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Square Enix cast their golden child of a franchise into the Action RPG realm with the 16th mainline instalment of Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy XVI, upon its first cutscene immediately thrusts players into the sprawling saga and tragic tale of Clive Rosfield, a damaged man long-recovering from the death of his beloved brother, who claimed his birthright.

This entry in particular takes a bold leap of faith from the typical presentation of other Final Fantasy entries thus far, casting its playerbase into the high-fantasy kingdom of Valisthea, of which this very location is even a massive tonal shift for the series. It bares a dark, gritty atmosphere right from the get-go, blood, gruesome death and discrimination are apparent from the get-go and you immediately know this isn't going to be your typical Final Fantasy game.

However, all of this works in the game's favour. Its visuals are stunning from the vast landscapes of Valisthea and neighbouring realms, to the facial expressions of the game's titular cast and especially the gargantuan proportions of the game's staple Eikon showdowns, where elemental beasts are pitted against one another in ruthless clashes to dictate the balance of peace within the realm.

Final Fantasy XVI ditches the traditional party system and opts to instead place the entirety of the game's narrative focus on its only playable character, Clive Rosfield. A standoffish, highly-trained soldier blessed by Phoenix, the Eikon of Fire, Clive acts as the game's... well, everything. His tragic beginnings and subsequent aftermath are the heart and soul of Final Fantasy XVI. As emotionally flawed of a character as he is, that's what makes him so special in contrast to the plethora of other Final Fantasy protagonists. He's in no means perfect, and he often must battle his emotional turmoils even throughout the most basic and mundane of interactions with the charismatic, charming character of Cid, Dominant of Thunder, and Jill, his childhood friend and soulmate who he finds himself almost killing at the beginning of the game. Ben Starr really makes him shine.

The high-octane, exhilarating pace of XVI's combat will constantly keep players on the move. Ditching the turn-based antics of yesteryear, XVI tackles Action-Adventure gameplay to its fullest, giving the player free reign over Clive in the most chaotic of duels, allowing them to use his full arsenal of elemental abilities and utilities at their heed. Whilst Clive, as previously mentioned, is the only playable character of Final Fantasy XVI, his gameplay evolves through the usage of different Eikons that he gathers throughout the game, the nature of which I won't delve into here.

Unfortunately, this particular entry's sidequests are lacking, and so is some of the world surrounding them. In other open-world entries such as XV, quests continually tasked the player to explore regions of Lucis or Altissia that were bustling with life, new enemies and new characters to interact with, whether it be at restaurants, stores, or otherwise, it always felt like the player was co-existing alongside a meaningful, active world where other people engaged in their journey. Here, not so much. XVI's quests are comparatively barebones in their implementation and content, offering players nothing more than a simple marker to trudge towards before returning to where they first received the quest to deliver an item that was all too easily obtained. The environments they lead you on can often feel barren, far too linear with almost no life surging through them. It truly makes Valisthea feel empty, shallow and dull, the exact opposite of what it is depicted and seen as in the main storyline.

Final Fantasy XVI is an incredibly bold and fresh entry into the ever-increasing prolific pantheon of Final Fantasy experiences, where we've tackled modern environments, distant utopias and even planets on the verge of collapse due to environmental downfall. With its stunning graphical presentation, complex and emotionally-warming cast of characters, the revamped action combat system and the game's grand narrative, I think this game's highs soar far too beyond the sky to make its sometimes cratering lows with its sidequest design ruin the experience.

9/10.

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A truly horrifying insight into Bruce Wayne's psychological grievances leading up to the events of Arkham Knight, Batman: Arkham VR delivers a short, concisely delivered package that hits all of those detective notes people have long been asking for to be a central focus in mainline Arkham games.

With beautiful, immersive graphics and a truly enthralling mystery about a coordinated attack on the Bat-Family, stepping into the shoes of Batman has never felt more satisfying and engaging.

Ratchet and Clank next, please! Insomniac and Nixxes, hear us!

Best. Game. Ever.

This is my first Final Fantasy game, I love the combat style here and the characters are genuinely really interesting.

However, the port job here is not good. I have an RTX 3080, but this game is poorly optimised for lower-specced systems and has the most bare-bones graphical options you could ask for out of a PC game, you can't even properly uncap the frame rate within the game settings. This is where I wish Steam had a 'mixed' review, because as a game, it's pretty good, but I cannot in good-conscience recommend that you purchase this immediately solely because of the lacklustre port job done to one of Square's most prestigious titles.

Also, bring Kingdom Hearts to Steam, you cowards. We need it!

I own this game. That is all.

I have been playing Fall Guys since Season 1 2020 on PS4, what is happening to the game as a result of Mediatonic being acquired by Epic is pathetic.

Skins you could previously unlock via Crowns and Kudos are now going to be paywalled behind 'Show-Bucks', a premium currency that is only obtainable via purchasing with real money. The game is also going Free-To-Play and will be removed from Steam entirely in a months' time. Purchase it now if you want to own a Steam copy for whatever reason, but don't support this garbage in the future.