When MMORPG’s Rob Lashley reviewed Final Fantasy XV for the PS4 what now seems ages ago, I couldn’t help but agree with him. FFXV may be the most different of the main franchise, but in its bravery to change what’s expected of a Final Fantasy, it also quickly became a fan favorite, and a top-selling game of 2017. Now, a year later, FFXV is out on the PC, and since I deliberately avoided playing more than the first handful of chapters on the PS4 edition, I gladly took up the PC version to play it and review it here. This is our FFXV PC review.
I won’t spend too much time explaining the ins and outs of FFXV’s gameplay. It’s not a new game, and you can read all about that over at MMORPG.com too. But I want to spend most of this review on the port quality of FFXV on the PC. For instance, FFXV takes FULL advantage of every possible nuanced configuration on PC. It’s a remarkable port when it comes to letting you customize your experience both in graphical and audio settings. But the UI, it must be stated, is still mostly meant for controllers. While the characters control wonderfully on the keyboard and mouse, fitting with any known third-person RPG on PC, it still plays best on the controller, if only because the UI doesn’t work well with the mouse without a pointer in some menus.
As PCGamesN put it, “this is a different, much better, more content-rich experience. Add to that the ability to play it in 4K, with improved textures, a higher frame rate, and a host of other changes unique to PC, and we’re getting the definitive version.” The year-plus of new content, new features, and all that extra visual polish make PC FFXV simply the best of all versions. There’s no discounting that fact, and I am now seriously hoping Capcom was paying attention to Monster Hunter World’s PC launch this September.
For $60, you also get ALL of the DLC, including the excellent Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio chapters – but also the multiplayer add-on which is often overlooked because FF games are mostly single-player affairs. If Square’s smart, they’ll make a damned MMORPG with FFXV’s combat and setting, as I know more than a few million people would be all over that.
Perhaps most importantly, FFXV’s 13th chapter is already reworked in the PC Edition, and thankfully that means players experiencing it for the first time won’t go through the kind of crap and frustration the rest of the gaming world did in 2017.
It’s not said enough – sometimes, it’s OK for games to get “fixed” after launch. Developers aren’t always able to control their release schedules, and when a game is better and more robust a year later, that’s a win for everyone. Look at No Man’s Sky, for example. In the case of FFXV, it was already an excellent game. Now, it’s damned near perfection. If you’ve been waiting, you get a great port, and one that’s content complete and still expecting more updates this year. Recommended.
