Review for Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition. PC game, the video game came out on 06/03/2018
Square Enix's with the PC world has never been the best. In fact, since the dawn of time the company has always focused on the creation of titles expressly designed for the console world, relegating editions for personal computers to an almost marginal role. Late publications, macroscopic bugs, patches never released, obscene controls… there is something for everyone, in short. This bad habit has also been a constant in recent years: one of the most striking examples is the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, in which the first episode has serious performance problems even on modern high-end computers.
No wonder, therefore, if the announcement of Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition (which features the same contents as the Royal Edition), the PC community reacted cautiously, suspending the celebrations waiting for a test with hand. Not even the tech demo published about a month before the official release bode well: despite a discreet visual rendering, theThe graphics engine seemed to suffer from annoying and frequent episodes of stuttering just like Final Fantasy XIII, so much so that the worst is feared during the heated combat sessions.
The first thing that catches your eye, even before putting your hand to the pad, is the amount of space it requires for installation: it starts from 83 GB in its basic installation to even reach more than 150 if you choose to install the ultra definition texture package. Faced with such a waste of Gigabyte, many might think that Square Enix has implemented a very poor optimization of the installation files; if, however, we look at other titles of this generation with characteristics similar to those of Final Fantasy XV, we realize that in reality it is not such a singular phenomenon. The Windows Edition has been specially designed to offer a total 4K experience, without any kind of compromise: this means not only Ultra HD textures, but also computer graphics movies at the same resolution. And we all know how much Square Enix likes to fill its flagship series with spectacular CGI footage, right?
After the initial shock of the download, once we launch Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition we will first be faced with a excellent adaptation of the interface to almost any type of control chosen. The technique chosen by the developers is very simple: if you use the Xbox One pad, the interface will adapt to that type of input; if the controller used is different, therefore not of the X-Input type, icons will be shown that try to visually contextualize the position on the gamepad of the button to be used. To be clear, this is a bit like what happens with Switch titles when you are holding only one Joy-Con. Even mouse and keyboard aficionados have been satisfied: although not as comfortable as a gamepad, even this type of input is all in all comfortable and well-functioning. Why this digression on interface and controls? First of all because in the past Square Enix has never been particularly attentive to this aspect, and then because Final Fantasy XV is a title with a very particular battle system, which needs time to be understood and mastered, therefore a good interface and adequate controls are essential for a quality experience.
The real surprise, however, comes once you look at the customization menu of the graphics sector. The options are many and allow you to change elements related to both the level of detail and the cleanliness of the image. This allows you to adapt Final Fantasy XV to a large number of configurations, from the most performing to the cheapest, allowing it to run even on ultrabooks. Think that we even reached 30 frames per second at 720p on an ultrabook that is equipped with an nVidia GeForce MX 150 graphics card, the mobile equivalent of the GT 1030, really not bad!
Obviously it is on the latest hardware that Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition gives its best. The attainable levels are truly impressive, especially once the highest quality assets and the most sought after effects are activated, so much so that the console editions seem almost another game. Let's be clear, to reach 4K at maximum details you need a very expensive nVidia GeForce GTX 1080, but if you "settle" for a Full HD resolution even an AMD Radeon RX 580 is able to reach high quality peaks, however remarkable. The only detail that could actually turn your nose upside down are the anti-aliasing options, very limited compared to other productions.
After years and years of trying, Square Enix finally managed to create a PC port worthy of the platform on which it runs. With the right settings, Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition reaches truly impressive visual peaks, without making them the preserve of a narrow circle of hardware configurations. Once the right combination is found, the title will run smoothly in almost every situation, so much so that there is no longer any trace of the stuttering present in the tech demo. If sales are adequate, this could be the first in a long line of quality PC conversions. Don't disappoint us, Square Enix!
► Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition is an Action-JRPG game developed and published by Square Enix for PC, the game was released on 06/03/2018
