Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PC is a disappointing, barebones port

Nearly two years after its debut, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is finally available for PC. It's a port of the PlayStation 5 'Intergrade' version that came out earlier this year and as you may have seen from the headlines, it's a contentious release to say the least. While Square-Enix's conversion retains all of the graphical features of the PS5 game, it's a barebones release, plagued with awful hitching and stutter problems and one of the most basic options screens we've seen in years from a major release.

In terms of its qualities as a PC port, we've not got much to say that's positive about this game but it is important to point out that the game itself truly is great. Character models are the highlight here, with superb definition and lighting. It's rather reminiscent of Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children, the 2005 CG film, although of course rendered in real-time. Cutscenes are absolutely stunning, with well-realised characters, storytelling and action. Battles look superb as well, with smooth animation work and vibrant GPU effects. Environments are at times less impressive, with spotty geometric density in places, along with low resolution baked shadows, but the game is a visual showcase overall. The Intergrade release delivers enhancements to lighting, textures, volumetrics and performance - in addition to new content.

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