Final Fantasy 16: Needs to Calm Down with its Visual Effects
Blockbuster JRPGs, such as Final Fantasy 16, are renowned for their commitment to grand visual displays. However, I cannot help but wonder – when do we reach the point of diminishing returns? It seems that FFXVI might have crossed that line, as even a minor encounter with a few orcs can transform into an indecipherable fog of particle effects, projectiles, auras, explosions, and various forms of energy emissions. Admittedly, I don’t want to sound like a perplexed grandma scrutinizing every detail through her thick glasses, but I genuinely cannot comprehend what transpires in many of these battles.
This issue is not about slowed reflexes or disorienting camera angles; I quite literally cannot see the fights unfolding. The standard abilities unlocked through the story create such vast plumes of dazzling magical phenomena that Clive and the terrified Chocobo he battles become wholly obscured—reminiscent of those comprehensive dust clouds in which Scooby-Doo characters often brawl. Swift reflexes and reaction times become irrelevant when you can’t even spot the combatants amid the chaos, and no level of skill can pierce through the multiple layers of surging energy to observe the core conflict. Evidently—or rather, inconspicuously—this is a problem.
Blinded by the light
Initially, I was inclined to classify this as an accessibility problem – a rather broad interpretation, not excluding people with perfect vision, who might find it just plainly inaccessible. Simultaneously, it makes me wonder about those prone to sensitivity from intense visuals or hardcore combat sequences, given the game’s confrontationally dazzling depiction.
However, deciphering a largely opaque battle is convoluted for anyone, let alone pulling the thread of an increasingly complex plot along with progressively visually intensive fights that potentially stress my PS5’s capabilities. Eventually, I found myself resorting to my gaming instincts over any visual or auditory clues because, frankly, they were hardly illuminating.
Indeed, I struggle to believe that a blind ‘shoot-in-the-dark’ experience serves the game’s intended purpose. Relying on muscle memory might guide you through your attacks, but it offers no insight into the enemy’s actions. More often than not, I found myself swiftly ejected from those cartoonish combat clouds upon being unexpectedly struck by an unknown sword, spell, or tentacle, sending Clive flying across the battlefield. If the adversary is too formidable to be immobilized by your attacks, they can merely retaliate from behind the obscuring magical smoke screen, self-imposed.
Regrettably, I perceive this as an ill utilization of the PS5 processor’s vast capacity, feeling more like an enabler to an unsustainable spectacle, causing more harm than good. The issue proliferates throughout the game. All aspects are intensely amplified—even a parry causes the screen to blur inconceivably. Compounded by unrelenting visual designs of characters and monsters, such scenarios challenge us to discern the identity of combatants amid clashes.
More ironic is that the most impressive elements of FFXVI are not its extravagant light shows as they become mundane after 40 hours, desensitized to characters fizzing like sparklers. The game gains my admiration when it trades over-the-top effects for imposing scale, creating a sense of enormity translatable to real-world vertigo, akin to gazing up at a towering skyscraper. However, when boss fights solely resort to immolating everything, I find myself disengaged.
Apologies to Final Fantasy, but these visual spectacles lack novelty, and quite frankly, they offer little clarity upon revisits.
