Final Fantasy VII Rebirth PC Review – A Solid, If Uninspiring Port

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth PC Review - A Solid, If Uninspiring Port

We are here again, back in PC Port Land where we guess at how much effort any particular company will make when porting one of their console hits to the PC. It is a place where the odds are just about 50/50 if players will get an outstanding technical feast or a rushed job that barely functions. It is a place PC gamers find themselves in far too often and one that has more ups and downs than even the biggest rollercoaster. The latest game to enter PC Port Land is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The massive hit from last year is just about to land on the more powerful platform but on which side of the Port coin does it land? 

If I am honest, FF VII Rebirth bucks the trend a little. It is by no means a bad port, in fact far from it. At the same time, however, it really fails to take advantage of the more powerful platform in any meaningful way. First things first though and that is the game runs wonderfully. I have come across no tech issues at all. The game is a frictionless experience from the tech side of things. I tested it on my gaming rig (4080, i9) my laptop (4060, i7) and my ROG Ally X and on all three systems the game functioned without issue. This immediately means that the team behind the port have taken care to make this mammoth game run as well as possible on a huge range of systems. 

On my Ally X, it was perhaps at its most impressive. This game ran flawlessly at 45fps with no stuttering or framerate issues whatsoever. Sure the graphics settings are turned down a tad (medium on most items, low on one or two others) but on that small screen it hardly mattered, it still looked just fine. To be able to play a game of this size and scope on the go is one of the greatest gifts in this era of gaming and it will never cease to amaze me that it is now possible. The team here have done a much better job in perfecting the game on the lower spec than they did with Final Fantasy XVI, which disappointingly struggled in the handheld format

FF VII

On my Laptop, things were even better. I was running pretty much everything on high and getting a stable 60 without drama. Even when plugging my laptop into my TV and running at a higher resolution, I didn’t come across any technical problems. This was perhaps my preferred way to play the game too. It is a game that suits the grandiose nature of a bloody big screen, so being able to play it in that manner certainly added to the experience. This is a big open world with some truly epic encounters so having the boss be the size of a wall certainly adds to the the immersion. 

Finally, my gaming rig and it is here I have to say I feel a little disappointed. There doesn’t seem to have been much of an effort to harness the extra power available apart from a 120fps mode. Perhaps the saddest thing I discovered is there is no support for ultrawide resolutions, which is a personal affront to me (trust me, once you get used to ultrawide, going back is a bitter pill to swallow.) This game would absolutely sing with that extra screen real estate, but alas it is not to be. There is also not a huge range of settings to tinker with, which is something a lot of PC players like to do. I need to stress that you won’t have a bad experience here, it just pales in comparison to truly excellent ports like the recent God of War: Ragnarok 

As for the game itself, I don’t want to step on Stephen’s excellent review of FF VII Rebirth from its launch on the PS5, but I must say I am not quite as enamoured with it as he was. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the game, it is a lot of fun, but there are issues that grate me while playing. Perhaps the most notable of those is the characters themselves. I am finding it very hard to care about any of them. Tifa seems shallow, Barret is that annoying loud friend you wish would just shut up, Cloud acts like he is two steps from joining My Chemical Romance on the black parade and Aeirth is so impossibly chirpy she seems like she is one step from asking you to join her at a commune. In fact of all the characters, Red XIII is by far the most relatable and likeable, and he is a dog with a flaming tail. 

I will say though that the writing feels much better in this entry over Remake. Conversations seem to flow more naturally and there is less awkward dialogue. I also feel like the story has a more logical progression to it, at least when compared to Remake. As for the gameplay, I am actually really digging the improvements. The combat is certainly more agile, with a more action-focused approach available for those that prefer to play that way and the open world is pretty fun to explore. Sure it is chock full of typical open-world collectathons like photo opportunities, monster hunts and resource gathering, but it has been put together in a way that doesn’t wear out its welcome. It has even pinched Far Cry’s radio towers (albeit without the need to climb them) and I am ok with that. I also must stress, and this may colour my views somewhat, that I have no history with the original Final Fantasy VII (I only had a PC at the time and funnily enough the original FF VII PC port was utter garbage) so I have no deep nostalgic connection like so many players do. 

FF VII

In all though, I am glad for the chance to experience the events of Final Fantasy VII from my PC, first with Remake and now with Rebirth. It has allowed me to fill a giant gap in my gaming history without having to deal with the issues inherent in playing old games. Rebirth on PC is a great way to play it too, it just doesn’t go above and beyond in any of its PC upgrades. Those with lower-end systems and handhelds are super well served, but it may feel a little bit underwhelming if you have a killer gaming rig. All that said, FF VII Rebirth is a great game and it is no lesser of an experience on the PC, so it is pretty hard to complain too much at all.

FF VII

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was reviewed on PC with code kindly supplied by the publisher. 

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