With new worlds to explore, characters to meet, and battles to fight, all paired with a world-class soundtrack and a sharp presentation, Final Fantasy 16 arrives in excellent condition and gives players exactly the experience the developers intended. It's one of the most polished games we've seen this year on a technical level, taking into account elements from visuals and audio to technology and performance. It's not quite flawless, but it's as close as we've seen for a long time - and that's worth celebrating.
Unlike most long-running series, each mainline Final Fantasy entry is unique, and FF16 is no different. Helmed by Creative Business Unit III within Square-Enix, 16 is a gorgeous action RPG that plays with expectations for the series even more than usual. It's fast, it's action-driven, and its story is dark and political, resembling the likes of Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy 12.
Rather than using an off-the-shelf engine, Final Fantasy 16 is also built using technology created for this game - at least in part. Square has been remarkably tight-lipped, but it's likely we're seeing an evolution of work done originally for Final Fantasy 14, albeit greatly enhanced. As a PlayStation 5 exclusive, the development team has the freedom to implement new features designed for the new hardware. It's not the most cutting-edge experience on the market, mind you, but what's here is so remarkably solid and polished that it's hard not to be impressed.