Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth previewDeveloper: Square EnixPublisher: Square EnixPlatform: PS5Availability: Out 29th February 2024 on PS5
One of my favourite things to do in Final Fantasy 7 Remake was to simply look up. Finally you could see the plates of Midgar hanging threateningly over the slums – and in daylight too. This was something only hinted at in the original, with its pre-rendered backgrounds in (seemingly) perpetual night. Seeing the enhancements a remake could bring was awe-inspiring.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the follow up to Remake, garners a similar reaction, but this time with its open world. Now the vague blues and greens of the overworld that gave a mere suggestion of place are gone; instead there’s an explorable open world, an industrial wasteland smothered in garbage and seemingly toxic waste. The planet – as was only previously suggested – has been abused. Some wildlife does remain though: I spotted a pack of cute bunnies bouncing through the metallic undergrowth.
Above this wasteland is the imposing military city of Junon, casting a shadow over the inhabitants living in squalor below. Though not quite as iconic as Midgar, it still gives a sense of how vast and expansive Rebirth is set to be.
It’s more of the same, but it’s been supercharged. It’s faster. It’s flashier. It’s more exciting. It offers best in class visuals, sound and cinematography. At its height, it feels like playing through a movie – Advent Children, but you’re (mostly) in control.