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 of the bloody game already. From characters to locations to battle systems to full-on boss fights, I'm genuinely worried I've had impactful moments spoiled through official press materials.
Now look, that's a bit melodramatic. You would hope that Square Enix knows what it's doing, and that what we've been shown so far is just scratching the surface of an immense RPG. But I still feel like modern game marketing has a bad habit of showing too much.
I've seen a few trailers in recent years that have featured key story moments or even twists, and at the time, you might not think much of it. But then when you're playing the game, and you realise you've already seen what's unfolding on screen, the experience can definitely be diminished. Just off the top of my head, SEGA's managed to do this once or twice with the newer Yakuza / Like a Dragon titles — and they're all about the story!
I get it, though. In Final Fantasy XVI's case, Square Enix probably feels like it has to go hard on marketing. It's not that the game won't be a hit, but the publisher does have to convince some people that this new direction for its beloved series is justified. From that perspective, a deep-diving 20 minute gameplay presentation makes sense.
But if you've been keeping up with Final Fantasy XVI over the last month or so, you'll have probably seen all of the raw, uncut gameplay clips from the developer's PAX panel. If you add all of that footage to the 45 minutes of gameplay we got back in late February / early March, that's plenty of pre-release material. And now we're getting another 20 minutes?!
For me personally, it's too much. Others might not agree — maybe you need more convincing, and that's fine! — but I've simply seen enough. More than enough — to the extent where I'd just like to play the game and discover things for myself.
Ultimately, this is a contractual thing for Sony and Square Enix. The former has been pushing Final Fantasy XVI like it's a first-party project (and it will be a PS5 exclusive at launch), so a big State of Play blowout is a somewhat predictable move. I don't have a problem with that, but again, it just feels like we've seen so much of Final Fantasy XVI already. I'm tempted to say most onlookers will know whether they're sold or not at this point.
I think the rumoured Sony showcase is worth a quick mention as well. I've seen loads of people online bemoaning this State of Play announcement because they've been waiting on the big event — and that's understandable. If that showcase does happen in the relatively near future, before the release of Final Fantasy XVI on the 22nd June, chances are that we'll get yet more footage, followed by a launch trailer — and then we're skirting dangerously close to Deathloop territory.
Okay, perhaps that's a bit unfair; you'd have to be mad to compare the soaring hype levels for Final Fantasy XVI to what Deathloop had prior to launch — but you know what I'm getting at.
Having said all that, me not wanting to see any more of Final Fantasy XVI is probably a good thing, in that it basically means Square Enix has managed to snag my interest. And I suppose the fact that we've been handed so much footage in the first place is a positive; the developers certainly aren't afraid of showing this game off.
But for the sake of my future self, I'm covering my eyes for this one!
Have you seen enough of Final Fantasy XVI? Will you be tuning into this week's State of Play? Summon your own Eikon in the comments section below.
Comments 76
I’ll be so glad when the ABK deal is done and FF16 drops so Sony can finally start talking about uhhhh I don’t know SM2 and the rest of their 1st party games coming.
Yes, I don't want to see too much of a game and have story moments spoiled. I don't spend a lot of time watching game play videos. I'll watch some trailers and a few of my trusted reviewers and that's it. If there's a demo I'll try it. In the end this State of Play isn't for me.
Something to point out is that although they’ve shown over an hour of gameplay already it’s mostly been shown in livestreams and quietly released videos from SquareEnix. Most of the mainstream/casual players won’t have seen most of this stuff unless it’s in a big show directly from Sony.
I’ve not really been paying attention to much of the footage we’ve seen so far, aside from the odd trailer - I wasn’t aware we got 45 minutes of gameplay already actually. Or maybe I saw some of it, was it the one everyone was complaining about how dark everything was? I think perhaps I skimmed across it and agreed.
Either way I am pretty much ignorant as to the actual gameplay loop, I will have a little look through this video I think but I’m pretty happy going in relatively blind. They have to cock a mainline FF game up pretty aggressively to put me off buying it.
Planning to avoid any more Zelda news before launch too 🤞🏻 It was great what they showed the other week, but imagine buying the game and learning about those new features yourself!
I've actively avoided any more footage of FFXVI. Square Enix has a nasty habit of spoiling many things in their trailers (the final KH3 trailer spoils almost the entire game, for example), and I won't have them ruin this for me.
Is the combat similar to 7 remake? It's the only one I have played but really enjoyed the combat.
Just don’t watch it?
@Splat Nah it's a full-on action game like Devil May Cry, but it's backed by RPG stats and equipment systems.
4 trailers and an hour of gameplay in the span of like 2 years? Personally I don't think that's nearly enough, but I love watching trailers for games I'm hyped for leading up to release. I still don't think it needed a SoP all to itself if thats actually the case
After this there's apparently a live action trailer and maybe the launch trailer so prepare to have your eyes closed some more lol
I'll probably watch it as I'm still not fully convinced I want to buy it Day 1, although I am leaning towards doing so. If I was already sold through and through I'd definitely avoid the new SoP as well.
@ShogunRok Interesting. I still might give it a chance.
@ShogunRok "You would hope that Square Enix knows what it's doing, "
Is that dark humor, or naivete? They both smell the same.
We've seen 10 hours of FFXVI and no minutes of an RPG so far with promises of seeing it later. They have one last chance to convince anyone on the fence the game is an RPG at all before release and reviews.
Personally I won't be checking into anymore pre-release content. FF games are special to me and I want to be surprised by all that XVI has to offer.
Demo predictions? Yes or no? “Available today”?
@NEStalgia I almost made that a really snarky statement but thought I'd give SE the benefit of the doubt!
@Bdbrady I'd love to see it but it still seems too early. Late May / early June would be my guess for a demo.
These SoPs aren't for those that are sold on the game already, it's for those who either want to see more or aren't sold yet.
I will never get why gamers want so much material beforehand but funny to see how it usually changes. At first the outcry is "don't give us trailers, give us lots of actual gameplay", then "it's too much gameplay now guys!"
As soon as a game interests me, I won't watch anything about this game until I hit play myself. Except multiplayer stuff of course.
@ShogunRok @Bdbrady Yoshi-P actually confirmed the demo will be 2 weeks before launch so as not to let the hype die down https://twitter.com/aitaikimochi/status/1645982819775303681?t=Q6n-rGX87Asq5kEnvgyT4g&s=19
They’ve shown off so much already. It’s literally the only game Sony have to show and it’s not even published by them. Just tell us whether there’s anything at all coming out this year.
Solution = dont watch it 😉
@ShogunRok LOL....naivete then
I said in another article that I probably won't watch but I'm sure I will lol. I just think they aren't spreading it out enough, still 2 months before launch and now its the same day as Zelda TOTK's final trailer.
I want the game to be a huge success, I really like what they're saying about it, plus they seem super confident in it and it seems like its gonna be a true AAA exclusive banger we're looking for!
@NEStalgia exactly. Right now this is an action spinoff as an attempt to appeal to a wider action game audience westernized narrative driven titles (there statements). Still we have yet to see anything resembling an rpg, let alone a FF game aside from inserting in iconic assets and labels.
Which is fine, but it is a justified argument to lament this being called a mainline FF game thus far from what we have seen.
It's square whom have stated rpg elements will be shown, which could change my perspective on that. Yet so far it looks Flashy, but also underwhelming. As I am one of the few out there that thinks devil may cry 5 was lame, simplistic, and dated in nearly every design aspect. I am keen on seeing the supposed rpgs elements for sure and am yet to be sold on it all merely because it has Final Fantasy in the title. As I feel like we've actually seen very very little aside from a few tailored action sequences, some design stuff, and b roll after previews.
I will learn about the game when I play it but I feel like I was exposed to a lot more XV before release than XVI…they had like a two hours theatre show for that one.
@KaijuKaiser agreed
I already see a bit too much of final fantasy 16, but I'm still okay watching the new trailer if there's no story spoiler and it only describe the gameplay or fighting system.
@JSnow2 That's a good point, maybe it wouldn't seem like overkill if it was better spaced out. The game isn't out for over two months, after all.
Bored of hearing people say “it’s not a real Final Fantasy game”, it’s certainly a different approach but, for those who want it, Square helpfully released the excellent Octopath Traveler 2 recently (I hope those criticising FF16 for not being a real RPG have bought it!) so from my perspective they are happily covering all bases right now.
I legit forgot this was releasing this year lol. I keep thinking it won't be out until next year.
Probably my most anticipated game of the year...
...And I'm proud to say I haven't seen even one minute of it's previews or trailers. Avoided watching any of them. It's not hard really, just don't hit that play button. 😏
Going in blind.
I relate to this in a big way. It's the same with Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I wish they wouldn't show so much of anticipated games like this. It's hard to not give in a watch some of it, let alone avoid thumbnails and articles discussing this and that.
I managed to mostly avoid Elden Ring stuff and FFXVI, but I fell off Final Fantasy around XII, so it's been easier to ignore everything about it so far. I'm hoping to go in blind and get a nice surprise.
@Bdbrady didn't even think about that!
Same. I unfollowed all official Accounts of Square to not be spoiled anymore. Its ridiculous at this point.
With the game going gold recently, what are the chances of the release being moved forward?
For me, if developers and Sony are so eager to show this much of the game, it indicates that the game is much bigger than some people are thinking. From the story, sidequests and exploration this is certainly a welcoming huge title.
I really wish to avoid watching the SoP tomorrow but it is stronger than me.
@kyleforrester87 Or, now hear me out, they could have released the 16th entry of their celebrated RPG IP, Final Fantasy, as, you know, an RPG....and created an IP, let's say "Octopath Traveller" or, I don't know "Dante of War" that's an action adventure new IP to appeal to a new audience, rather than creating a new IP to do what the old IP was known for then making a new entry of the old IP that's a new genre to appeal to a different audience.
I mean, nobody expects The Last of Us Part III to be a systems-driven party-based RPG set in a familiar zombie apocalypse setting while a new Naughty Dog IP called Wildlife Escapist is a narrative survival adventure where you run between settlements from wild beasts that offers "the kind of gameplay and tone fans of TLoUp1 and 2 enjoyed." That's pretty much what this is proposing for FF and Octopath.
Except my example is bad because Naughty Dog made Jak 3 a racing game, so the yolk's on me But nobody liked it.
Edit (And yes, it's possible there really IS an RPG in there which they've hidden so far, but deliver on the promise to show it. In which case YoshiP has surpassed Kojima s the premier troll of the game industry.)
@SirMarshmallow
The way Microsoft is releasing games, any COD will take 5 years and be 30 fps. A bit of sarcasm, Brit after the Redfall announcement today, just a bit.
I haven’t been watching much of the FF announcements because I want to see it fresh.
@NEStalgia As per usual you’re too dug in to see the wood for the trees, but I reckon - and I reckon many FF fans would agree - what the franchise needs more than anything after 20 years of decline is some focus, quality and to just somehow prove it can exist in some form at the sharp end of the modern gaming landscape.
If TLOU had been running 36 years with quality declining for over half of that but still carrying a hugely bankable name, you’d probably expect some major changes - yes. Resident Evil went first person and dropped its cast of well loved characters with 7, once it re-established itself and found its feet it leaned back into its roots a little more with RE8. Familiar characters, call backs to earlier games and even a third person mode.
I don’t know if FF16 will end up being good but what I have seen does not look bad.
How you finding these supporter badges a few weeks in, by the way? Sky still blue? 😉
@DrGonzo As a fan since the 1990s you don't know what the hell you're talking about it.
The game looks fantastic and is truly bringing the series back to its roots fantasy-wise. Love that they've changed the game to more of an action RPG. As for showing too much? Even after all they've shown its been very hyper-focused on different aspects of the game. Nothing feels spoiled at all and I still don't even really know what the story is.
@Splat play Crisis Core Reunion, if you haven't already? Some similarities, (only 1 playable character, mind), but some cool twists with equipping and using materia. Feels like a solid middle-ground to me.
@Bingo-Bongo knowing how Yoshi-P typically treats the games he works on, they’ll take every day they can to add polish and fix bugs. So very unlikely it gets pushed up, but very likely that we get a super polished end product on the already scheduled release date, after a massive day one patch of course.
Looks like a fantastic game but I don't see the "Final Fantasy" in it. Couldn't this be any other great game with a different name? Granted, we haven't seen a lot, even at this exposure, but what, other than name, makes this a Final Fantasy game?? I love being proven wrong when it comes to games. Hopefully, that happens here.
I'm in doubt of actually buying a new FF game. And FF7 on the PSX was my fave one but it didn't grow with me (don't like the time based mechanics anymore), even on the remake I had doubts but I liked the idea a whole lot. Actually when the director said it will be more like GOW, that took my interes to a new level, maybe the buying level one
The big X factor is a persons right to watch it or not watch it. Personally I'm happy to see more footage. I don't understand why people complain when they can just ignore it.
I don’t see why we need 20 minutes of 1 game 2 months before it releases. I’d watch 5 minutes of it inside a “PS5 games for holiday 2023 and beyond” SoP, but I’m not setting aside 20 minutes for 1 game, that’s too much.
I’ll read the article, and I’ll play the demo, but not watching 20 minutes.
a new Street Fighter game and a new FF game in the same month? Awesome
Some of this may be due to a few of SE's recent releases being labeled as under performing. Possibly some fear and desperation behind the big marketing push for FF 16. I imagine that many at the company are feeling the pressure to deliver a hit.
I have enjoyed a few FFs over the years, but haven't played them all. I am interested in 16, but personally am a bit put off by the Mature rating. Will see how it reviews.
Is there a lot of cursing? Hard pass if so.
@kyleforrester87 In fairness, Octopath isn't really an alternative to Final Fantasy. It's more like a spiritual successor to the SaGa games. Also, it's low-budget and designed to run on lower-end hardware, whereas Final Fantasy traditionally pushes the graphical limits of modern home console tech.
Square-Enix doesn't have a modern alternative that feels and plays like what many long-time fans would call a "Final Fantasy" game, and that's the problem.
Pretty easy NOT TO watch it. Unless you are so easily manipulated by your impulses. May I suggest you go touch grass and breathe fresh air?
@Ralizah Disagree in the sense that imo Octopath is very much in the vein of earlier FF games. That said, I would prefer FF stick closer to its roots than it currently does.
@doctommaso The unconventional progression structure, experimental mechanics, and lack of a traditional party in a narrative sense (where everyone travels together on a central quest and grows through their interactions as a team) are really nothing like early Final Fantasy.
The Bravely series is the closest SE has come to making a game akin to early Final Fantasies in recent years.
I used to be an avid FF fan, but the franchise's switch from turn-based mechanics where you could micromanage your entire party in battle while reclining on the couch to brainless button-mashing combos absolutely killed it for me. Still pretty games to look at, but they should have at least left the option to retain the turn-based battles for those of us who prefer them.
@Ralizah To be fair, I've only played FF 4, 6, 7, and 10, but you do travel with multiple people in your party in Octopath and can switch them out, just like in the FFs I played. I know you can only see one person at a time though, and the story focus is on that person during that part of the story, but I didn't see that as a negative; I guess others disagree, which I can respect. I actually preferred the fighting mechanics in Octopath, as I found them to be more thoughtful/strategic than FF, but to each their own. I'm curious as to what you mean by the progression structure.
I've only ever seen the reveal trailer because I was watching the showcase. I'm not going to watch the State of Play for this so I'll just go in pretty fresh.
@Ralizah I think the problem is maybe that people are a bit too hung up on what Final Fantasy 16 (and evidently Octopath) aren’t, without really considering it’s not the 90s anymore and appreciating what it takes to make a return on a AAA game these days.
The PS1 era games are my all time favourites but I understand the difficulties making and selling games like that these days, so hopefully FF16 is just a good game.
As for Octopath 2, it’s better than any of the Bravely games, even if it’s being less “like FF” in the process. Maybe bodes well for FF16, too, then!
@ShogunRok It's CHAOS!!!
@Ralizah Yeah, but Octopath is NOTHING like the SaGa series. There's no glimmer system, secret party members, and the games aren't maddeningly difficult like the SaGa series. Aliance Alive is the spiritual successor to the SaGa series imo as it has a glimmer system and crazy difficulty.
@KundaliniRising333, Isn't FFXIV also a fully action RPG? I haven't heard anyone complain about that game. Anyway, this seems like a single player version of FFIV with much improved combat but only 1 playable character and I'm ready for it.
@NEStalgia Completely agree - and also, Octopath Traveller doesn't even scratch the FF itch because it's so weak when it comes to story and characters so it's not even as if they've done a switch around with franchises. But yeah, as you say, it'd be like TLoU3 being a turn-based RPG while another game by ND becomes the real TLoU3 - I'd just add that it'd be like this other game being a TLoU3 without an emotionally charged story with memorable characters.
@Sil_Am No, MMO combat is nothing like an action game. It doesn't even use hitboxes. You basically "dock" with an enemy and automatically attack them until they die while using certain abilities when they come off cooldown. Basically FFXII style.
Felt this way about every deep dive they did on games almost everybody was sold on, and there have been many: the last of us 2, ghost of Tsushima, horizon forbidden west,...
They could save money and time if they'd quit this annoying overexposure. Less is more.
I'm on a fence with this one. I really, really dislike manga and anime but i heard somewhere that FF16 is going to be heavilly westernized... I'll wait for reviews.
FF16? more like FFS
Yeah because everybody is forcing you to watch it...
Seriously, you guys have the dumbest problems in human history.
If I had to decide I rather be overexposed than having no 60 fps at launch....upps to soon?
This is a weird take. The game is 70 bucks, I would be concerned if they weren't showing it off. Horizon got this same treatment.
As I'm still a bit skeptical of the game, I have no issue watching.
This feels like overkill after seeing 45mins recently of what this game is about
@kyleforrester87 "it’s not the 90s anymore and appreciating what it takes to make a return on a AAA game these days."
There's the problem. Why is the focus of Final Fantasy Sixteen less about "How to make the best modern Final Fantasy game they can make" and more about "What can we do to make the most AAA possible game and slap the FF label on it for sales?"
The fandom seems to be playing this weird mental twister game where they're not actually excited for what Final Fantasy is or how this new game will deliver a new Final Fantasy experience. They're excited about sales potential of a name they're nostalgic for even if it means it's just a name and homages plastered on a totally different game. The people most hyped about the game seem to be a combination of people that actively dislike FF itself and only care about this specifically because it's nothing at all resembling an FF game, combined with people that don't care what the game is as long as a game named FF looks popular like it will somehow vindicate their 90's nerdiness by FF now being the choice of the cool kids even if that means slapping the FF name on a WWII shooter.
There's also an element that holds it up on a pedistal due to a weird fixation on the director, as though he has a much, much higher pedigree than he does. This is just a weird bubble of XIV fans that love that game so much they've attributed some sort of legendary history to a director that's known for......only that game....and he didn't design it, he was a substitute director that specializes in Western MMOs.
When a series outlives its usefulness and time, there's two options. You gracefully end the series, and leave the IP as a legendary brand remembered from the past and create new IP for the new era. This is what Sony does, often too soon IMO. Or you just slap the brand on some new series and hope it boosts sales by fans of the old series buying into the new series because of it's name. This is what Square is doing. And it's working. And that's sad.
As for the tags, that'll take time, it's not an immediate effect, but due to the relative lack of them, it's not having much effect for now.
@Allfather If it's truly using a Luminous-derived engine, let's wait to see what the "performance" mode actually delivers and what it looks like before using it as a console war weapon. FFXV and Forspoken aren't great omens for that.
@Kidfried It's interesting you'd say it seems more FF in tone than FFXII while saying the tone is everything, because when I first saw this, FFXII is the thing I immediately thought it was a spiritual successor to. The tone seems much closer to that than to anything else FF.
Then the more they showed since that initial reveal the more it just looks like an FF-skinned GoW clone.
Otherwise, I see, to a point, your setting, though I disagree that this actually feels like those older games in tone either. Other than maybe XII. But a game series is more than a vague tone. It's either going to be a particular story about a particular place or character, or it's going to have a common design or genre. And I don't mean turn-based specifically. Action and turn based RPGs are still RPGs. But a narrative action adventure with some RPG-lite elements added in isn't an RPG, otherwise, GoW itself would be celebrated as an RPG.
The comparison I keep making in terms of the game design is that Horizon seems more like an RPG than what we've seen of FFXVI, and that's not technically an RPG at all.
@NEStalgia Actually thinking about it more, we can take another, much more niche series and apply some of the same thoughts to it. Let's use Legend of Heroes/Trails of Cold Steel as an alternate what-if. That's a series where, each subseries is a long trilogy+ about a particular group of characters and their story. But the overarching total series consists of games set in the same universe but at different periods of time or even national entities, so there's a thematic connection, but different stories and periods all interconnected. But the series is also interconnected in that it shares a similar design philosophy, and overall core genre and gameplay design but each subseries has its own twists or additions to it.
Now imagine the next LoH game is a dark, brooding over the shoulder, linear action-adventure in a Western art style and motif, edgy and graphic, with hack and slash DMC like action and minimal nods to any systems that make an RPG, because, new audience, sell more, AAA! Fans would rightly revolt. That's not what LOH is, and that's not what anyone invested in the series is invested for.
I think FF gets an "anything goes" pass and is treated differently, not because it's actually different but because it's been so badly managed for so long, people have stopped caring at all, really, and now have a weird, awkward desperation to have their fondness of the brand be legitimized through a "successful" game.
I mean I like action adventures, I like RPGs. I probably like this game. But that doesn't mean that this game has any connection to the FF series beyond it's name. That's what bugs me. It's not that I don't think it might be a good game. I just think it's a NEW series with loose FF connections being cynically called FF for business reasons. Kingdom Hearts had more connection to FF than this, and they've told us that was never about FF, that was just there to help sell the new game..... It's not like using the FF brand to sell something that's not FF is new to Square. And I can think of no other company or franchise that has done such a thing.
@kyleforrester87 Agreed. Also, I've asked a couple friends if they think Octopath's progression structure is unconventional, and I got responses ranging from "I'm not sure how" to "Quite the opposite". It seems pretty typical and FF-like to me, but I haven't received a clarification from Ralizah. Regardless, the Octopath games are incredible.
I understand that people working in gaming have to watch the reveals since it's their work but, an average player can choose not to.
Don't agree with that they should stop it though I didn't watch the latest reveal.
I purposely skipped yesterday's 20 minutes, want my playthrough in June to be as blind as possible.
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