Duders in the know, should I get Diablo IV or Final Fantasy XVI?

It's kind of impossible to answer this without more information. "I like both series" doesn't help because it depends on what you like about the series. Final Fantasy XVI isn't really a traditional Final Fantasy game, it's a very action oriented game with almost no significant role-playing mechanics (stats and equipment are super limited and don't matter; dungeons are entirely limited with zero puzzles; party members do basically nothing) and an upgrade system with more in common with something like God of War than something like FF VII (original.)

Diablo IV has a pretty strong campaign but a lot of people hate the post game stuff, and if you like trying out varied builds and such you'll probably be disappointed there too, since skills feel oddly de-emphasized and lacking in variety. Also the equipment during the campaign doesn't do much to change up game style and feels very incremental. If you want an AARPG with a good story and presentation for the genre (though the story isn't fantastic) and an interesting world it's pretty good but if you're looking for crazy builds and gameplay variety it is flat.

I personally preferred Final Fantasy XVI. I was disappointed in the lack of RPG mechanics and the extremely dark tone for Final Fantasy but it has some pretty strong characters, it's very pretty, and it's mechanically sound, if not amazing. If you go into it thinking of it as a stripped back character action game that's extremely long with a big story and presentation focus then it's a good time, at least most of the time. The quest design gets pretty monotonous.

I also had a good time with Diablo IV but after playing a chunk of the first season the seams on that game are much clearer to me. It has a good campaign but it's monotonous and changing classes doesn't even fundamentally mix things up enough, let alone just changing build and skills. I also ended up finding the loot annoying rather than exciting, which is not ideal for a Diablo game.

Both games are good but I prefer FF XVI because Final Fantasy XVI is built around being a strong story and adventure and that's where they both are strongest it leans into its strengths a lot more. Just go in knowing there are basically no role playing mechanics other than talking to a lot of people and doing fetch quests and if you like dark stories, strong production values, and pretty basic and easy character action gameplay then you should have a good time.

hmm- i've only played Diablo of the 2, and my overall impression of that game is: it's a pretty good treadmill. If you want to catch up on podcasts, or see the latest Blizzard's art team has to offer, go for it. but after once through the campaign and 1.5 seasons later- that game really isn't showing me anything new.

FF16 seems divisive, and generally i'm not a fan of Stylish Action games- but if you're in the for something more engrossing and immersive- that's probably your ticket (between the 2).

can't speak to diablo 4 tho most ppl i know are sorta down on it . FF16 is my runner up goty so far this year , it has some great moments , that said tho it just isn't a rpg game honestly with combat like a character action game instead , that said it feels fluid as all fuck imo and the characters are good with a decent story so i definately recommend it .

My opinion: don't support full price games that have micro-transactions.

Between the two, FFXVI is the better choice. I’d say that neither were must-plays, though. FF went too long for what it had (partly my fault, I got too focused on the pointlessly verbose side quests) and Diablo has interesting lore and voice performances but the gameplay had no staying power with me after I finished the story.

I voted for Diablo IV.

I've been known to like me some FF games and JRPGs in general--and also the more action-oriented RPGs that FFXVI is clearly drawing inspiration from--but I played the demo and came away unenthused. To me it seemed like a game that tried to straddle the line between a more traditional FF game and more action-oriented title and ended up doing neither very well. But hey, I'm only judging from my experience with the demo. (EDIT: And FWIW, I did find JSS's review enlightening and disturbing, with regard to basically everyone in the world being a racist dick and the MC providing no real pushback.)

Diablo IV is surely not a perfect game, but we all know that these types of live-service games, and particularly Blizzard ones, tend to improve with post-release patches, and the last big batch of patch notes I saw that coincided with the season 2 release really seemed to address a lot of the issues I'd had with it.

But as @bigsocrates has already said, it really just depends on what you liked about each series to begin with.

May whichever one you choose provide you with a satisfactory amount of amusement over the holidays!

Thanks for the replies.

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough with my question, but you Duders still answered in the way I was looking for. After reading opinions around the internet about both games, before making this thread as my final decision, I decided to go with Final Fantasy XVI. For two reasons. 1. The game at the moment is a PS5 exclusive. Yeah, I know it will come to PC and maybe even the Xbox in the future, but I don't want to wait for that when I can play it now while it's on sale. And 2. Diablo IV (which I will still get in the future) is not in a great place endgame wise yet. The game is a lot like Diablo III, in how it got off to a bad start before patches and expansions eventually made it great. I got on board when the ultimate edition came out and had a blast.

Final Fantasy XVI not being a tradition entry in the series and being more like a character action game doesn't bother me, nor does the dark storyline of backstabbing and bigotry. But Diablo IV barely having an endgame after beating the seemly short story would bother me, like it's doing for many others. As far as microtransactions. I would agree if it interfered with the game itself, but from what I read, it doesn't and the cosmetics you can buy aren't even as good as the ones you find in the game by grinding loot.

Here's my hot take - neither.

Diablo IV was . . . fine. It's has the AAA gloss if nothing else but very little behind it. It's a game that feels extremely over designed. What I mean by that is that all of the systems technically work, and you can see how they are all supposed to fit together. However, it really feels like the dev team spent so much time making everything neat and tidy that they never spent time thinking about whether any of the systems were actually fun.

As for FFXVI, I hate, hate, hate, HATED that game. I have to think that it represents the absolute nadir of the franchise, because I can't honestly envision it going any lower. Prior entries, even the one's I didn't like, at least had one or two ideas that were interesting in concept. You could see how they could have been compelling even if the implementation was lacking.

However, FFXVI has no original ideas. The combat is mind-numblingly repetitive and feels like a cheap bootleg version of better action games. On top of it, the world they've created feels entirely generic and the characters are pretty much dead-eyed department store mannequins with all the personality of a cinder block. it's genuinely terrible.

I piped in earlier and voted FFXVI, but I now suggest skipping both and getting The Talos principle 2. It’s cheaper and I have liked it better than both Diablo and FF. Just an altogether excellent game.