Final Fantasy 7 Remake review round-up: Critics assess ‘flawed gem’
Review scores go live for PS4’s big retelling
Final Fantasy 7 Remake reviews have been published ahead of the game’s official release on Friday, April 10.
At the time of publishing the Square Enix RPG has a Metacritic score of 87 from 56 reviews, with many critics concluding that Remake is an accomplished but flawed retelling of the 1997 original.
In VGC’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake review critic Jon Bailes calls the RPG “a game full of beauty, intelligence and nostalgic power.”
Players in the UK and Australia have reportedly been receiving the game as early as Wednesday last week – 9 days before digital copies unlock.
Despite this, a Square Enix support page has claimed the Final Fantasy 7 Remake digital release date will not be brought forward.
Read on for key review scores from across the games press.
Final Fantasy 7 remake reviews
- VGC (5/5) – “The scale and detail of this partial remake is at times almost absurd. But this is a game full of beauty, intelligence and nostalgic power.”
- Eurogamer (Recommended) – “An expansive remake that treads carefully upon this most cherished of games, though some blunders will linger long in the memory.”
- USGamer (3.5/5) – “It’s one of the most coherent and enjoyable Final Fantasy releases in years, but it’s also likely to be one of the most divisive.”
- VG247 (4/5) – “Midgar is so well-realised, the main characters are wonderfully done, and the battle system is masterful.”
- PushSquare (8/10) – “Measured against the immense expectations that surround it, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a great game that will inevitably disappoint some fans.”
- Gamespot (10/10) – “Regardless of your history with the original game, Final Fantasy VII Remake is an astounding achievement.”
- The Telegraph (3/5) – “A breathtaking but bloated retread of a classic”
- IGN (8/10) – “Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s dull filler and convoluted additions can cause it to stumble, but it still breathes exciting new life into a classic while standing as a great RPG all its own.”
- RPG Site (8/10) – “Despite some misgivings about some of the liberties taken, Final Fantasy VII Remake is an admirable foundation to build off of for future entries”
- Polygon (no score) – “Remake is wildly uneven, poorly paced, and not entirely successful as a game in its own right.”
- Daily Star (4/5) – “If you can break through the more sluggish and unenjoyable moments of the game, you’ll find an absolute gem of an action-RPG shining at the core”
- Gaming Bible (7/10) – “An unshakable takeaway from Remake (part one) is that it needed more time – time enough to turn around all the moments, of which there are too many, where the magic disappears.”
- The Verge (no score) – “Perhaps the most notable thing about FFVIIR is that it makes a game I’ve played multiple times over the last 23 years into something interesting and new.”
- Game Informer (8.75/10) – “Regardless of what the future holds, Final Fantasy VII Remake finds an impressive equilibrium between its past and its present.”
- EGM (3/5) – “Final Fantasy VII Remake manages to balance the introduction of new concepts with faithfully recreations of the original game’s most memorable aspects, but it also unnecessarily pads out this first installment in a larger story with too much downtime between its most striking moments.”
- Wccftech (9.3) – “Final Fantasy VII Remake is a masterful modernization of the series’ classic formula.”
- Games Radar (4.5/5) – “A beautifully crafted and entertaining reimagining of a classic that brings renewed life to its story and characters”
- God is a Geek (9.0) – “It’s a mesmerising video game from start to finish, and even in its many slower moments there’s humour to be found, or scraps of character, or Easter Eggs for the observant fan.”
- Destructoid (9/10) – “A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won’t cause massive damage.”
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