Final Fantasy XVI Demo Releasing Later Today
The long rumoured Final Fantasy XVI Demo was finally announced at yesterday’s pre-launch celebration event, which featured additional gameplay and a final (hopefully) trailer dropping just before the game releases. We’ve known that there would be a demo coming for a few months now, but the exact timing was up in the air. Some thought it would come with the Playstation Showcase a couple of weeks ago, while others speculated that the Summer Games fest trailer would give rise to a demo release. However, it was the full blown Square-Enix event on Sunday that confirmed the existence- and details of the demo.
Firstly, the demo is releasing as per the above image- meaning fans across the world will get their first taste of Final Fantasy XVI today, on June 12th. On top of this information, more details on what the demo will include were announced at the celebration event. This will cover the first 2 hours of the game- which has been labeled as the ‘prologue’ by the developers. This takes players through the first years in the main character’s (Clive) life as they traverse the political and bloody world.
Despite the numerous trailers, Square Enix have been quite tight-lipped when it comes to the story of the game- especially the overarching narrative. What we do know is that the game’s narrative will be split into three distinct sections- each a different Chapter in Clive’s life. This includes when he is a teenager, a young man, and a more mature, wiser adult. Whether we’ll be jumping between each of these distinct sections or if the narrative remains linear remains to be seen- but we’ll get our first hands-on glimpse with the release of this demo.
Finally, it was announced that a ‘special battle demo’ would become available to the player once the prologue was completed. This will jump the player forward into Clive’s adulthood- which is expected to be much further along in the game. With access to much more powerful abilities and Eikons, this will give a better feel for how the gameplay will progress as players delve deeper into the 30-hour or so campaign. With the demo progress also carrying over to the full game upon launch on June 22nd, there is no reason to not check out this first look- whether you’re a long-time fan of the series or a complete newcomer.
