Remaining Fantasy XVI doesn’t hit PlayStation 5 till June 22, however gamers have already gotten an opportunity to take a look at the Sport of Thrones-influenced action-RPG early due to a two-hour demo on the PlayStation Retailer. It’s glorious, and likewise reveals some cool options I hadn’t been conscious of earlier than. My favourite is an easy however slick menu display that swivels across the battlefield even when the motion is paused.
Remaining Fantasy XVI isn’t turn-based, with fight unfolding in real-time. However you possibly can nonetheless pause the sport mid-fight to scroll by way of your stock, expertise, and different menu screens. As an alternative of taking you to a static interface, nonetheless, the menus are overlaid on prime of the battlefield, switching to a distinct view of protagonist Clive Rosfield each time you toggle to a brand new one. As Gearbox Leisure author Jordan Mychal Lemos pointed out on Twitter, it’s an superior little tweak.
Earlier turn-based Remaining Fantasy video games the place battles befell in separate areas from the primary overworld had been nice about making an attempt so as to add cinematic thrives to assist the numbers-based motion really feel extra dynamic and fascinating. By making the mid-fight menus energetic in their very own method, Remaining Fantasy XVI continues that ethos and makes the transition between real-time motion and text-based character fiddling much less jarring.
The demo is chock stuffed with different enjoyable particulars as properly, like 16-bit avatars pumping their fists on the save display. The save information itself carries over to the bought recreation for anybody eager about downloading it free of charge and giving the sport a shot. Ending the prologue even unlocks a second mini-demo simply centered on increased degree fight. I’ll withhold last judgment till ending the total recreation, however I’m already having fun with what I’m seeing.
