The Final Fantasy XVI demo starts us off in the prologue of the game and gives us a whopping TWO HOURS of content to play. We get introduced to Clive, the protagonist, and his group of allies viewing a large-scale battle from afar. Each side is determining the best time to use their ultimate weapons, dominants, to unleash. Dominants are not to be messed with. They're essentially the summons from past Final Fantasy games and boy do they have the ability to turn the tide of a battle. We get to see a giant Titan squish enemy soldiers in its path as it gears up to fight Shiva. CHAOS ensues. We are then sent back 13 years to meet Clive's family and some friends and see how exactly this war has started. It. Is. EXCITING.
The demo lets us mess around with the combat and get a feel for Clive's movements and attacks. Final Fantasy already feels super polished, at least in these portions. Executing attacks and combos feels relatively easy (they even have options for equipment to assist you with dodge timing if you'd like) and very fluid. I even spent a lot of time checking out all the particles from my sword and magic attacks flying all over the place.
When I say this game is gorgeous, I mean it. Beautiful vistas, particle effects, and character models littering the world call for a super immersive experience. I even ended up doing the whole "video game showcase" troupe of moving and panning the camera slowly to soak it all in. Absolutely worth taking a few minutes to appreciate the design here.
The story seems great and VERY dark compared to previous entries. A lot of F bombs and blood being thrown around which I am totally here for. I thought it would feel out of place for a FF entry but Square Enix has made a believer with this demo. Once you complete the demo story, you get to play a new portion of the game as Clive with 3 different infused magical abilities. Titan, Aero, and Phoenix. You can swap through these with a push of the button anytime. They open up awesome abilities which can be put into combos to further enhance your limit breaks, attacks, and means to stagger your enemies. You get to fight some mini bosses leading up to a big baddie and each battle felt unique every time you were engaged. Some enemies will block you to force you to move around them, some will leap into the air, and others will straight up beat you down with magic. It's a fun mix.
I'm very happy Square Enix released this demo a week or so before the game release. It adds to my excitement for Final Fantasy XVI and shows that the game is ready for consumption. Final Fantasy fans, hold on to your butts.
Final Fantasy XVI releases June 22nd on Playstation 5
Comments
Post a Comment