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LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Lightning Returns is the concluding chapter of the Final Fantasy XIII saga and series heroine Lightning's final battle. The grand finale of the trilogy brings a world reborn as well as free character customization and stunning action based battles.
LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is a rpg, jrpg and female protagonist game
developed and published by Square Enix.
Released on December 10th 2015 is available only on Windows
in 8 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Korean and Traditional Chinese.
It has received 4,427 reviews of which 3,508 were positive and 919 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.7 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 15.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII into these genres:
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Windows
- OS *: Windows® XP SP2 or later
- Processor: 2GHz Dual Core CPU
- Memory: 1500 MB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA® Geforce® 8800GT / ATI Radeon™ HD 4770 VRAM 512MB or later
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Storage: 22 GB available space
- Sound Card: Sound card compatible with DirectX® 9.0c
- Additional Notes:
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User reviews & Ratings
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Closing out one of the weirdest trilogies I can think of with the weirdest entry in it; Lightning Returns switches up the combat system for its most confusing-to-learn and difficult-to-master version yet, moves even further away from the infamous "hallway simulator" of the first game with what feels like the most open maps in the series, and tries its hand at a Dead Rising style clock system, which is daunting at first until you realise you can do 90% of the main story within the first 3 of the 13 days you get to play with. (If you freeze time a lot, that is) Much like XIII and XIII-2 before it, this game is flawed and confusing at times, but this game's approach with the sole protagonist and a focus on interacting with/helping NPCs gives it a level of worldbuilding and immersion that was lacking in its predecessors. Also you can play dress-up with Lightning which is dope. The music still ♥♥♥♥♥, the story was pretty solid imo, I think 2's is better, as is its antagonist, but with XIII's cast, XIII-2's story and LR's cathartic conclusion to the saga it's honestly harder than you'd think to rank them fairly. All this to say that Lightning is hot and I hope she returns again in 4K when they reveal a remake/ster next month just to spite me for finally playing the trilogy :)
Lightning Returns is a nice but flawed ending to the XIII trilogy. Story Story-wise it starts pretty weak. During the first 5 hours I was actually thinking I might drop the game, but I endured and I’m glad I did. The story is segmented into 5 main arcs across different locations and focuses on characters from the previous games. I’ll briefly summarize each arc without spoilers. The first arc has pretty dark and gothic vibes, which I liked. It also tries to be a detective story, but it doesn’t really succeed. The story didn’t grab me at all here and honestly it felt kinda boring. It also felt like nothing important really happened. The second arc is much better and easily the best in the game imo. The story is fun and engaging, and it has one of the most iconic scenes in the whole trilogy in my opinion. I loved every second of this part. The third arc isn’t anything special story-wise, but it has a few moments I liked. The strongest part of this arc is definitely the location. It’s probably the biggest and most varied area in the entire trilogy, and I really enjoyed exploring it. The fourth arc is set in the desert. The story is again nothing special, but it has some Tomb Raider vibes. I also really liked the sand sliding mechanic xd. The fifth arc is basically just a fetch quest across all locations. The ending of this arc is good, but the fact that it’s mostly fetch quest stuff really drags it down. The finale is absolute cinema. I loved almost every part of it, except some cheesy moments and THE boss fight. Who the ♥♥♥♥ thought it was a good idea to make a boss fight with four phases that can one-shot you?????? xddd (skill issue I guess idk xd) There is also a new important character in this game, “Lumina”, and I loved every single scene she was in. She is brilliantly voice acted. I was very satisfied with Light’s story arc across the trilogy. Snow’s arc was also well done. But the other characters could have had better made arcs. Overall I really liked the ending of the trilogy and it acutally surprised me, but I can see why some people don’t like it. The story is definitely not perfect and FF13 is still the best one story-wise, but I liked Lightning Returns more than XIII-2. Writing and Voice Acting Writing sometimes feels bloated. Something that could be said in 2 sentences is said in 6. It’s not every dialogue, but it happens often enough to be noticeable. Voice acting is also pretty inconsistent. Sometimes it’s genuinely very good, but other times it sounds like the actors are just reading the script with zero emotion. Also HOPE NEVER SHUTS THE ♥♥♥♥ UPAHDJGOUGB 😭 Gameplay Gameplay in Lightning Returns is pretty different from the previous two games. There are no XP points and stats only increase by completing main quests and MMO-like sidequests. Honestly, kinda stupid decision. What I loved are the Garbs. There’s a bunch of outfits that give different buffs, abilities, and trade-offs. Only issue I had is that some are very slutty/skimpy, like something even Eve from Stellar Blade wouldn’t wear xdd. Imo it doesn’t fit Lightning. Instead of upgrading weapons (XIII) or monsters (XIII-2), you now upgrade your abilities by combining them. For example, you combine Attack lvl1 + Attack lvl1 and you get a stronger Attack lvl1. Once it reaches max XP in lvl1, you can upgrade it to lvl2. I didn’t really like this mechanic, it just didn’t click with me. I really liked the open world exploration, especially in the Wildlands. This game also has a time limit. Basically, you have 13 days to complete the game. I was taking it very slowly and finished all the main quests on day 9, so it’s very forgiving. You don’t have to worry about it at all. It’s a cool mechanic, but it feels too safe. Combat Combat is completely different and I must say I’m not a huge fan. I liked that they tried something new, because by the end of XIII-2 I was getting kinda burned out on the XIII/XIII-2 combat. I wouldn’t say this combat is bad, it just didn’t click with me. One thing that bugged me is stagger. Sometimes it works perfectly, sometimes you stagger an enemy and the effect instantly ends. There are a few things I did like about this combat though. Being able to perfect parry is awesome. Also, your health doesn’t recover after a battle, so potions are actually useful xdd. Graphics Graphically it's still pretty good overall, except for the place you start in. While Luxerion has nice dark and gothic vibes as I said before, the textures there look like they were made for PS2. Other than that, it’s a nice looking game. Maybe only the Wildlands look a bit dated in some places, but it’s nothing horrible xdd. As with the previous game, most of the cutscenes are in-game, which isn’t bad, but I just love the look of XIII’s pre-rendered cutscenes. Soundtrack Soundtrack is made up of reused tracks from previous games, re-arranged/alternate versions of tracks from previous games, and some new tracks. My favourite track from the new ones is probably "Midnight Eternal". I also really liked the alternate version of "Blinded by Light", called "Crimson Blitz". Technical This port is easily the best in the trilogy. You don’t need any patches or anything. I did however run into one place where there’s a chance the game can crash "Yagd Woods" so it’s better to save more often there just in case. Overall Impressions The game is good. Some say it’s the worst of the trilogy, others say it’s the best. I personally liked this game a bit more than XIII-2. I still think XIII is the best one, and I also think that if XIII was standalone it would have been better. But XIII-2 and Lightning Returns are nice additions. I’m really glad I played this trilogy.
Much like its immediate predecessor, the beginning to Lightning Returns threw me for a loop. Given where the previous game in the FF13 trilogy finished, the start of LR is very jarring. It eventually makes sense, but the game does a poor job of inviting you in. Nevertheless by the end of the story I was compelled to go through and get all the achievements. As it turns out my bewildered initial opinion was replaced by one of enjoyment. I don't think LR is a great game, but I do think it's a good one and my favourite of the trilogy. Despite the rocky opening and the overall plot I actually found the writing to be surprisingly grounded, neatly merging the world state of cursed immortality with existential considerations. Actual conversations with normal people in the various environments paint a very vivid image of a dying world and a population that is increasingly welcoming it, if only because what it means to be human has decayed in-kind. I was surprised the game even alluded to this at parts, but it is fully bought in to the idea. Side quests, which functionally make up the majority of the game, frequently deal with this philosophy, from someone wondering if anyone has any empathy left to what it means to be stuck as a child forever. Though the world isn't exactly reactive, there is some satisfaction to knowing that doing something might change a person's outlook for the better. Knowing that not doing a quest would lead to that not happening helps reflect some pathos back to you. Arguably where the game really shines though is its mechanical systems. In combat you control only the one character, Lightning, but can switch between three different load-outs at will. To be most effective you'll need to master switching between these. With smart builds and sound strategy, fights can be over very quickly and do not out-stay their welcome. Unfortunately combat can also get repetitive due to the fact most encounters are one-versus-one. The few times you do get group encounters the battle system's flaws show up for what they are; character movement is sluggish and it's very difficult to keep track of every enemy using an ability. Battles can be avoided a lot of the time though, but this plays into the central mechanic of the game. The story takes place over a stark countdown. Though you can delay this countdown, you cannot extend it. To delay it you can use a special ability to hold it in place, but this resource can only be obtained from defeating enemies and the same resource is also used for other useful abilities, such as a full heal or a teleport. Enemies in this game are actually finite meaning the availability of this resource is also nearly finite. As the timer ticks on, enemies get stronger, but so too their rewards. What this all amounts to is an intriguing push-and-pull of multiple systems engaging at once. Do you clear out enemies as soon as possible to give yourself as much time, or try and stagger things out so that you can get greater rewards to reduce challenge? It's a complex system very well implemented. One of these rewards can be abilities. Abilities can be freely slot in your loadouts based on preference, but by merging same abilities together you can empower them. Perhaps they do more damage, can be used more frequently or provide large passive stats. This system actually works similarly to the materia fusion system from Crisis Core, albeit not to the same depth. Succeeding the greatest challenges requires you to master this system. It's an elegant way of keeping the upgrade system included in the rest of the trilogy in a way that fits far more organically. My biggest criticism though comes in the form of the treatment of the star, Lightning. The loadouts you switch between are determined by the outfits Lightning wears. Optionally you can equip accessories, of which there are many to choose from from subdued to outlandish, but fundamentally you must use a specific outfit as a base. A lot of these outfits try to play up sex appeal and it's wholly unnecessary, unlikeable and really goes against the tone of the rest of the game. Grudgingly using an outfit despite how it looks because of how useful it is mechanically is not something I want in any game, but here where the only playable character is a woman and her looks are commented upon frequently by NPC barks is incredibly disappointing. I'm not even saying that some of the less-covered outfits are necessarily bad, they can rock a style pretty well, but if she's wearing full armour why is her bottom exposed? Why can I see that underwear? It feels pervy. There's no way that a male character would be subject to similar clothing. Though that is a consistent issue I simply couldn't ignore throughout, the rest of the game as I said at the top is enjoyable. It's a little rough in places, but its heart is generally in the right place and its systems make it surprisingly engaging. On its own I don't think LR really makes sense as a lot of the emotion underpinning the overall story relies on awareness of characters from the previous two games, however if you're already bought into the world of FF13, I think LR makes a strong capstone.
I just played through the trilogy. I'm not new to the first two, but this one I skipped back in the day because it looked awful. I finally gave it a shot. I couldn't have possibly been more surprised. I am a BIG fan of 1. I love its story, characters, and most importantly its combat. A 9/10 for me. I love 2, but it has worse story, characters, and combat, albeit better exploration. A 6/10 for me. Lightning Returns is a 9.7/10 for me, simply because it has the best game-play. Period. Surprising? For sure! Everything about this game is a red-flag on the surface, especially to a Final Fantasy fan. Only one controllable character, a constant timer ticking down to game-over, thematic departure from the previous two games, and "Lightning Returns" comes before "Final Fantasy" in the title. Surely a stinker, no? Couldn't be more wrong. Look, I'm still shaking my head in astonishment. Because this is actually a fantastic game that rises above its sequel-hood, it's genre, and yes, even its series. After playing enough of it, I even bought it for a friend who's not a fan of Final Fantasy. It's because the game-play is king. Everything that was put in this game is there because the developers asked the question: "is this fun?" And the resounding answer is YES! But what about everything else? Let's get straight to it, the theme and vibe of this game is SUFFOCATING and OPPRESSIVE in the BEST possible way. It's the end of the world. Time is running out. You have the choice of where to go and what to do and how to spend your time. It's extremely compelling. The theme boils down to, how many people can you save? And what will it take to save them? And is it worth saving them? The overall narrative takes a back-seat and most of the story in the game is told through the lens of inter-personal relationships between normal NPCs you encounter in side quests. They range from serious to silly, deep to shallow, curious to mundane, but never ever is it boring. You may scoff when you read this, but the closest game I can liken it to is Witcher 3. Yes, I'm going there, I think the side-quests in this game are that compelling and full of world-building. It's the HIGHLIGHT of the game's story. The narrative itself can be ham-fisted, even offensive especially at the end, but it's such a small part of the story that I consider it largely unimportant. This is a legit open-world game. You can go anywhere and do anything at any time. It's the first of its like in the series. And it's basically perfect. Do yourself a favor and do NOT look up guides or videos of this game before or during playing it. It's so much more satisfying to experience it for yourself. That's were the game shines. If you try to play it with a guide, you are doing yourself a disservice. It's okay to fail and game-over. A lot of the fun and atmosphere in the game relies on you feeling that you can fail. It's quite intentional and inspired. But that said, the game gives you what you need to succeed, if you just believe in yourself, you will not see the game-over screen. The combat. Wow, it's amazing the more you play it. But it may take a bit to grasp it, as it's likely it will be VERY challenging to you on normal. Thankfully if you don't like challenge in combat, there's an easy mode. But I recommend accepting the challenge of normal because it's extremely compelling and enhances the immersion of the game. It's fast moving, and asks you to juggle and manage a lot of things at once. I normally can't stand stuff like that, but being a HUGE lover of the combat in 1, which I think is basically pristine (you know if you know), this is a completely different take on the SAME ideas, which is genius. It blows 2 out of the water, which was a back-step from 1 in every way (again you know if you know). So if you like 1, it stands to reason you will find that you like 3 even though it's quite different. If you didn't like 1 because you think enemies have too much HP or battles take too long, I recommend giving this one a try, because it will present to you concepts that you may have missed out on in the first game in a new way. The music is surprisingly good. Again, I'm astonished. It's just so fitting and immersive. Immersion being the goal, the fact that there are three composers for the game I think speaks to the variety of content that you will find throughout your journey. There will absolutely be moments where even though the clock is ticking, you will stop to just listen, and it may even inspire you. If you are like me, those moments will absolutely speak to the inner-philosopher within you. Finally, there are issues with this port, especially on modern systems. I can make recommendations for NVIDIA users that will definitely improve your game-play experience. The game suffers from a lot of stuttering. It defaults to a fixed frame-rate of 30 fps. You can change that setting to "variable" in the game's menu, which uncaps the fps so you can go to 60. Additionally, in your NVIDIA app, you will want to make sure you cap the game at "60 FPS" or less. You will also want to set "Power Management Mode" to "Prefer maximum performance". And lastly, this is unintuitive, you will want to set "Low Latency Mode" to "On". Yes. The reason is because the game is single threaded and often trips over itself trying to render too many frames (seemingly more than it can output), especially in high-load areas. This limits the amount of frames that it can generate, but you will find it's still capable of doing 60 fps and yet has less stuttering, especially in high-load areas. I hope you try this game if you are on the fence. If you end up not liking it, my apologies. But I happen to think this might actually be one of the best Final Fantasy games ever made, and yes, I love the entire series. I've completed 1 alone in its various remakes over a dozen times, I've played all the mainline non-mmo games multiple times and intend to replay them all again in the future. You owe it to yourself if you are a fan of the series to give this one a try, especially if you think game-play is king.
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Frequently Asked Questions
LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is currently priced at 15.99€ on Steam.
No, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 15.99€ on Steam.
Yes, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII received 3,508 positive votes out of a total of 4,427 achieving a rating of 7.69.
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LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII was developed and published by Square Enix.
Yes, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is not playable on MacOS.
No, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is not playable on Linux.
This information about LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is not available yet.
This information about LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is not available yet.
No, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII does not support VR.
LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is a single-player game.
Yes, there are 2 DLCs available for LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII. Explore additional content available for LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII on Steam.
No, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII.
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Last Updates| Steam data | 30 August 2026 04:19 UTC |
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| SteamSpy data | 06 September 2026 07:42 UTC |
| Steam price | 11 September 2026 18:46 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 11 September 2026 21:56 UTC |
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Online players
45
Developer
Square Enix
Publisher
Square Enix
Release
10 Dec 2015
Platforms