Like most of us, I’ve been playing the demo for Final Fantasy XVI. The itch is real.

Sure, it’s been an amazing month already with Street Fighter and Diablo. Plus we just had Zelda a few weeks before that. But for me, this is what it’s all been about.

The wait is over. A new numbered installment and it’s taking on a much more mature, adult theme. Certainly a fascinating departure where you consider Final Fantasy 9.

But that’s where the series has naturally been heading? As far back as Seven, you could see human characters taking on life and essence of their own. The clashes between Cloud and Sephiroth? Epic.

Then you had Squall and Seifer, a blood feud that never seemed to end. Tidus had his resentment against Jecht, and more recently, Noctis and his band of faithful friends travelled all over Eos in the biggest open world environment we’ve ever seen in Final Fantasy.

Gradually, installment by installment, we’ve been building to this. A mature, adult dark fantasy that shares more than a passing resemblance to Game of Thrones. But you’ve heard that comparison already. Probably felt it yourself.

This demo was compelling, though. For those who haven’t played, I’m not here to spoil anything or break down the major plot points. You can uncover those for yourself. But I am impressed by the look and feel of the game.

You can just feel the budget pouring out of every facet, particularly the Eikonic struggle that opens the game. But even the detail in the characters, the architecture all around, the stunning views and the edge of your seat cutscenes.

This is everything I’ve wanted from the series. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up with the cute Kupos and Chocobos, I love the Tomberry’s and feel this affinity for the mainline series for the longest time, but when I saw blood shed in this demo, the art of war, the deception behind closed doors. Not to mention I felt a sense of no one being safe, I both shuddered and smirked.

And this is just the Prologue, I can’t imagine what Square have in store for us when we get to the main event – 8 days away, by the way.

Active battles keep things moving at all times, with dodge being a massive part of the experience, followed up by counterstriking. It really feeds into the sense of war while you’re fighting armored soldiers, goblins and other unexpected enemies.

And each enemy has their own strategies and attacks to be mindful of, so your approach has to differ and react accordingly. Which is going to make for some delightful action late on.

Not to mention the Eikonic Battles which gave me more than a passing glimpse of games like Ikaruga and Resogun in terms of the free flow of movement through the skies, locking on and dodging at critical moments. But with many more explosions and destruction.

As for the cutscenes and dialogue, they’re suitably Final Fantasy, but this time the characters already feel quite defined. Clive, the lead, has already got plenty to work through after this prologue. And then you have his confidants who you meet at the beginning and his family. There’s a lot to process, a lot to absorb and take on, but like the classic Final Fantasy titles, you’re already starting to get a good, rounded picture of who’s who.

That’s always taken for granted a little bit in games. Many stories just run and the characters feel like bit parts, not flesched out or developed. But here, between the well-spoken voice acting, the gestures and motions, the responses and ambitions. All of it comes out and is clear for everyone to see.

I’ve just scratched the surface, I know that. And somehow I’m more excited than I was before I booted the game up. That’s a rare thing, but this Prologue demo completely understood the assignment, has given me plenty to think about and left me thirsty for more. I can even carry my progress over so I don’t have to replay a thing and can have a back and forth with myself about what’s going to happen next.

Genuinely been thinking about how rare that is as demos, in general, either give me enough to know whether the game is for me or not, or put me off completely. It’s rare one actually exceeds my expectations and makes the wait all the harder.

But so far, this feels like the Final Fantasy game I’ve been waiting for. And in my eyes, I’ve no doubt that the Game of the Year race could be set to really heat up. Releasing a demo at all suggests Square feel it too.

Don’t go polishing that crown just yet, Link.