Despite taking tens of hours to beat the main story of Final Fantasy XVI, the game will eventually end. But if you find yourself in the sad position of finishing the game and wondering what else can live up to the incredible combat and narrative of Square Enix’s latest RPG hit, then have no fear. There are plenty of games that have similarities to pick up. Here are eight amazing games to try after finishing Final Fantasy XVI.
8. Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series
The biggest narrative inspiration for Final Fantasy XVI’s mature tone is Game of Thrones. Producer Naoki Yoshida has openly talked about styling the latest installment in Square Enix’s long-running franchise after George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series and its HBO adaptation. If you like the Game of Thrones vibes then there is no better option than the actual Game of Thrones game. Telltale’s Game of Thrones is heavy on Machiavellian scheming and a dark story, which makes it the perfect follow-up to Final Fantasy XVI.
7. Devil May Cry 5
A standout aspect of Final Fantasy XVI is the real-time action combat that breaks from the series' tradition of more traditional turn-based mechanics. The combat system is the work of Ryota Suzuki, who has a history of designing excellent combat systems. Perhaps his best, and the one that feels most like Final Fantasy XVI is Devil May Cry 5, the most recent and arguably best entry in Capcom’s action franchise.
6. God of Wår Ragnarök
The overall structure of Final Fantasy XVI has a lot in common with one of 2022’s best games, God of Wår Ragnarök. Both focus on linear sections filled with combat encounters that lead up to impressive boss fights, while open areas allow for more freedom to break up the high-stakes narrative. If you like the combination of narrative structure and combat that Final Fantasy XVI offers, Ragnarök will feel incredibly similar.
5. Drakengard
If you somehow play Final Fantasy XVI and think that the game isn’t dark or violent enough then you should be playing Drakengard. From NieR creator Yoko Taro, Drakengard has one of the darkest most morally grey narratives in gaming and makes for a complex foil to Final Fantasy XVI’s mature (if unoriginal) story that ultimately has clear heroes and villains. While combat isn’t anywhere near as good as Final Fantasy XVI, the unique bleakness of Drakengard is worth experiencing.
4. Shadow of the Colossus
The spectacle of Final Fantasy XVI’s massive Eikon battles is hard to replicate, but Shadow of the Colossus comes close. Team Ico’s masterpiece puts players in the role of the Wanderer, a lone figure who travels a vast empty world in pursuit of giant monsters. Each Colossi is its own platforming puzzle and boss fight that can take a substantial amount of time to beat. The sense of scale that Shadow of the Colossus is right up there with punching Titan in Final Fantasy XVI.
3. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
Another incredible real-time action combat system designed by Ryota Suzuki is one of the many great things about Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen. This expansive open-world RPG similarly takes place in a Western-inspired fantasy setting. Instead of Final Fantasy XVI’s heavy narrative focus, what makes Dragon’s Dogma so good (but still familiar to Final Fantasy XVI players) is the game’s inventive use of its world, especially monster hunts and AI companions.
2. Tales of Arise
The latest entry in the long-running Tales of series, Arise is a modern masterpiece of RPG design. The game’s narrative also bears a striking resemblance to Final Fantasy XVI’s focus on the systemic oppression of a slave class by an oppressive regime. If the Game of Thrones grimdark world design and writing of Final Fantasy XVI feels shallow to you, then Tales of Arise’s earnest approach to tackling the same thematic questions might be the perfect thing.
1. Final Fantasy Tactics
There are a handful of earlier entries in the Final Fantasy franchise that fit perfectly next to Final Fantasy XVI, but the one entry XVI owes everything to is Final Fantasy Tactics. Based on the same historical event that inspired Game of Thrones, Tactics remains one of the most complex and philosophically interesting Final Fantasy games. One of the key developers of Tactics was Kazutoyo Maehiro, who wrote the script for Final Fantasy XVI, so there are a lot of similar themes at play.
