Final Fantasy Resonance reviews are in: 85 on Metacritic for the first HD-2D Final Fantasy, out October 22

A strong start for HD-2D Final Fantasy. Reviews for Final Fantasy Resonance went up on Tuesday, and the game sits at 85 on Metacritic from 46 critic reviews (45 positive, one mixed) and around 84 to 85 on OpenCritic. Developed by Square Enix with Lancarse, it’s the series’ first game in the HD-2D pixel art style made famous by Octopath Traveler, and it rebuilds the first story arc of the mobile game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a full console RPG.

Who loved it. DualShockers, Nintendo World Report and HardZone all gave it a perfect 10, Wccftech a 9.5, and Game Informer, Noisy Pixel and Windows Central a 9, according to a roundup collected by HappyGamer. RPGamer (90) called it “truly a Final Fantasy for RPGamers” with “some of the best pacing in any RPG,” and critics broadly praise the turn-based combat, its Stagger system and the Visions mechanic that lets you call on series heroes like Cloud, Tidus and the Warrior of Light.

Who didn’t. VGC and Eurogamer both landed on 6. VGC called it fun but “just isn’t an essential experience” in a world that already has HD-2D remakes and the Pixel Remasters, and Push Square (8) said the story and characters can be “all too predictable.” MeuPlayStation put the main story at around 30 hours, with roughly twice that to see everything, but flagged slow pacing and uneven difficulty spikes.

When and where. Resonance launches October 22 on Nintendo Switch 2, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via the Microsoft Store, for $49.99 (Digital Deluxe $59.99, Collector’s Edition $209.99), per Square Enix. Square Enix Japan notes the Steam version arrives a day later, on October 23. TheGamer notes it shares its launch day and review embargo with Nintendo Switch Sports Resort.

PPR take: An 85 for what started life as a gacha game is a real win, and $49.99 undercuts the usual full-price JRPG. If you’ve played the HD-2D Dragon Quest remakes or Octopath and wanted that look on a Final Fantasy, this sounds like an easy pick. If you were hoping for something new rather than a lovingly polished throwback, the 6s are worth reading first.