Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PC) Review | A Solid Port of a Great RPG

Nearly a year after its initial launch on the PS5, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is finally out now on PC, and it promises to be the new definitive way to experience the second part of the massive FF7 remake project.

While it may not have swept year-end video game awards of 2024, it’s still fair to say that Rebirth is one of the year’s best games. The game’s acclaim makes sense given that it features an enhanced version of the already excellent action RPG mechanics of FF7 Remake, not to mention that it features a big open world that’s a delight to explore for many OG Final Fantasy 7 fans.

In our review of the game’s PS5 version, we gave it a perfect score given how much fun we had with the game. Given that the PC version’s content is essentially the same as the PS5 version, we won’t go in-depth on the game’s mechanics, story, and open-world elements. Thus, if you want a deeper dive into the game itself, you can check out our review here.

Instead, we’ll focus more on what we think of the PC version’s visuals, graphics options, and control scheme. Before that though, we’re going to look back at FF7 Rebirth one year later, specifically to discuss our thoughts on the game after replaying it to see if our opinions on the game’s story and gameplay systems have changed, or if they’re still as positive as ever.

Looking Back at Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

As we mentioned above, we gave the PS5 version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth a score of 10/10 given that we believe its combat is truly impressive and is, for us, the gold standard for action RPGs. This is coupled with its gripping story and lovable cast, along with the beautiful open-world that provides an immersive experience, especially when compared to the world map of the OG FF7.

Technically, the gameplay here isn’t all that different from Final Fantasy VII Remake as it still features a combat system that you can “pause” to command party members, as well as switch between the characters you’re controlling. Even in 2020 during FF7 Remake’s launch, we thought that it was one of the best action RPG combat systems of its generation. Thus, we also very much enjoyed Rebirth.

Sure, it didn’t shake up the formula much, but why change something that already worked well, right? Plus, it’s not like it was exactly the same as Rebirth introduced some new abilities for the playable characters, along with additional refinements that made the combat even deeper and more engaging. The fact that there are more characters to play also helped keep the combat fresh.

So, yes, Rebirth still impressed us in this replay when it comes to combat. We can mostly say the same for the open world exploration.

One of our concerns initially is how they will make the exploration feel like the original FF7 which had a world map. After all, while we loved FF7 Remake, it was a fairly linear experience. Upon Rebirth’s release though, we very much enjoyed the experience of exploring the various iconic locations outside Midgar.

While not a complaint per se, our replay did change our opinion of the game’s extra content a bit. We still enjoyed playing the side quests and other additions, enough that we didn’t really think of them as fluff. Of course, that’s likely because we’re big fans of FF7, so we loved having more reason to experience the world.

On the flip side, we do think that for some people, there may be a bit too much “fluff” in the game; at least for those who prefer a more streamlined experience. Your mileage may vary of course, but at least you’re not forced to do all the extra content, so you can still beeline through the main story if that’s what you prefer.

Speaking of the story, the timeline shenanigans here mean the story diverges greatly in many ways from the OG FF7. We still enjoyed the changes here, though we’re of course hoping that the third game sticks the landing. Meanwhile, we also think that the story changes are another thing that isn’t for everyone, especially for those who would’ve liked to see a more straightforward adaptation of the story.

Our opinion on Rebirth didn’t really change much a year later, though our replay did make us see some potential downsides of the game for some players. That’s also the case visually as the PS5 version looked rather blurry on Performance Mode if you played on the base PS5. That’s not the case if you play on a PS5 Pro though, or if you’re playing the PC version on a powerful gaming rig.

This PC Version Offers Beautiful Visuals, But Limited Options

It’s fair to say that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on PC offers the best-looking version of the game, that is if you have the rig that can run it at 4K and at max graphics settings. After all, the game recommends an RTX 4080 for 4K 60FPS.

If you don’t need to play the game in 4K, you should still get great results with a mid-range GPU, though you’ll need to play on the Medium settings and at 1080p. Still, the game looks beautiful even in these settings.

Technically speaking, the PC version should run well on most rigs that meet the recommended system requirements. Playing the game on an RTX 3080-powered PC was a smooth experience as we didn’t run into any real issues. That’s not to say it’s a perfect port though. That’s because there are some technical decisions here that we’re not big fans of.

For one, the framerate is capped at 120 FPS. That wasn’t an issue for us, but we can see it as not being ideal for players with powerful rigs and monitors with 144Hz or 240Hz refresh rate displays. There’s also a lack of FOV settings and an exclusive fullscreen mode. Plus, the graphics options are rather limited, especially when compared with other PC ports.

Then, there’s the keyboard and mouse controls. We highly recommend playing with a gamepad as the keyboard and mouse just don’t feel great. You also can’t control the menus with the mouse, meaning you’re stuck with the keyboard to handle the menu if you don’t have a gamepad.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth PC Final Verdict – 9.5/10

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was one of our favorite games last year, and after experiencing it again on PC, we can say that it’s still very much a 10/10 experience thanks to its gameplay, open-world, and story. While it may not be a perfect experience for some players, we still think it’s an excellent experience for many FF7 fans (and RPG fans in general).

While we’d still give it 10 if we had to rate it based only on the gameplay/story experience, we had to dock half a point for this PC version. This is because it has a lack of graphics options, along with the capped framerate and less-than-stellar keyboard + mouse controls.

Despite these drawbacks, the PC port is still good overall technically speaking, meaning we very much recommend this to RPG fans, and especially to players who have played FF7 Remake on PC.

[This review was made via a game code provided by the publisher.]