Final Fantasy XVI is Awesome, Actually
<p>In this, the year of the RPG, I think that <em>Final Fantasy XVI </em>deserves more recognition. It started strong right out of the gate, with an explosive 3 million copy first week and tons of hype all around the internet in the gaming community. But it dropped off just as quickly as the beleaguered <em>Diablo IV…</em>even though I think it’s a much better game than Activision’s weird <a href="https://medium.com/@xander51/diablo-iv-seems-like-its-dead-777b35adc794" rel="noopener">bland stupid grind fest.</a></p>
<p>Square Enix, the developer and publisher of the game, weirdly hastened its hype demise by throwing it under the bus during an August earnings call — blaming their recent financial shortcomings on the game’s “underperformance.” This despite the fact that <em>Final Fantasy XVI</em> reviewed and sold well for a PS5-only release. Square has a curious history of throwing out a ton of shovelware and making strange investments, then blaming the failure of these initiatives on a game that supposedly undersells. See also: their handling of the entire <em>Tomb Raider 2013 </em>reboot trilogy.</p>
<p><a href="https://xander51.medium.com/final-fantasy-xvi-is-awesome-actually-09d19b33ffb6"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>