Final Fantasy XV

Final Fantasy XV had one of the longest and most closely watched development journeys in the genre's history, and on Xbox One it finally arrived as the main series' first truly open-world adventure. Prince Noctis sets out with three friends on a journey to his wedding, but in the meantime the empire of Niflheim occupies his homeland, and the wedding trip turns into a quest to reclaim the kingdom. The narrative is uneven, and some twists assume familiarity with the accompanying film and animated episodes, but the friendship of the foursome holds the whole experience together and gives it an unexpected melancholy.

The player drives across a sprawling landscape in the car Regalia, camps under the stars, fishes, hunts, and takes photographs, and the gathered ingredients are cooked into meals granting temporary bonuses. Combat takes place in real time and is built around holding down the attack and guard buttons, warp-strike (teleporting to a target or a high point), and cooperating with companions on combined attacks. Spells are crafted from elemental sources scattered across the terrain and also have consequences for your own team, so they must be aimed with care. Side activities, monster hunts, and giant dungeons last for dozens of hours beyond the main story, and some of them rank among the toughest content the series has offered.

On Xbox One, the game earned admiration for its magnificent visual style, elaborate lighting, and the scale of some bosses, who literally exceed the horizon; in towns and busy battles, though, the framerate sometimes wavered. The music was composed by Yoko Shimomura and ranks among the game's strongest points, as does the option to listen to tracks from earlier entries in the series while driving. Reception was positive with reservations about the story structure, which developers subsequently expanded through updates and episodes devoted to individual characters. Today, Final Fantasy XV feels like an imperfect but unforgettable road trip, whose best moments are the quiet ones: four friends by the fire when something big rustles in the forest.