The Game Awards winner of the most anticipated game of 2023, Final Fantasy VII (FF7) Rebirth, finally gets its playable demo out! Read on to find out more about the game, our thoughts about the demo, and what comes next.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demo
A Classic JRPG Retold In The Modern Era
Final Fantasy VII (FF7) Rebirth is the continuation of its Remake series, where they aim to retell and reshape the story of Cloud's journey. While fans of the original game are quick to notice the changes and little details they've made in the Remake, it might be no different in the upcoming sequel. With Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core Reunion protagonist Zack Fair being shown to be alive in the Remake and the trailers, it seems that the story will take quite a turn moving forward.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demo Review
The demo lasts for about two hours of playtime, focusing on the "Nibelheim Incident" or the events that led to Sephiroth’s descent into madness. Specifically, it's Cloud and Tifa explaining the events of the Reactor Survey mission that went horribly wrong. Cloud and Sephiroth head over to Nibelheim, the former's hometown, to survey the Mako reactor built there as it was reported that monsters were swarming outside the backwater village. If you were thinking about just fully exploring the game outside of the Nibelheim incident, you'd be very wrong. You're locked into it for the time being, just giving the player hints at what they can do in the full game.
There's a little bit of exploration in the demo, but is limited to just walking around in Nibelheim. There are treasures with consumables hidden around the village, but the game will point you to several points of interest in the village. From there, Cloud can go to his house and have a conversation with his mother, go into the inn and have a short chat with Master Zangan, and even go inside Tifa's home where there are a couple of interesting things inside. In Tifa's house, the playable piano makes a return and with it is the mini rhythm game they included.
There are a few combat encounters in the demo, and it plays the same as the remake, which is an action RPG with some "tactical pause" elements to give out specific commands. There's one boss fight in the demo which is the "Materia Keeper" encounter and showcases the new "Synergy Attack" in one specific part in the fight with Cloud and Sephiroth. Moreover, you can actually play as Sephiroth for a small part of the demo leading up to the boss, as you can set him to be the Leader character to be the first character you use in enemy encounters.
The demo reaches its climax with Sephiroth realizing what he actually is, and begins to massacre the townspeople of Nibelheim. Even showing some of the people that Sephiroth murders in the cutscenes. As the iconic scene of Sephiroth walking away from Cloud inside the ring of flames, the demo reaches its conclusion. In the main menu, they added that there will be an update to the demo, with the scenes in Junon to be playable coming soon.
All in all, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is shaping up to be the game that everyone’s been waiting for. The visuals, gameplay, and music are top-notch, and players like myself can’t wait to experience the story and the potential twists and changes that Square Enix has brought to the table. We’re only a few more weeks away from the game’s release, and it does help that they finally allow us to play the game, even if it’s just tiny bits of gameplay.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demo Release Details
Final Fantasy VII (FF7) Rebirth will be released on February 29, 2024, exclusively for the PlayStation 5. There is no information about the game's specific release time yet, but we'll be sure to update our Release Date and Time article as soon as that info is available.
