Motion blur in Final Fantasy 16 is causing some players to feel nauseous with no way to turn the feature off.
Many users have complained about motion blur – a graphical effect used for myriad reasons such as giving a sense of speed, covering up a low frame rate, or making in-game motion appear smoother – and even more so that Square Enix failed to include the ability to turn off turn it on.
“Let me preface this by saying I am very excited about the game, loved the demo, and am enjoying the main game so far,” said HanShotFirst1569. reddit.
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“But wow, Final Fantasy 16 has the most awful motion blur I’ve ever seen in a video game. It gave me motion sickness severe enough to force me into the bathroom in case I vomited. I can’t believe they released it like that and didn’t include the fix in the first day patch.”
Several other users in the comments agreed, though some Noting that it was hard to play the game even for an hour at that time because the motion blur effect made them so unwell. “It’s been a few hours into the match and I’m really enjoying it, but damn that motion blur gives me a headache sometimes,” he said. One.
Square Enix has yet to address the complaints, though motion blur was apparently an issue that didn’t show up in pre-launch scans given Final Fantasy 16 went three months before launch and the developer released a small day-one patch. IGN asked Square Enix for comment.
I finally watched someone play FF16 who got sick of the motion blur. As I thought – the way they use the camera is completely different. They use fast, jerky movements and often try to fight off the camera, which is trying to re-center.
– John Lineman (@dark1x) June 25, 2023
John Linnemann of Digital Foundry highlighted a possible cause of motion blur nausea on Twitter (above), saying that it looks worse when players use fast, jerky camera movements instead of slow pans or leave it alone completely.
He said, “I finally watched someone play Final Fantasy 16 and was overwhelmed by the motion blur. Like I thought: the way they use the camera is completely different.” “They use fast, jerky movements and often try to fight off the camera, which is trying to re-center.”
The game has been well received, with players obsessed with Cid’s voice actor and a new feature called Active Time Lore. Final Fantasy 16 also shows a lot of love for the franchise’s past, with a premise directly inspired by the original 1987 game and a nod to a beloved character.
In our 9/10 review, IGN said: “Final Fantasy 16 is fast-paced, reflexive, and combat-heavy, and it’s certainly a departure from what fans might expect from a Final Fantasy game, but its story, excellent characters, and world-building are right up there with the best the series has to offer,” And the innovative Active Time Lore feature should set a new standard for how long, heavy games can keep players invested in its world.”
Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter for IGN. He’ll be talking about The Witcher all day.