‘Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’ Looks and Feels as Incredible as You’d Expect on PC (Review)

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth initially released in early 2024 to (unsurprisingly) glowing critical acclaim. The follow-up to its 2020 predecessor, Remake, FF7 Rebirth would go on to win more than 40 Game of the Year awards by the end of 2024. That said, you don’t need me to tell you just how good it is. If you have a PlayStation 5 and you haven’t yet played it — what are you doing? Otherwise, if you’ve waited patiently for its eventual PC release, there’s good reason to be excited. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PC is just as jaw-dropping as you could hope for.

‘Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’ on pc is a technical marvel

For the purpose of this review, I should disclose my PC specs. I’m playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on Windows 11 64-bit, an Intel i7-13700k chip, a GeForce RTX 4080 GPU, 32 GB of DDR5 6400 RAM, installed on a SanDisk Extreme SSD. Unfortunately, I only have a 2K monitor, so I couldn’t experience the highest resolution possible. All other graphics options, however, were cranked up to the absolute maximum.

Kicking off moments after Remake ends, FF7 Rebirth takes Cloud and the gang out of the muddy greys and browns of a Midgar in rubble and into the outside world. After a lengthy prologue, the crew sets foot in the Grasslands, the first open-world area of the game and the moment when Rebirth‘s stunning graphical fidelity really shines.

Immediately upon setting loose, I noticed the improved lighting and enhanced textures as shown in FF7 Rebirth‘s PC features trailer. Sunshine bounces off fields of foliage, and the photorealistic rocky terrain and dirt paths look better than ever. I spent more time than I’d like to admit wandering aimlessly, gawking at light rays shining through leaves and around cliff bends. When I encountered my first battle in the Grasslands, however, I really got a sense of just how good this PC port looks.

cross-slash never looked so sharp

Each strike of Cloud’s Buster Sword explodes in brilliant color, blooming particle effects, and ultra-fluid animation. I’m no framerate snob — I happily played the original release at a comfortable 30 FPS on PlayStation 5. But damn, does FF7 Rebirth look incredible at a buttery smooth 120 FPS while still retaining its high-resolution textures. Beautiful environments are one thing, but Rebirth‘s moment-to-moment gameplay looks absolutely gorgeous.

This is, no doubt, due in part to Nvidia’s DLSS functionality. Throughout my gameplay, I experienced a constant framerate and never noticed any drops. Even in hectic battles, complete with hundreds of flying sparks and screen-shaking explosions, Rebirth is a triumph in visual performance.

I tested all three graphical presets included with FF7 Rebirth: Low, Medium, and High. Surprisingly, all three looked similar, and I found it difficult to spot any noticeable differences. If anything, the textures on Low were slightly blurry compared to the Medium and High settings. Background resolutions were moderately lower but not enough to stand out during the action-filled gameplay.

The only visual hiccups I noticed were assets “popping in” while running around the Grasslands. Flowers, bits of grass, and other small foliage would often load in as I approached them. Likely due to how densely packed the region is. Unfortunately, I saw no Draw Distance settings in FF7 Rebirth‘s graphics options and had all options set to their max. Hopefully, a future patch from Square Enix can address this, or we may have to rely on modders to save the day.

‘Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’ is an experience worth replaying

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth requires a solid-state drive to play. And it takes full advantage of that with its lightning-fast loading times. I counted less than 15 seconds from the moment I hit ‘Play’ on Steam to loading my saved file and having control of my characters. Menus, maps, and transitioning between zones are nearly instant. Of course, your results may vary depending on your PC specs, but my experience trumps any loading times my PlayStation 5 is capable of.

Having been almost a year since initially playing, I’ve fallen back in love with this RPG masterpiece. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is, no doubt, my favorite game of 2024. Now, with its stellar port to PC, I have the same insatiable urge to keep playing that I did last February. With Square Enix’s recently announced plans to drop console exclusivity for future releases, hopefully, we won’t have to wait a year to play the third installment of the trilogy on PC.

For those about to play Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for the first time, enjoy the ride. You’ll find out why it’s one of the highest-rated games of 2024. Those who played the initial PlayStation 5 release last year, well, some games truly are worth buying twice.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PC) will be released on January 23, 2025, on Steam and Epic Games. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PC.