Final Fantasy 16 fully detailed in 25-minute gameplay showcase

Last night, Sony went live with its latest State of Play stream, focused entirely on Final Fantasy 16. Producer, Naoki Yoshida, presented the stream, giving us a great look at everything from combat and exploration to companion pets. 

The stream is roughly 25 minutes long, so there are plenty of new details to glean from the gameplay footage:

Final Fantasy games are known for being visual spectacles but Final Fantasy 16 seems to take things to a whole new level. Currently a PS5 exclusive, Final Fantasy 16 looks to take full advantage of the new-gen console. Unlike Final Fantasy 15, this game drops the open world, instead opting for more carefully crafted linear levels. This in turn has likely helped Square Enix keep the quality bar high.

You'll notice that the combat seems a tad reminiscent of a Devil May Cry game, which is partly due to the game's combat director, Ryota Suzuki, who also worked on Devil May Cry 5 and Dragon's Dogma. Combat sections look slick and moves seem far more varied compared to Final Fantasy 15. Quick access to elemental spells can aid in combat greatly. In the footage we can see the player grouping up enemies with melee attacks, before dashing out and targeting them with spells.

We also get a look at the gear system and skill tree. The skill tree itself is massive, with a ton of different iconic abilities to choose from depending on your play style. You won't have to worry about gear too much, as there are limited slots but different accessories will grant different buffs, such as longer time windows for QTEs, or simpler button presses for combos. If you are already comfortable with action games, you can ignore these and instead equip accessories to boost your stats. Playing the game in story mode will automatically equip accessories intended to make gameplay easier.

The stream also shows off another key feature – summons. The ability to summon massive beasts or gods to aid you in combat has always been present in Final Fantasy but with 16, everything just seems to be scaled up, delivering more impressive visuals. We can only hope that the gameplay feels as good as it looks once the controller is in our hands. Unfortunately, this is always the hardest thing to assess when watching recorded gameplay.

Final Fantasy 16 is releasing on the PS5 in June. A PC release will come at a later date, but likely not until mid to late 2024.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I wasn't necessarily planning on picking this up in June but I'm far more intrigued now than I was 24 hours ago.  

Become a Patron!