Hmm. You've actually got me considering a future purchase! Thank you!

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@Fizza I'm real glad you're enjoying Devil May Cry so much, and that it's been worth the wait thusfar, but I've gotta say, that cutscene sync issue would be a deal-breaker for me! Kudos for having the patience to implement that YouTube workaround; I doubt I'd have done the same! Here's hoping that wonky camera gets improved in subsequent games, too. So many games of that era suffered the same fate, so it's a shame that the HD port didn't take the opportunity to improve it (or maybe it did, and it's just that broken). Anyway, best of luck with the rest of the series!

@RogerRoger I live for Capcom cheesiness so I was going to find a way to watch the cutscenes if it's the last thing I did XD

On the topic of DMC1's jankiness, I see a lot of people wanting games like RE Code Veronica or Dino Crisis to be remade in RE Engine these days and, while I would also love to see that happen as well, I think the original DMC could benefit the most with a remake given how most of the issues I've encountered with it are purely down to it being one of the first 3D Action games ever made. Make it more like DMC5 in a similar way to how they made RE2/3 like RE4 gameplay-wise and I think you'd have something super special on your hands.

also could you IMAGINE what this scene would look like with the detail RE Engine provides

@Fizza Ah cool that you have found Devil May Cry. I think it would be interesting to know more about your thoughts on the game as you continue play it. While I guess that it would be cool if Capcom decided to do a remake of the original Devil May Cry games in the RE the engine I think its basically zero chance it will happen. I think it would be better and I think its more likely that Capcom decides to develop a new game in the series instated. Speaking of Devil May Cry I can really recommend Ninja Theory version of the game from 2013... I think many, many people have missed that one.. That being said I guess that it may make sense to first try and beat the other games in the series if you have patience for that..

@RogerRoger Ok, so I guess I didn't know as much as I thought I did.

True, but your interpretation was wrong.... I mean it was fine I suppose. I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen between the two of them since there were articles about it pretty much right at release about it because of the review bombing, but obviously the game failed to convince me. Oh well, no big deal in the end. The only question is where Guerrilla takes it.

I will protest for a whole 30 seconds after installing the game and day 1 patch before I dive into the game if it's not called that.

@Th3solution Thank you for the kind words! I think you'd enjoy the game but you mustn't force yourself to play it if you're not in the mood. Granted, this is a very linear game so it doesn't feel overwhelming in terms of content. I mean, whenever you play an open world game with tons of markers, it feels very overwhelming. But even though FFXVI is a long game, it doesn't feel overwhelming like an open world experience.

@Ralizah Yeah, I hope the next FF game will be similar to XVI. It's just so much more accessible compared to your traditional JRPGs, which is perfect for me as I don't have as much time for gaming these days. It's just so easy to start up FFXVI, play for a while and then put it down.

Honestly, I thought the story constantly got better. It focuses first on the protagonist and his struggles but slowly introduces other characters and places just enough so you get familiar to them once they're fully introduced. Just like Game of Thrones though, it is quite difficult to keep up with everything that's happening but it gets easier the more you progress. It can get a bit cliché in the second half of the story but there are enough twists that keep things interesting.

I mean, not really because you don't walk around on a world map like in the older games. You use a fast travel system instead. But as I mentioned in the review, each kingdom is like its own map and while each chapter is linear, all areas in a kingdom eventually link up to form a more open world. It's kinda like the Souls games in that regard.

The balance between the different tracks is honestly perfect. You have these epic tracks for the big battles and then you have the more common, "softer" themes whenever you return to your "main hub" as well as when you enter regular battles or when you explore the different environments. Suffice to say, there are plenty of different and memorable tunes in this game.

Yeah I absolutely loved this game. Like I mentioned to @Th3solution, this is a linear game and because of that, it doesn't feel overwhelming to play compared to an open world experience such as TotK. So even though it's 70+ hours long, it doesn't feel like it. Everything is done in such short bursts, it's a great structure. In fact, I'm actually in the mood to play an open world game now lol. I don't feel burned out at all!

@RogerRoger Glad to hear that you enjoyed reading it! It's true that the game doesn't have things like steampunk influences (although it does have some now that I think about it) that previous FF titles have, but it feels more grounded because of that. I mean, it is a medieval setting after all. I don't think it would've fit it in as well as it does in the older games.

I don't know how much experience you have with the series, but like I said in my review, you'll still enjoy the game regardless if you're an FF fan or not. In fact, while others haven't mentioned this, this game does feel like something that's come from PlayStation Studios. It's a very accessible, narrative-driven game, like God of War, The Last of Us and so on. So it feels very fitting to play this as a PlayStation fan.

Just beaten Star Trek Resurgence and maybe I shouldn't be surprised by how much I ended up enjoying it, but I still was kinda shocked by how good I thought this ultimately was all the same.

Even if you aren't a Trekkie, I think there is a chance you'll still really enjoy this story. There is definitely some Trek cringe and cheese to cut through in places, but it really maximises the delivery of epic moments, strong character writing and engaging choices.

It is rare for me to be properly invested in a story, and I realised just how invested I was here when I was unable to stop myself from cheering out loud at some developments, especially during the build to the final showdown and how that plays out. Just some absolutely awesome stuff.

The choices you make along the way feel meaningful and tangible too, importantly. Based on the post game stats, I clearly played one of the dual protagonists very differently than the general audience and my mind is already racing at all the choices I’d now handle differently on a second go around.

Even if you just play this through the once, I think it is an easy recommendation. Especially if you are looking to scratch that Mass Effect itch all fans of that series have spent the last decade or so chasing.

…It is just a shame that its technical state is such a mess, and that outside of navigating conversations and making choices, it is so rarely fun to play.

For sure, at times, its visuals can dazzle - especially thanks to its often genuinely striking art direction. During its best moments, you’ll be really glad they patched in the ability to run this in native 4k. I will also say that I had very few bugs and no hard crashes from memory. I had some weirdness when I tabbed out of the game (I was playing on PC) and a rather silly bug that spoiled a key moment towards the end, but was also so bizarre it was borderline hilarious.

No, in that regard, it probably sits at a higher than normal standard. It was more just the moment to moment technical state that was the problem. The PC port basically has no options whatsoever to tailor the game to your system and even when 60 fps was eventually patched in, I was never able to achieve a stable 60 fps, which shouldn't be the case on a PC like mine with a game that looks like a 360 title in places.

In terms of “gameplay”, it mostly has you rotating between tedious scanning the environment sections, “combat encounters” and maddening stealth sections. I hate when games force mandatory, instafail, stealth sections anyway. I’ve never played a game where these sections make a game better, but I've played plenty of games where they actively drag the game down around them with their presence.

Now take all that distaste I already have for these sequences and then try and give me that ***** in a game this jank?… blood is boiling. Thank Goodness for the “story mode” which basically makes these impossible to fail or I may have snapped a controller… or 12.

The “combat encounters” are awful as well, like with the stealth sections they are often unnecessarily frustrating due to how clunky this game is to control. It isn't a good sign when you find yourself thinking “this could have been a cutscene” rather than wishing it was a playable section instead. Like the scanning may be boring, but out of the three pillars of “gameplay” this has, it is the only one that doesn’t have me seethe with frustration.

I will never complain about Mass Effect's combat again after this.

Overall, this very much fits into a wider conversation about what makes a video game… a video game. I know some people out there can’t imagine praise being given to a game that isn’t very fun to actually play and honestly it is kinda hard to argue with that stance.

However, as I’ve said on here what feels like countless times at this point, I can't think of any game I've loved just based on the quality of the mechanics alone. However, there are plenty of games I would easily recommend to you with what are arguably pretty weak gameplay mechanics. Like for my tastes, your game has to be basically irredeemably broken to spoil a game for me if I am engaged with your story and characters. But then on the flip, all the flashy in the combat in the world don't do nothing for me if your game is otherwise hollow.

As I said somewhere else, bolt a loot system or a dialogue tree onto any mediocre video game and I’m feasting. This is the Final Fantasy 16 paradigm. Mechanically strong, otherwise hollow, so I came away not really liking that at all. Resurgence on the other hand sings for me in all the ways that matter to me personally, while being mechanically pretty bad, honestly.

This is not my game of the year, but is definitely up there in that conversation. I thought this was excellent and is some of the most fun I've had with a game this year, even if the most conventional "game" parts of this are its worse aspects. Funny that.

@Pizzamorg On the back of our other discussion, I see that I really should keep Resurgence in mind. @RogerRoger already had me deeply considering it, despite me not being a Star Trek guy. The number of quality entries in this genre is fairly low, comparatively speaking, so it’s important to have a few in the backlog. Thanks for the added support that I should give it a go sometime! If the characters and story are solid, I can live with some jank. 😄

I think as long as you like sci-fi and these style of narrative games, you'll enjoy this one. I think it nails that really careful balancing act, where there is extra meat on the bone if you are a Trek fan here, but you won't be left starving if you aren't, as the core story can be just appreciated as a great space adventure on its own, regardless of branding and aesthetics. At least in my opinion, anyway.

@Fizza I've always felt like I should try DMC. It's such a recognizable, important series. My experience with Bayonetta had made me... hesitant to give other character action games a chance, though. It's fine when they exhibit more gameplay diversity (like in NieR: Automata or Astral Chain), but balls-to-the-walls technical action constantly doesn't really do it for me, it seems.

That audio desyncing issue sounds hideous.

@RogerRoger Yeah, I'm really impressed with the footage of HFW on PS4. Sony's best developers do an amazing job of getting that old machine to sing quite beautifully. It makes me wonder what late-gen PS5 games will look like, in that regard, as I feel like there's a lot of potential for creating amazing looking games on the modern hardware.

Now we just gotta hope HFW on PC doesn't ship with a million issues. Even Zero Dawn had some pretty big issues late game early on, from what I hear.

They really need to just leave these ports to Nixxes. All of their conversions have run well, as I understand it, and they even came in and rescued HZD with post-launch patches.

@Pizzamorg Yeah, I get the idea of enjoying these otherwise clunky games that seem to have more of a sense of heart to them. I really ought to get around to this Star Trek game at some point, considering how hard I've been going on the series this past half year (half of TOS; all of TNG; all of SNW so far; all of Picard).

The performance issues are regrettable, but they'd have to be pretty damn severe to keep me from properly enjoying a game anyway. I think people get too worked up over that sort of thing these days, even if I sometimes understand the frustration.

Story mode definitely sounds right for something like this, where the gameplay is tedious and aggravating as is.

Nice Star Trek: Resurgence piece!

@Pizzamorg Really glad you enjoyed Resurgence as much as you did. You've taken the same post-game position I did (rough game, but with a story that makes it worthwhile) and I'm not surprised, given that I know you're a fan of the franchise an' all. Out of curiosity, which protagonist did you play against the majority? Will you be playing it a second time, to make all of the opposite choices?

Your musings on what actually defines a videogame are interesting and well-made, and bring up that crucial point that different things have different values to different people. It's impossible to judge art by any single, pre-defined standard; that's why GOTY awards have different sub-categories (best writing, best graphics, best performance, etc.) because we all place varying degrees of importance on those factors. Heck, there are some people who'd struggle through a terrible game because they love the soundtrack! I'd agree that Resurgence should be considered a candidate for 2023's best writing, and wouldn't argue with anybody who chooses to champion it as such come December.

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@Ralizah Heck, they're still patching Forbidden West on PS5, but it's that big of a game that I can kinda forgive it a few minor faults (and props to Guerrilla for supporting it for so long, too). It'll just be anything major that'll stick out, and cause the echo chamber of the internet to go into full hyperbolic disaster mode. You're right, though, Nixxes should be given the lead on all conversion projects. First time I saw their logo was on the loading screen for the PS4's Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and that still remains one of the best, most competent and loving upgrades I've ever had the pleasure of playing.