Review: 'Final Fantasy XVI' goes full 'Game of Thrones' with medieval battles and mysticism

It might sound odd in a game full of medieval mysticism, raging battles and swordplay, but "Final Fantasy XVI" actually wants to help its players survive the chaos.

Every few hours or so, a character will express befuddlement. "Does any of this make sense to you?" a travel companion will ask, just a few missions after an enemy shrieked in horror that he didn't know what the heck was going on. He could be forgiven.

Moments before his confusion, a woman with a godlike ability to harness tornado-force winds — this after sprouting wings and shape-shifting into a glistening, multi-story creature — had been rendered powerless by a seemingly more simple magic user, the game's player-controlled protagonist. But the 16th core "Final Fantasy" game — no previous knowledge of the brand required — isn't out to confuse as it lets 35-plus hours of story-driven gameplay unfold with surprising patience.

Yes, there's a lot that "Final Fantasy XVI" is attempting to juggle, be it the multiple warring factions of or spent time in Middle-earth will know is often a curse as much as it is a blessing. And in the "Game of Thrones"-like world of "Final Fantasy XVI" it's mainly just a curse. That's all just scratching the narrative surface in this title from producer Naoki Yoshida ("Final Fantasy XIV Online") and director Hiroshi Takai ("Final Fantasy V") .