Final Fantasy 16

As far as exclusive titles for 2023 go, Final Fantasy XVI is arguably the biggest that is going to be released. When this game was first shown, I thought for sure that we would not be seeing it for many, many years. Well, Square-Enix is still saying that this game will be released in 2023 and that has me very excited. While many people are excited about this game, the fact that it is a PlayStation 5 exclusive does mean that there will be many people who miss out on this. Hopefully, it is just a timed exclusive and it will show up on other formats sooner than later.

The World Of Valisthea!

The setting of Final Fantasy XVI is the fantasy land of Valisthea which is one of the most intriguing settings for a Final Fantasy game in quite some time. This vast and diverse kingdom is surrounded by these huge mountains that are made from a magical force known as Mothercrystals. There are six factions that rule the land and while peace and prosperity has been good, things are starting to change as these creatures known as Eikons which can be summoned by Dominants are causing all kinds of problems.

Hello Clive

The main protagonist or who we think is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XVI is Clive Rosefield. Most of what we have seen of the gameplay has featured Clive, but Square-Enix has revealed that you will still have a party on your journey as you try and save the world. The most interesting thing about the party system in this game is that your party will be AI controlled. Hopefully, they have the AI just right, but Square-Enix has been making more and more automated styles of gameplay in their games so this could be that next step. As interesting as this sounds, I do hope we can still have some control over our party members.

Devil May Fantasy!

The combat in Final Fantasy XVI looks awesome, it reminds me of a mixture of Kingdom Hearts III, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Devil May Cry. That last one is very important as Ryota Suzuki is the combat director for this game and his work includes the likes of Devil May Cry 5 and Dragon's Dogma and that has me very excited. While this is still an RPG, I must admit the more action focused combat is something that I am very interested in. I am sure we will find out more and more about the gameplay after I have written this, but so far, it looks very exciting.

Next Generation Power

Ok, so I know that I am very lucky in that I was able to get a PS5 on launch and have been enjoying it for quite some time. However, as selfish as this sounds, Final Fantasy XVI is a game that I feel had to be just on next-generation hardware. Say what you will about Square-Enix, but their games always look fantastic and they are always at the cutting edge when it comes to graphics. By skipping the PlayStation 4, they are able to create a much larger and more detailed world with more realistic looking characters than ever before!

Pros:

• It is one of the biggest games of 2023
• The game looks phenomenal, like you are playing through a movie
• The gameplay is fast paced and very action based
• If you love deep and engaging stories, this will really hook you in!

Cons:

• Will it actually make it out in 2023
• It is a pity that this is not making it to PC or Xbox in 2023