Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has arrived, and so far, the game is receiving almost unanimous praise from critics. The sequel is being lauded for its awe-inspiring action, massive open-world locations, and is said to be at its best when it deviates from the script of the original 1997 game. While it does fumble at times, those missteps rarely overshadow the highlights, and according to critics, it’s a lengthy and time-consuming game that’ll keep you invested in its story.
“Rebirth keeps its narrative focus on characters while bringing a new dimension to combat, but it stumbles in pivotal moments,” Tamoor Hussain wrote in GameSpot’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review. “The equilibrium between contrasting ideologies is rarely perfect, and that’s evident in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, a game that is rewarding for the dozens of hours it enables agency, but is frustrating in the few hours that author the series’ future.”
On GameSpot’s sister site Metacritic, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth currently has a Metascore of 93 from 115 reviews. At the time of writing, it’s currently the highest-scoring game of 2024 on the review aggregate website, and one of only a handful of mainline Final Fantasy games to earn a Metascore above 90.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Game: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Platform: PS5
- Developer: Square Enix
- Release Date: February 29
- Price: $70
GameSpot — 8/10
“As a game that has the unenviable task of living up to one of the strongest legacies in the medium, it is a worthy second chapter. Whether Square Enix can bring it all together in the third and final part will be the subject of much discussion from here on out. Just like at Destiny’s Crossroads, an unknown future beckons once again, and anything is still possible.” — Tamoor Hussain [Full review]
Inverse — 10/10
“Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a staggeringly huge game, both in terms of its actual size and its seemingly unchecked ambition. The world and events of the original 1997 game have been lavishly recreated and turned into an open-world theme park filled with wondrous sights, gripping emotional narratives, thrilling bosses, and more minigames than you can keep track of. The scope of Rebirth can be initially overwhelming, but the spirit of Final Fantasy 7 permeates every aspect of this experience, even more so than Remake. It’s quite simply the best Final Fantasy game in two decades and a push toward the future that the franchise needs.” — Hayes Madsen [Full review]
VGC — 5/5
“Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is an excellent RPG with some of the best characters in the gaming canon. While some open-world content skirts the edges, and the game’s main narrative is left somewhat deflated, the time spent with Aerith, Tifa, and the gang makes this a hugely enjoyable road trip you’ll be playing for hundreds of hours.” — Jordan Middler [Full review]
GamesRadar — 4.5/5
“Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth delivers all the charm of Remake while making the needed improvements to side-content to ensure the original’s step-out moment is worth taking once more.” — Iain Harris [Full review]
RPG Site — 9/10
“Nitpicks and minor annoyances aside, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a grand expansion of the sense of possibility birthed by Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Not only does it build on that earlier promise of Remake as a narrative grappling with Final Fantasy 7’s greater impact, but as a game it is a singular, lovingly-crafted synthesis of design philosophies both past and present, augmenting modern scale with a deep and long-lived appreciation for its characters. I can’t wait to see what they’re planning next.” — Josh Tolentino [Full review]
IGN — 90/100
“Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth impressively builds off of what Remake set in motion, both as a best-in-class action-RPG full of exciting challenges and an awe-inspiring recreation of a world that has meant so much to so many for so long.” — Michael Higham [Full review]
Game Informer — 8.5/10
“A few stumbling blocks, like a bloated and sometimes tedious open-world and intermittently uneven pacing, threaten the highs of Rebirth. But an exciting and well-told story, with an awe-inspiring finale to boot, almost made me forget the lows. The final result is a flawed but deeply reverent love letter to one of gaming’s most beloved RPGs.” — Wesley LeBlanc [Full review]
Eurogamer — 4/5
“So while this is still deep down the same Final Fantasy 7 with its science experiments and cover ups and cosmic events and conspiracy theories, it’s also a fresh experience – albeit one that’s overstuffed in a bid to please. By its close, it buckles somewhat under the weight of the original’s legacy as a groundbreaking game with a seminal twist that, in 1997, shocked the world.” — Ed Nightingale [Full review]
