Technologies

Final Fantasy XVI: Review, Release Date and Everything Else You Should Know

The latest Final Fantasy is a solid game with an intriguing story, but it’s not the must-play experience some of its predecessors were.

Not since Final Fantasy X all the way back in 2001 has Square Enix made a new Final Fantasy as ambitious as Final Fantasy XVI. As the PS5-exclusive game’s grand-yet-focused story unfurls over 50 hours, players will experience a reimagining of Final Fantasy’s RPG roots. Not all of Square Enix’s lofty ambitions are realized, however, resulting in a game that, while exhilarating, won’t thrill you quite like previous Final Fantasy games have.

There is certainly a lot to love about Final Fantasy XVI — but you’ll need some patience to see it.

Square Enix generated buzz earlier this month releasing a demo consisting of Final Fantasy XVI’s opening two hours. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The game does indeed start with a bang: You’re witness to a dazzling clash between two Eikons, powerful superbeings known in previous Final Fantasy games as Summons, and your toe is gently dipped into the ocean of lore that Square Enix crafted for the world of Valisthea.

You’re also introduced to main character Clive, playing through a crucial childhood experience that involves Clive transforming into an Eikon and ends with tragedy befalling his brother Joshua.

Yet these spectacles obscure one of Final Fantasy XVI’s central flaws. From a combat and gameplay perspective, the first 15-20 hours are slow going. Clive eventually amasses a varied repertoire of abilities, but the majority of these are learned through story events that happen in the second half of the game. You’ll spend a lot of the first half mashing the square button to perform generic combos.

If you want true power, you gotta earn it.

final-fantasy-16-screenshots-playstation-blog-20230417-04 — Final Fantasy XVI’s combat is beautiful to look at, but isn’t particularly deep.

Square Enix

The level and world design doesn’t help. Final Fantasy XVI is a linear game. Not every game needs an open world, but Final Fantasy XVI feels restrictive. This is especially true in the first chunk, in which levels are thinly disguised corridors. Clive finds himself in a battle area where he dispatches low-level foes, runs through a narrow hall or jungle path to the next battle area where there’s a boss-esque enemy. Wash, rinse and repeat.

It’s not bad. But it’s not terribly exciting, either. The story carries a lot of Final Fantasy XVI’s weight during these opening hours, with Square Enix hoping the narrative power will help propel you along. And to its credit, Square Enix largely succeeds at creating a compelling universe — if you have tolerance for high fantasy with a dash of anime melodrama.

Final Fantasy XVI does an admirable job of keeping the narrative tight. The game starts with Clive searching for answers about his brother and, like all fantasy epics, ends with the entire world at risk. One of Final Fantasy XVI’s biggest strengths is how it escalates gradually, with each quest bridging to another with slightly higher stakes, such that you can slowly imbibe the lore of Valisthea as the scope of Clive’s story expands.

Though there’s a lot going on in Valisthea — nations at war, land destroyed by mysterious blight — Clive’s quest motivations are always clear. That helps the story to always feel focused in spite of its frenetic grandeur.

The cost is that this is a cutscene-heavy game. Plus many quests, even late in the game, can be drab affairs: Transport to this location, talk to three villagers and then, because you’re there, fight some generic bad guys. These down moments are usually done to establish a piece of the narrative puzzle, helping to keep the story cohesive until it all connects together, but they do slow momentum.

And there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle. Final Fantasy XVI features something called «Active Time Lore,» which, if you hold down the center button, brings up journal entries on the relevant on-screen happenings. If Clive is talking to his brother Joshua in their family castle, for instance, ATL will throw up reports on who Clive is, who Joshua is, and one on their home nation of Rosaria. It’s the digital equivalent of an encyclopedia on your lap — one you’re likely going to need to refer to again and again.

ff16-interview-02-28-23 — Clive with Cid, the game’s best character.

Square Enix

Part of why ATL is necessary isn’t because the story is complicated per se, but there are just so many moving parts. There are countries, magic crystals and characters to remember, plus the relationships that bind them all together. It doesn’t help that characters, instead of referring to Valisthea’s six nations by their distinguishing names like «The Empire of Sanbreque» and «The Dhalmekian Republic,» use more interchangeable terms like «the empire,» «the republic» and «the kingdom.»

If you want to understand Valisthea, you gotta work for it.

The story is a win, but with an asterisk. As the need to regularly familiarize yourself with lore suggests, you’ll be turned off if you don’t have a taste for high fantasy. And since the story is the foundation of Final Fantasy XVI, an allergy to the genre is reason enough to stay away. That’s because Final Fantasy XVI the game is good, but not extraordinary.

World and level design are the biggest issues. Though the visuals are beautiful, environments often feel more lifeless than they should. Invisible walls are everywhere, in the form of logs Clive can’t jump over or doors he can’t smash through. Quests instruct you to find a person or item, but lead you directly to them in a way that makes everything feel small. Crates and tables don’t break when you swing at them as they do in other action games, making the world feel dead and static. At a time when Nintendo is making magic over in Hyrule, the absence of a sense of exploration in Final Fantasy XVI is conspicuous.

Then there’s the combat. It’s fun to look at, and many of the boss battles are outstanding. But the hack-and-slash combat system lacks depth or any strong incentive for creativity. You can mostly get by with basic combos and a decent evade skill. Abilities help you cut through enemies faster, but you don’t need to use them tactically to win. Really, there aren’t many tactics to employ. Though you’ll learn different flavors of magic, there’s none of the elemental strategy of games in the franchise’s past. Doing an ice attack on a fire-powered creature, for instance, yields no extra damage.

It’s one of the many ways Final Fantasy XVI has been de-Final Fantasied. Also gone is the party system of yonder. Instead of controlling different members of a party, each with their own specialized skills, you’ll have a changing cast of characters accompany you on missions, a la Disney luminaries in Kingdom Hearts. And instead of the idiosyncratic progression systems the franchise is known for — the Sphere Grid in X, the License Board in XII, the Materia system in VII — Final Fantasy XVI features a more generic skill tree.

But there’s a lot of Final Fantasy here to charm fans. I mean that literally. This is a big game, with lots to do. The main campaign will take you between 40 and 60 hours, and there are plenty of side quests to expand that playtime. Post-game content is promising, especially with a bounty board that allows you to hunt increasingly tough enemies that are satisfying to topple.

The changes Square Enix made to Final Fantasy XVI have sparked debate about what precisely it is that makes a Final Fantasy game. But apart from any specific gameplay system, Final Fantasy made its name by being on the cutting edge of roleplaying games. Final Fantasy XVI is good — but it’s not that. It’s a solid action game with a memorable story.

Nothing more, nothing less.

When does Final Fantasy XVI come out?

Final Fantasy XVI comes out on Thursday, June 22, and will cost $70 (£70, AU$115) for the standard edition and $100 for the deluxe edition.

Preorder Final Fantasy XVI $70 at Sony

Sony will also release a Final Fantasy XVI PS5 bundle on June 22 for $560. The bundle comes with a standard PS5 console with DualSense Wireless Controller and a Final Fantasy XVI game voucher.

Preorder Final Fantasy XVI PS5 Bundle $560 at Sony

What platforms will get Final Fantasy XVI?

Final Fantasy XVI is a PlayStation 5 timed exclusive. Naoki Yoshida, Final Fantasy XVI’s producer, told ASCII last month that there are plans for a PC version of the game.

Will there be any DLC for Final Fantasy XVI?

Yoshida told Game Informer last month that there are currently no plans for downloadable content for the game.

Is there a Final Fantasy XVI demo?

Yes, it’s currently available for download in the PSN Store.

What’s the story of Final Fantasy XVI?

Final Fantasy XVI takes place in the world of Valisthea, where nations battle each other over magical Mothercrystals, which provide magic energy to the people of the nation. A powerful force in the nations are magical creatures called Eikons who are controlled by human hosts called Dominants.

Players control Clive, the son of the Archduke and First Shield of Rosaria. His role is to protect his younger brother Joshua, who is the Dominant of Phoenix. The game explores the turmoil Clive goes through following an attack on his home nation.

What’s different in this Final Fantasy?

Each mainline Final Fantasy game is unique in its own way, and Final Fantasy XVI makes some big changes to the series formula by making the combat more of an action RPG rather than a turn-based party game. This means players will only control Clive, who uses both physical and magic attacks to take down enemies. Other characters will join Clive in the fight, but they’ll act on their own. The exception to this is Torgal, Clive’s four-legged companion, who can attack and heal via quick commands.

Another big change in Final Fantasy XVI is the mature rating. The US Entertainment Software Rating Board rated the game M due to its depictions of violence, partial nudity, blood and strong language, which is the first time a game in the series received this adult rating.

The adult themes and medieval setting led to comparisons to HBO series Game of Thrones, which members of the development team confirmed they were fans of and noted some similarities.

Technologies

Headphone and Speaker Memorial Day Sales 2025: Save Up to $150 on Audio Gear From Top Brands Like Bose, Apple and More

Technologies

Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Breakneck Expansion Releases Are Stressing Me Out

Collectors who want to complete a master set are finding that it’s just too hard to keep up with the game.

Pokemon TCG Pocket’s next Alola-themed set is releasing on May 29. Extradimensional Crisis is a sister expansion to the recent Celestial Guardians set — and it’s introducing the wacky and weird Ultra Beasts to the game.

Every Pokemon from another dimension now has a special Ultra Beast tag displayed just under its health point total. And certain Pokemon abilities and Trainer cards from the new set will only work on cards with this tag. While there are always new cards that shake up the metagame, this expansion looks ike it will largely introduce cards that play well with others in the set.

Extradimensional Crisis is one of TCG Pocket’s smaller base set expansions. These companion sets are often released a month or so after a big expansion. Mythical Island released after the massive Genetic Apex launch set, and Triumphant Light was the supplement to Space-Time Showdown.

Normally, I’d love to rip into packs in order to hunt more than 100 new base set cards being added to the game. Buzzwole, Nihilego and Guzzlord are some of my favorite monsters from the seventh-gen Pokemon games and the art for their cards is gorgeous.

This time around, I’m just not able to get as excited about the new drop.

Pokemon TCG Pocket is releasing expansions too quickly for me

I’ve played Pokemon TCG Pocket every day since launch. With few exceptions, I’ve opened both of my free daily packs — even if I have to stay up past my usual bedtime to do so. Ripping these suckers open has become a part of my daily routine, and I’ve been largely content to do so (even when I pull five common base set dupes).

But these expansions are getting a little out of hand now. For most games, having too much content is a good problem to have, but struggling to keep up with a collectible game saps the fun. Extradimensional Crisis will be the seventh set released in the game over the course of eight months. Despite my diligence, I’ve only completed a single base set — Shining Revelry — and I’ve never completed a master set with all of the full art cards and shiny Pokemon.

To be clear, I don’t expect to be able to keep up with every expansion in the game. I don’t even want to collect all of the secret cards — I just want to put together the base sets. I’m a fully free-to-play TCG Pocket gamer, and developer DeNA Games needs to make money to keep the app running. New releases grease peoples’ palms and keep the money flowing.

Even still, these releases have been dropping at such breakneck speeds that I don’t feel like I can return to past sets to finish collecting the cards I’m missing. It’s disheartening to complete the majority of an expansion and then leave it behind with so many gaps.

This sentiment seems to be shared among at least some parts of the Pokemon TCG Pocket community. It’s probably not a great sign when a contingent of the top comments on the YouTube video of your next big reveal are asking you to stop revealing things.

«Crisis? [The only] crisis is the one I’m having with so few hourglasses,» said one commenter.

Another person put things more plainly: «Honestly, I’d prefer if they’d slow the rollout of the expansions a little bit. Let the sets take hold for a few months and then drop bigger, higher quality sets.»

The joking hides real frustration, as many free players haven’t been able to complete the game’s full base sets. I’m not asking for these releases to be spaced out too far apart, but a single month between expansions is starting to feel untenable. Double the downtime between sets and let people breathe — and maybe I’ll finally be able to finish up Genetic Apex.

Technologies

Tariffs, Schmariffs! An iPhone 17 Price Hike Is Overdue, Regardless of Trump’s Threats

Commentary: Follow the math, not the tariffs and politics.

US President Donald Trump wants Apple to manufacture the iPhone, its best-selling product, in the US. And on Friday, he threatened to place a 25% tariff on the phone if the company doesn’t make that happen.

«I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,» Trump posted on Truth Social. «If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US.»

Adding uncertainty to his ultimatum, Trump later said the tariff wouldn’t apply to just the iPhone but also to any smartphone made outside the US.

«It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product,» Trump told reporters in the White House on Friday. «Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair.»

Despite tariffs and politics, the price of the iPhone hasn’t changed. But the launch of the rumored iPhone 17 will likely come with a higher price no matter what Trump says or does. Apple is considering a price increase and could attribute the rise to new and updated features instead of tariffs, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Since what Trump touted as «Liberation Day,» the iPhone and how tariffs might affect its price have been main focal points when it comes to this administration’s policies and pronouncements. Apple is the third-largest company in the US, and most of its products are manufactured in China. Clearly, the iPhone’s ubiquity has made it a symbol for the ongoing uncertainty of the US economy and politics.

But whether or not Apple gets taxed with tariffs, the iPhone hasn’t had a price hike in five years and is due for one. Historically, that’s the longest stretch of time the company has gone without an increase since the five years between the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 7, which ended with the iPhone 8 launching at a higher cost. We can learn a lot by looking at how the company has handled earlier price hikes (and a one-time drop) and what that means for the iPhone 17 (it’ll likely cost more).

In terms of my methodology, I grouped iPhone models into a few categories: the standard, the flagships and the behemoths. The standard includes models like the original iPhone, the iPhone 8, the iPhone XR and the iPhone 16. The flagships include variants like the iPhone X, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro. And the behemoths designation is for phones like the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone XS Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max. There are other versions that Apple sold, like the iPhone 5C, the SE series, the iPhone Mini line and the current iPhone Plus line, that don’t factor into this analysis. Also, I use the US starting price for each iPhone before any carrier discounts are applied.

Standard iPhone prices

Since its debut in 2007, the standard iPhone has had four price increases and one correction. Many folks might remember paying $199 for the original iPhone, but in reality, the phone cost $499 off-contract. In 2008, Apple raised the price $100 with the launch of the iPhone 3G, to $599, where it would stay for four years. Then in 2012, the iPhone 5 was introduced with a taller, 4-inch screen and a higher, $649 price tag.

Fast-forward to 2017, the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and the iPhone 8 debuted at a cost of $699, a $50 increase. Every year between 2017 and 2019, the price for the standard iPhone changed. In 2018, the iPhone XR launched at $749. The following year, the iPhone 11 came out, and the price dropped back to $699. And what makes that drop interesting is that the iPhone 11 was the first standard Apple phone with two rear cameras: a wide-angle and ultrawide. Up till then, all other standard iPhone models had only a single rear camera. From 2007 to 2019, when Apple increased prices it was in $50 increments, except between the first and second iPhone models.

Then 2020 happened. It was a wild year for the iPhone, and everyone, because of the pandemic. But Apple managed to launch the iPhone 12, which cost $829, marking the largest increase for the standard iPhone: $130. Subsequent models all had the same price: The iPhone 13, 14, 15 and 16 all cost $829.

If Apple follows its previous pattern, then the standard iPhone is due for a price increase. The last raise was in 2020, five years ago, and Apple has never gone six years without a price hike on the standard model. But will the company slowly raise the price over a few years like it did between the iPhone 7, 8 and XR? Or will it go all in like it did with the iPhone 12?

The standard iPhone is Apple’s most popular, and it’s safe to expect that the iPhone 17 will cost more (and would’ve even if Trump hadn’t been elected). Now we just need to wonder how much tariffs and politics might drive the price up even more.

The flagship: iPhone Pro model prices

Apple hasn’t always had an iPhone Pro variant, but it did starting in 2017 with the launch of the iPhone X, which had a starting price of $999. The phone debuted next to the $699 iPhone 8, making the 8’s $50 increase seem like nothing.

But here’s where things get interesting. Apple has never raised the price on the iPhone Pro model. The iPhone X, XS, 11 Pro, 12 Pro, 13 Pro, 14 Pro, 15 Pro and 16 Pro all cost $999. That’s eight years without a price increase!

What’s even more shocking is when you correct for inflation: the 2017 iPhone X’s $999 price would be $1,298 in 2025, according to the Consumer Price Index Inflation calculator. The iPhone Pro is overdue for a price hike, and expect the iPhone 17 Pro to cost more.

The behemoths: iPhone Plus, Max and Pro Max prices

Since 2014, Apple has sold a «big» version of the iPhone. Some of these were nothing more than a larger version of the standard iPhone with a bigger screen and battery as well as some minor differences, like the iPhone 6 Plus having optical image stabilization on its camera while the iPhone 6 didn’t. But beginning with the iPhone 7 Plus, the larger version started having «pro» features, like a second rear camera and portrait mode.

In terms of pricing, the iPhone 6 Plus debuted at $749, which was $100 more than the iPhone 6. And that $749 price stuck around for the iPhone 6S Plus and 7 Plus. In 2017, Apple had three iPhone models: the $699 iPhone 8, the $749 iPhone 8 Plus (a $50 increase from the 7 Plus) and the $999 iPhone X.

In 2018, Apple launched the $1,099 iPhone XS Max, which I consider the true successor to the initial iPhone Plus line. That means the big iPhone got a $350 increase in a single year, the largest Apple has ever made. I admit some people might not think the XS Max is a follow-up to the Plus and would deem it an entirely new iPhone variant. But this is my commentary.

Like the iPhone Pro, the Max and Pro Max would have the same price for years. In 2023, Apple raised the barrier of entry for the Pro Max model and didn’t offer a $1,099 version of the iPhone 15 Pro Max with 128GB of storage. Instead, you had to pay $1,199 for the 256GB variant, which technically cost the same as the iPhone 14 Pro Max with 256GB of storage.

The iPhone 17 and 17 Pro’s prices

Even without tariffs, it’s safe to assume that the iPhone 17 lineup’s prices will be higher for some models. But when you factor in everything that’s happened this year, it’s hard to gauge just how much the price will go up and whether that’ll affect just one or two models, or apply across the entire iPhone 17 line.

Earlier this year, Apple raised the price on its most affordable model. Though it lacks the SE branding of the previous low-cost iPhone, the iPhone 16E came with a $599 price tag, $170 more than the $429 iPhone SE (2022).

Apple doesn’t talk about unreleased products or their prices. But we do have an unusual-for-Apple clue as to how these tariffs could affect the company.

«Assuming the current global tariff rates, policies, and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter and no new tariffs are added, we estimate the impact to add $900 million to our costs,» Apple CEO Tim Cook said during a May 1, 2025, quarterly earnings call.

Obviously, that $900 million number wasn’t just for the iPhone, but for all Apple products. And that was three weeks before Trump threatened another tariff aimed purely at the iPhone. But $900 million is a lot for any company to swallow, and eventually that added cost will need to be made up for — unfortunately, that usually means higher prices (even if Apple is pressured by Trump to attribute the increase to «new designs and features.»)

If there’s one thing for certain, we’ll know exactly what those prices will be when Apple launches the next generation of iPhone models at its September event.

Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.