Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Launches PS5 Demo: What's New?

Ahead of the launch of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the beloved adventure game just launched a demo on the PlayStation 5 to give players a preview of what new features they can expect to see in the final version.

The official release date for the game is on Feb. 29, 2024, and both Sony and Square Enix are building it up to be a can't-miss event. They have also released an 11-minute gameplay trailer that left a lot of fans excited and eager to try out the game.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Launches PS5 Demo

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth still sports a massive world map that fans of the original will be sure to remember, including its various mini-games. Fortunately, the upcoming game also includes a lot of new features that first-time players will get hooked on.

Some of these include new companions and tag-team attacks, such as Cait Sith spinning around with Cloud's massive Buster Sword. It also sports 400 newly recorded pieces of Final Fantasy music, 4K graphics, and higher resolution assets thanks to the PS5's SSD, as per The Verge.

The PlayStation 5-exclusive demo will allow players to experience the opening moments of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, during the game's well-known Nibelheim flashback chapter. The game is a direct sequel to the Final Fantasy VII Remake released in 2020.

The latest game places players in the middle of the events following Cloud and Co.'s escape from the city of Midgar. Similar to the original, a flashback scene will be shown to detail the protagonist's relationship with Shinra, who is an elite military unit SOLDIER, as well as the game's primary antagonist, Sephiroth.

Aside from showing Cloud's mysterious backstory, the PS5 demo would also feature some of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's new combat mechanics that were not present in the original game. Rebirth will keep the same core combat mechanics that were used in Remake, such as free movement around the battle space and the "Active Time Battle" gauge.

New Features in Rebirth

However, one of the newer introductions to the game includes Synergy Abilities, which are unique combo attacks and maneuvers that feature their own separate gauge. These gauges are filled using Active Time Battle attacks, according to Kotaku.

After two characters have filled their gauges, the player can execute a combined attack, such as Red XIII and Cloud's "Savage Assault." Square Enix is also planning to add the Junon region to the demo later in the month.

In the second chapter of the demo, the game begins to show other new features, including the so-called "remnawave towers." These plot a variety of activities on the player's map that they can undertake as distractions from the main storyline.

These towers include hunt-style battles and item-salvaging mini-quests that many would hope would become an improvement upon both Remake and FF16's side stories. Some who played the demo said that side content provides worthwhile rewards, including upgrades to the combat simulator.

A quality-of-life improvement in the new game is giving players the freedom to switch around party members however they want. You can select up to three characters who will fight together and you can have up to three parties that you can switch between on the fly while exploring the vast world, said IGN.