Final Fantasy 16 PC review: A diamond in the rough

Final Fantasy 16 on PC is arguably the best way to experience Clive Rossfield's story, albeit with some major caveats. Back when FF16 was originally released on the PlayStation 5, it genuinely blew my mind not only with its graphical presentation but also with the kind of gameplay it had to offer. And with the PC release, it managed to do the same, but for slightly different reasons.

Yes, Final Fantasy 16 looks genuinely impressive on PC, especially at higher resolutions, settings, and with DLAA. However, running the game at its best is much, much easier said than done, even for higher-end PC hardware. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has played the game on PS5.

On the PS5, Final Fantasy 16 struggled to maintain a balance between visuals and performance, even with the "Performance Mode" settings. The same is the case with the PC version, albeit to a much lesser degree. Moving past the technical mumbo jumbo, FF16 still holds its ground firmly as one of the best action RPGs to date. It's truly a diamond in the rough.

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Final Fantasy 16 PC: A stellar action role-playing game, marred by sub-par performance and a plethora of technical shortcomings

What does Final Fantasy 16's PC port have to offer?

The PC version of Final Fantasy 16 is essentially identical to the PS5 version, no surprises there. You can either opt to get the Standard Edition, which only includes the base game. Or for $20 more, you can go for the Complete Edition, which comes with the base game as well as the "Expansion Pass" with the two major story expansions.

Final Fantasy 16 is a graphical powerhouse on PC (Image via Square Enix)

The only major point of difference between the PC version and the PS5 version is the flexibility to tweak graphics settings. However, the graphics options on offer aren't anything groundbreaking or really all that expansive. You get the basic display options, coupled with upscalers, and a few graphics settings.

Don't get me wrong, the options available here are a vast improvement over Final Fantasy 7 Remake's PC port, but still somewhat barebones compared to ports like Ghost of Tsushima, or even Square Enix's own Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition. That being said, the PC port of Final Fantasy 16 did solve one of my major complaints on PS5.

While I adored how beautiful the game looked on PS5's Quality preset, the image quality wasn't all that good, especially during combat. And if you're playing the game on Performance Mode, then the image quality just takes a nosedive to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era, i.e., choppy 720p visuals.

However, with the PC release, this isn't an issue anymore, granted you have the hardware to back the game's visuals. I was running the game on my RTX 4070 with DLAA, and honestly, I was blown away by how much better the game looked compared to the PS5 version. Even the TAA option offers a crisper image than on PS5.

The game looks crisp even in action, which is a massive improvement over the PS5 version (Image via Square Enix)

Furthermore, the PC version also comes with better sound quality, which is especially noticeable with a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup. I usually prefer to play my single-player titles without headphones and on my 5.1 surround setup. I initially tried to use the same for Final Fantasy 16 on PS5, but it sounded grainy and unbalanced.

On PC, however, the audio is as crisp as it gets. And given how epic the game's soundtrack is, even during regular gameplay, the improvements in audio are incredibly appreciated by a speaker-nerd like me. Lastly, the PC version also has support for both Nvidia's DLSS3 and AMD's FSR3, complete with Frame Generation.

Port report: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Final Fantasy 16's PC port is not perfect, far from it. However, it's not that bad either, compared to some of the biggest PC port blunders of the last few years, i.e., The Last of Us Part 1, Star Wars Jedi Survivor, and Square Enix's very own, Forspoken. Compared to the aforementioned titles, Final Fantasy 16 is in a much better state on PC.

The frame rate stability is the biggest issue with the game, even on an RTX 4070 (Image via Square Enix)

I played the game on my modest RTX 4070 and Ryen 5 5600X system. And for the most part, the game ran quite well. I went with the High preset, at 1440p, with DLAA and Frame Generation. I also locked my frame rate to 82fps, which is well within my 165Hz monitor's VRR range.

And apart from a few instances, the game held a solid 75-80fps average. As someone who has sunk in no less than 200 hours playing Final Fantasy 16 on the PS5 at 30fps, this was a massive improvement. Furthermore, with DLAA enabled, the game looks incredibly sharp, even during particle-effects-heavy action sequences.

However, the kind of performance I got wasn't representative of what some of my colleagues were getting with Final Fantasy 16 on their PCs. My colleague Jason, for instance, faced frame rate and slowdown issues with the game, despite running a top-of-the-line RTX 3070 system. Similarly, another colleague of mine had trouble running the game on a RX6600.

I also faced issues with the frame rate dropping to the upper 50s in some of the areas of the game, despite the CPU and the GPU usage not showing any signs of throttle. And that was with Frame Generation enabled. I can only imagine what the native frame rates were in those areas.

While the addition of DLSS and Frame Generation is great, it shouldn't be mandatory to get a stable performance (Image via Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 16 on PC seems to be yet another game that relies too heavily on upscaling and similar tech to achieve acceptable performance. While I do like the addition of DLSS and Frame Generation, these techniques should be supplementary, not mandatory. Another issue that I have with the game is the 30fps lock during cutscenes.

Despite what settings you're running Final Fantasy 16 on, the cutscenes are always locked at 30fps, for no discernable reason. The only way to bypass this frame rate lock was to use a community-made mod, which, not everyone is going to do.

A Final Fantasy like no other

Final Fantasy 16, for the uninitiated, is an action role-playing game, akin to the previous titles in the series. However, unlike the past Final Fantasy titles, Final Fantasy 16 is focused primarily on the "action" front, with the RPG elements being incredibly limited. In terms of progression, the game has more in common with the likes of Stellar Blade or Black Myth Wukong.

A Final Fantasy game, through and through (Image via Square Enix)

This, admittedly, is somewhat controversial among long-time fans of the series, with some disregarding the game as a "true Final Fantasy" title. However, as someone who has played a majority of the games in the series, I do think Final Fantasy 16 is as much a Final Fantasy title as any other.

Yes, it might not have the in-depth RPG mechanics you see in most Final Fantasy games. Yes, it might not have the party composition and strategy elements of the past titles in the series. And yet, it's still a Final Fantasy at heart, through and through. Final Fantasy, in my opinion, isn't bound by a set of regulations that every title in the franchise needs to adhere to.

Instead, almost every new mainline entry in the series brings something new to the table, while staying true to the identity of what makes a game, well, a Final Fantasy game. And honestly, Final Fantasy 16 feels a whole lot like any other Final Fantasy game to me, albeit with a much more linear progression system.

And to be fair, I think with the amount of RPGs we're constantly bombarded with that offer some of the most complicated progression systems known to mankind, there's always a place for something a bit more approachable, and straightforward. Final Fantasy 16 is just that - a straightforward RPG that is also a Final Fantasy game.

A fun story, engaging gameplay, and stunning visuals, what more can anyone ask for in a Final Fantasy game? (Image via Square Enix)

As we mentioned in our review of the original PS5 release, Final Fantasy 16 is a masterclass in storytelling and worldbuilding, combined with a robust combat system. Yes, the side quests can feel a bit dull at times, but the main story and the characters more than make up for that small minor flaw. And unsurprisingly, all that holds true for the PC version as well.

In conclusion

Final Fantasy 16 is a diamond in the rough (Image via Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 16 has already proved to be one of the best modern entries in the iconic RPG franchise. Sadly, the PC version does come with its fair share of technical woes, which does come in the way of enjoying the gameplay. However, if you have a beefy enough PC to run the game, and can look past its issues, you're in for one of the best RPG experiences of your life.