FF16 review: Game of Thrones meets Devil May Cry in fantastic PS5 game
radiotimes.comThe wait is nearly over. Final Fantasy XVI — also known as FF16 — is launching this week as a PS5 exclusive. As is normally the case with mainline numbered Final Fantasy games, this action-packed release is designed to be an entry point for new players, as well as being a satisfying reimagining for returning fans.
This means there's a whole new voice cast, playing a fresh host of characters, in an original story that includes lots of familiar elements like magical beings, sword combat and deep lore. In this case, some new inspirations are also fairly obvious, with the influence of Game of Thrones being hard to miss.
This is no accidental homage, either. FF16 producer Naoki Yoshida told Eurogamer, «We had our core team of about 30 members very early on buy the Blu-ray boxset of Game of Thrones and required everyone to watch it, because we wanted this type of feel.»
We'd argue that this was a genius move, which goes a long way to making Final Fantasy approachable to a wider pool of players. The game is more grounded than you might expect, introducing you first to a handful of human characters, before gradually layering on thicker helpings of high-concept lore and increasingly wild set-pieces.
Leading the narrative is a new character called Clive, played by British actor Ben Starr (Netflix's You, Sky's Jamestown). Clive is a sort of Jon Snow type. At the start, he's in the bosom of a powerful family, receiving the very best in combat training. But as you may have seen in the FF16 demo, Clive is soon clad in black armour on a solemn solo adventure.
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