The Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo is Awesome

I hope you like pressing the attack button!

Screenshot captured by Alex Rowe.

This morning, Square Enix surprise-dropped a demo of the hotly anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake for the PS4. You can download it here on the PlayStation Store, and it takes around an hour to complete.

The demo starts with a truncated version of the beautiful intro movie that Square recently released, and then plunges you right into the iconic opening of the game…where you’ll find that everything is bigger, flashier, and more intense than you remember. Aside from some nostalgic camera angles, dialogue callbacks, and an elaborate rendition of some of the same classic musical themes, this is an entirely different and new video game compared to the 1997 classic.

The high contrast lighting in the game is gorgeous, and highlights the realistic materials of the environment. Screenshot captured by Alex Rowe.

For me, that’s a great thing. The most controversial change will likely be the battle system. The combat system is no longer menu-driven or turn-based. Instead, it plays more like a Dynasty Warriors game, but with an extra layer of depth and tactics on top. You’ll mostly fight in real-time, but you can pause and issue commands. I’m a big fan of brawlers, so I’m all-in for this. However, I know some fans will be perplexed…