Feature Articles
Saturday22nd Jun 2024
Poll One Year Later, What Are Your Thoughts on Final Fantasy 16?
Don't Cid yourself
One year ago today, on the 22nd June 2023, the latest mainline instalment in the Final Fantasy franchise was released on PS5. Final Fantasy 16 is perhaps the furthest that Square Enix's mainline series has ever strayed from its traditional formula, going full action RPG, complete with Devil May Cry-esque combat. But its bold new...
Saturday4th May 2024
Talking Point Have Sony's Third-Party PS5 Deals Made Up for Its Lack of First-Party Games?
Deal or no deal
We can probably all agree that this current console generation has been a bit weird. Going by the data, the PS5 has been an obvious commercial success so far, but there's plenty of conversation surrounding the console's supposed lack of first-party blockbusters — true PS5 exclusives that really knock your socks off. What's become...
Thursday2nd May 2024
Feature Final Fantasy 16 Expansion Pass Review: Is It Worth Buying?
Final Fantasy 16's DLC offering reviewed
Final Fantasy 16 released on the 22nd June 2023, offering up an action-heavy RPG that greatly deviates from the more traditional blueprints of past Final Fantasy titles. Initially, Square Enix had no plans to expand the game with DLC, but several months after its launch, in September 2023, the publisher...
Thursday18th Apr 2024
Poll Are You Playing Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide?
Making waves
The second and final expansion for Final Fantasy 16, titled The Rising Tide, is out now on PS5 — and if you can believe it, we're fast approaching the base game's first anniversary. But such a realisation has made us wonder... Are you returning to Final Fantasy 16 in order to play through this new DLC? Or could it be that the...
Monday15th Apr 2024
High tide
Final Fantasy 16 was one of our favourite games of 2023, and so we wanted to find out more about The Rising Tide — the title's second and final expansion — ahead of its release on the 18th April. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to land an interview with Takeo Kujiraoka — the veteran Square Enix dev who's actually the director of...
Thursday28th Dec 2023
Game of the Year #5 - Final Fantasy 16
Flame on
After years of underwhelming mainline Final Fantasy games, Square Enix finally seemed to get its act together for Final Fantasy 16. Spearheaded by the development team behind Final Fantasy 14, this felt like a much more focused project right from the start, and the all-out action RPG that Creative Business Unit III delivered has made an...
Friday28th Jul 2023
Poll Who's the Best Final Fantasy Protagonist?
There can only be one
Now that we've all had time to settle into a reality where Final Fantasy 16 exists, this is our chance to revisit a question that's reverberated around the Final Fantasy fandom for decades: just who is the series' best protagonist? Now, for the sake of this poll, we're going to streamline things and focus on mainline Final...
Friday30th Jun 2023
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Final Fantasy 16?
Hot stuff?
Final Fantasy 16 has been available on PS5 for just over a week, and so, as always, we want to know what you think of the latest blockbuster release. While it undoubtedly has its flaws, the overall reception of the action RPG has been very positive online. High critic reviews and plenty of praise from players has resulted in one of the...
Thursday22nd Jun 2023
Poll Are You Playing Final Fantasy 16?
Live with Clive
The day is finally upon us, Final Fantasy fans (and everyone else who's been looking forward to this rather drastic departure for the series). Final Fantasy 16 is out right now on PS5 exclusively, and it's fair to say that the hype for this one has been immense. Fortunately, the game itself is fantastic, as noted in our Final...
Tuesday13th Jun 2023
Poll What Do You Think of the Final Fantasy 16 PS5 Demo?
Hot stuff?
It's finally time for Final Fantasy XVI... Well, the playable demo, at least. Out right now on PS5, the demo features a sizeable chunk of the game's opening act, as well as a battle-based mode that showcases the abilities that you unlock later on in Clive's adventure. it's a robust offering, giving players a decent idea of the upcoming...
Wednesday31st May 2023
Poll Which PS5 Blockbuster Will You Be Playing in June?
The holy trinity
Six months in, and 2023 has been great for games. But ever since the start of the year, we've been sitting here looking at the June release schedule and sweating. This is the month that includes Street Fighter 6, Diablo 4, an Final Fantasy XVI — in that order. These are three of the most anticipated PS5 titles to date (and...
Monday22nd May 2023
Interview Final Fantasy 16's Devs on Clive's Name, God of War's Leaves, and Fulfilling Fans
We chat for 20 minutes with Naoki Yoshida et al
Earlier this month, we were lucky enough to be invited by Square Enix to play almost four hours of Final Fantasy 16 amid the picturesque backdrop of the English capital’s iconic Tower of London. At the location, presumably selected to reflect the obvious European influences in the upcoming PS5...
Almost four more hours with Square Enix's huge RPG sequel
Earlier in the year, after playing through a tailored demo designed specifically to showcase Final Fantasy 16’s combat systems, we described the action-heavy PS5 exclusive as a bonafide Game of the Year contender. With publisher Square Enix seemingly intent on showing as much of the sequel...
Tuesday2nd May 2023
Gallery Final Fantasy 16 Artwork Is a Feast for the Eyes
All character art, Eikons, and more
Typical of the long-running series, Final Fantasy XVI has some downright gorgeous artwork behind it. In fact, it's so good that we've decided to gather it all on a single page for your perusal. Below, you'll find all of the officially released Final Fantasy XVI artwork so far, most of which has been beautifully...
Friday14th Apr 2023
Soapbox Final Fantasy 16 Is the Most Excited I've Been for the Series in Almost 20 Years
Finally, a Final Fantasy
I'm a massive fan of Final Fantasy. No doubt like many of you reading this, my gaming tastes were shaped by seminal PS1 titles like Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX. As a kid, those RPGs showed me that games could be more than Crash Bandicoot or Tekken 2 — that they could tell epic, 50-hour stories filled with unique...
Thursday13th Apr 2023
Poll How Was Final Fantasy 16's State of Play Showcase?
Share your reaction to the big livestream
You might already be sold on Final Fantasy XVI, but Sony and Square Enix still felt it necessary to put on a State of Play livestream all about the PS5 RPG. With a roughly half-an-hour deep dive into combat, exploration, and more the focus of the show, no other games were included in the event. Final...
Live Watch Final Fantasy 16's State of Play Livestream Right Here (13th April, 2023)
Live with Clive
Sony and Square Enix will combine for a State of Play broadcast featuring Final Fantasy XVI tonight. We've been promised over 20 minutes of footage from the upcoming PS5 exclusive, with a supposed focus on RPG elements and gameplay mechanics. If you're not quite sold on the latest instalment in Square Enix's beloved series, then you...
Wednesday12th Apr 2023
Soapbox Watch Another 20 Minutes of Final Fantasy 16? You Must Be Mad
Rob just wants to play it
Final Fantasy XVI is easily my most anticipated PlayStation game. Hell, it's probably the most excited I've been for a PS5 game to date. So when Sony confirmed a new State of Play broadcast featuring over 20 whole minutes of fresh Final Fantasy XVI gameplay, I turned away in disgust. Why? Because I feel like I've seen half...
Wednesday1st Mar 2023
Poll How Do You Feel About Final Fantasy 16?
Take action
It happens every time a modern Final Fantasy game is fully revealed: "this isn't what I want from Final Fantasy". Needless to say, the cycle is repeating with Final Fantasy XVI, which, to be fair, does represent what is perhaps the most significant departure from the series' traditional formula yet — at least in terms of mainline...
Tuesday28th Feb 2023
Preview Final Fantasy 16 Is Shaping Up to Be a PS5 Game of the Year Contender
Hit maker
Whisper it, but Square Enix may have an absolute zinger on its hands. There will be some long-time fans who will likely take issue with Final Fantasy XVI’s broadly action-oriented approach, but after approximately an hour of play during a recent preview event, we walked away with our jaw on the floor. If this extraordinarily high budget...
Friday17th Jun 2022
Poll Which Final Fantasy Game are You Most Looking Forward to?
Far from final
The next 18 months or so are going to be huge for fans of Final Fantasy — assuming there are no delays! There are currently not one, not two, but three high profile Final Fantasy titles scheduled for PlayStation platforms before 2024. But which one are you most excited about? It all kicks off this winter with what Square Enix is...
Friday6th May 2022
Poll When Do You Think Final Fantasy 16 Will Release?
But a Fantasy
It's been a pretty slow week for news, so let's enter the weekend with a potentially interesting poll: when do you think Final Fantasy XVI will release? The PS5 action RPG was first revealed during Sony's next-gen showcase in 2020. Since then, we've seen almost nothing of the game, barring a few screenshots and concept art. It feels...
