As a Final Fantasy fan, I couldn’t help but enjoy the immersive look into the Eikons, Dominants, and world of Valisthea. Or at least I did—until I quit.
What happens when a game gets too real? When Final Fantasy 16 decided to embody several unpleasant features of one of my favorite television shows, Game of Thrones, that’s where I drew the line. Or, more accurately, put the controller down and walked away—salty and sad.
In single-player games, characters, and the storyline, is the lifeblood that keeps players like me involved in the game, and it’s something that Final Fantasy 16 does… maybe too well. When FF16 became the new Game of Thrones with deaths around the corner, including my favorite character, that was the moment I stopped playing.
At least for now.
Despite the gruesome and, in some cases, heartbreaking deaths, gore, inhumane civilians, and the near-death of another of my favorite characters, Final Fantasy 16 has been an epic and wild ride already. And it’s one of those games that you never really know what will happen—which is exciting, sometimes, and devastating, other times.
While I grieve, there are some things I won’t miss
My biggest annoyance so far, outside of the shocking deaths, is that we can’t switch off motion blur. And it’s intense in FF16. While there are settings you can change and a particular graphics mode you can try, it doesn’t stop the eyes from hurting or nausea from building over time.
Related: How to turn off motion blur in Final Fantasy 16
Other aspects of gameplay have been relatively breezy on the controller, and I have no further complaints. Switching between the different Eikon’s abilities while fighting has been a bit of a learning curve, but otherwise, once you nail down the combos, it’s ridiculously fun.
The only downside would be the dodge feature—but this is purely a “me” problem. I get very involved in my combat and combos, so when I press dodge, I immediately want to get back in and start fighting, and I forget that you need to press dodge and move either left, right, forward, or back to actually dodge. But it is slow, so even if you get it right, you may be unable to avoid everything.
Final Fantasy 16, I’ll be back for one reason
Torgal. Nothing beats an adorable dog you can pet and who will fight by your side.
As someone who loves mythology and RPGs, I really enjoy seeing these fictitious beings like Odin and Ifrit in games. It’s one of the reasons why I enjoyed God of War so much.
Tying in with this, Tomes, or Hypocrates, is a helpful resource in FF16. If you ever need to know anything, like what a bearer is, about the different events that have occurred, or even the factions of Valisthea, you can find it all there—as long as you’ve encountered the topic while playing. It’s an excellent quality-of-life feature that’s easy to use and helpful, especially when playing in a world filled with extensive lore and backstories.
That, in itself, is also one of the best features of FF16. You learn more about the world and the story alongside Clive. But don’t get me wrong, it would be nice not to have everything be so mysterious, but it adds to the excitement and fun of uncovering the mysteries of Final Fantasy 16.
And that’s why I will probably return to Final Fantasy 16 much sooner than I thought. Because even though my favorite character is dead, and my heart is broken, I still want to see how everything ties together—and to get all the trophies—but mostly to see how it ends.
