'Final Fantasy VII Remake' Demo Now Playable

After all those years of waiting, excited gamers can now play the “Final Fantasy VII Remake” – the demo version, at least. Game publisher Square Enix has finally announced that players can now head to the PlayStation Store to download the game's demo.

“Final Fantasy VII Remake,” which took a lot of years in the making, doesn't exactly feature all the events of the 1997 classic. The new title focuses on the events that occurred in the slums of Midgar, which is only about a fifth of the original game's entire storyline.

The Remake, however, was designed to expand on the game's original story, allowing the developers to create it the way they really intended to. Those who want to “experience the beginning of the story for yourself,” Square tweeted, will be able to enjoy it firsthand with the demo and the actual game which will be released soon.

How the demo feels

In a lengthy article, GameSpot noted how the game features a lot of detail that never existed in the original game. Of course, this is because the OG PlayStation wasn't capable of producing beautiful graphics the likes of what the PS4 can produce. The details and additional features do a great job at expanding the original game, without the risk of changing the story.

“Having started a replay of the PS1 FF7 shortly before I dove into the first few hours of Remake, it's a little shocking how much more detailed the new game feels,” GameSpot's Edmond Tran said of the Remake.

Polygon, on the other hand, praises the Remake's new battle system, which is very different from how the original game worked. In the 1997 classic, players took turns deciding on what action to choose. In the Remake, players can expect more fun and action slashing, punching, shooting or using magic against the enemies that come their way.

“Where Remake succeeds, just based on its first few hours, is its combat,” Polygon's Michael McWhertor wrote. “After (mostly) getting the hang of the game’s mix of real-time action to fuel my ATB gauge and its commands and character switching, I found myself having a lot of fun — more fun than I did the menu-based gameplay when in played the PlayStation original two decades ago.”

Of course, just like any other game, “Final Fantasy VII Remake” has its flaws. The camera control might need some improvements, and the pacing and huge world might cause some players to worry about it getting tedious. Nevertheless, it's still a demo, and players might get to appreciate these once the full game comes out.