Final Fantasy Resonance reviews are in: great battles, thin story. How I'd decide whether it's for you

Square Enix and Lancarse released Final Fantasy Resonance on Thursday on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Switch and Switch 2. It's the first Final Fantasy in the HD-2D style, built in Unreal Engine 5, and a reworking of the "Lapis" story from the old mobile game Brave Exvius. It's $49.99, or $59.99 for the Digital Deluxe. (Source)

The scores

• Metacritic: 86 on PS5 from 48 reviews, 83 on PC, 82 on Switch 2. (Metacritic)
• Game Informer: 9 out of 10. (Game Informer)
• Famitsu: 36 out of 40, four reviewers at 9 each. (Nintendo Everything)
• Nintendo Life, IGN, RPG Site: 8 out of 10.
• GameSpot: 7 out of 10. Eurogamer: 3 out of 5. (Nintendo Life roundup)

What they agree on

The battles are the star. Classic turn-based fights instead of the ATB bar, a stun meter, and "Visions," ghosts of Final Fantasy characters you equip for their abilities. RPG Site called it one of the best turn-based combat systems in a decade. (RPG Site) GamesRadar+ said HD-2D "has never looked better."

The story is the weak spot, almost everywhere. Nintendo Life called it "a little dry," IGN was underwhelmed by the storytelling, and Eurogamer called it forgettable and slow in places. GameSpot found the combat repetitive over time, which is the only real dissent on the battles. That split is useful, because it tells you exactly who this game is for.

What I couldn't confirm

• "Native 4K at 60fps on PS5 and Series X." No review or official page I read gives a resolution for any platform. Nintendo Life confirms 60fps on Switch 2. That's it.
• "Over 60 hours." RPG Site's reviewer finished in about 45 hours. Completionists will go longer, but I'd plan on 40 to 50.
• "The newly launched Switch 2." It's been out since June 2025. Not new.
• Adjustable battle speed and automatic encounter scaling. I couldn't find either in the reviews. What RPG Site does confirm is three difficulty levels you can switch between.

The bigger gap is the original Switch. Every review I found played on Switch 2 or PS5. I ran the demo on my original Switch and it played fine, but a first chapter isn't forty hours, and nobody has tested the late game on old hardware yet. If that's your only console, wait for a Digital Foundry pass or user reports before paying.

How I'd decide

The free demo covers chapter one, and your save carries over to the full game. So the demo answers the only question that matters. If the battles grabbed you, the reviews say they hold up for the whole game, and the thin story won't bother you much. If you play RPGs for the plot, critics are telling you this isn't the one, and Octopath Traveler II is still the better HD-2D story.

I play these for the battles. That makes it a yes for me at $49.99, though I'm sticking to the standard edition. The 120-track soundtrack comes out separately on October 28 if the music is your thing.

Verified October 22, 2026. Platforms, developers, engine, demo and soundtrack from Wikipedia. Scores from Metacritic, the Nintendo Life review roundup, Game Informer, RPG Site and Nintendo Everything for Famitsu. Metacritic numbers move as reviews come in. Price from the Steam listing, as reported by Shattered.io.