Final Fantasy 16 demo is a hit with fans: "This is truly the next generation of Final Fantasy"

Final Fantasy 16 NPC wielding a blade, holding it in front of them.
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 16's demo has only just gone live, but reactions are already breathlessly praising it.

Earlier today on June 12 saw the long-awaited Final Fantasy 16 demo go live around the world for PS5 users. Now that players have had the chance to go hands-on with the final product, the early reactions from the demo are in, and as you can see from just a smattering of tweets below, players have nothing but praise for Final Fantasy 16.

See more
See more

It's interesting to hear that Final Fantasy 16 has some of "Final Fantasy 14's DNA" in its characters and world, considering both projects share some key developers like Naoki Yoshida. It's also quite intriguing to hear that it's "so much like Game of Thrones," considering Eurogamer's recent report that Yoshida himself revealed that the HBO adaptation was required viewing for every developer on the game.

See more
See more
See more

It's pretty clear from these early reactions that a lot of Square Enix's hard work has paid off in the early hours of Final Fantasy 16, especially if people are throwing up (a win is a win). It's pretty uncommon to see this kind of near-universal praise for a demo, but so far at least, that's the sort of impression that players of Final Fantasy 16's demo are sounding off with.

Final Fantasy 16's demo focuses on the prologue of the new game, and should last you roughly two and a half hours. You'll even be able to carry over your progress to the final game on June 22, and what's more, you'll also unlock a special combat demo when you're done with the demo's story mode.

Check out our Final Fantasy 16 preview to see what we made of the new game, as well as interview comments from Yoshida and more.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Clive looks to the horizon in Final Fantasy 16
10 Games like Final Fantasy to play today if you love JRPGs and unforgettable stories
A screenshot of the upcoming Xbox series X game, The First Berserker: Khazan.
Steam Next Fest's biggest Soulslike is about to jump from PC to PS5 and Xbox, and everyone seems to love the demo just as much as we did
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Steam launch was "fantastic" analyst says after PC players sent the JRPG port flying to the US best-selling spot in the week of its release
Final Fantasy 14 producer Yoshi-P interview's the series' founding father Hironobu Sakaguchi
After 3 years of playing Final Fantasy 14 "almost every single day," series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi reckons the MMO "might be the game that I've played the most in my life"
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't the classic turn-based RPG I've been longing for, but its combat is somehow even better than what I wanted
Key art for Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake.
In a true JRPG miracle, Square Enix says Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D sales are better "than initially assumed"
Latest in RPG
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
Reclaiming their crown, pacifist Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 player beats the whole RPG as "Merciful Henry": 1,741 strikes blocked, 472 knockouts, and zero kills
Top-down screenshot of Monsterpatch, showing a grid-based town with Pokemon-like creatures, GBC graphics and vegetations sprinkled about.
This cozy RPG promises a Pokemon and Stardew Valley mashup with "limitless customization," 208 monsters, and more, so no wonder its Kickstarter was funded in just 16 minutes
Dragon Age: The Veilguard art showing the RPG's companions grouped together
Dragon Age: The Veilguard director is leading an unannounced game for Wizards of the Coast, which recently hinted at more Baldur's Gate
A large, muscly bloke eating noodles at a bar while two people point pistols at him from behind in Cyberpunk 2077.
The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 developer enters into partnership with Pokemon Go owner to create a new game "set within one of CD Projekt's IPs"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
The Witcher 4 and Naughty Dog's Intergalactic are reportedly skipping 2026 and won't be ready until at least the year after
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"