Between numerous awards, perfect scores and, well, no official sales numbers, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is one of the most significant games of last year. It’s the long-awaited second part in the Remake saga – an honor superseding even the latest mainline title. While the hype was monumental, it mostly delivered and was earmarked as a favorite to sweep the year-end awards (were it not for a certain interstellar droid). That isn’t to say that Rebirth didn’t cause some divisiveness or scored on every single facet, but it wouldn’t be a Final Fantasy game otherwise.

Almost a year later, we’ve arrived at the PC version’s launch. If you’ve been holding off on experiencing the PS5 version for whatever reason, then good news – in some ways, it’s a better experience on PC. The flaws still shine as bright and annoying as ever, but this is currently the best way to play Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

"Several plot points and locations from the original are expanded, some in endearing ways and others less so. Others have been rearranged or even cut entirely."

Without getting into many spoilers, the story follows Cloud and friends – Tifa, Barret, Aerith and Red XIII – as they venture out of Midgar to pursue the ever-enigmatic Sephiroth. The circumstances of the original plot have changed significantly, resulting in some intriguing character shifts. Tifa feels more open with Cloud even as she attempts to address what’s gnawing at him. Barret feels more well-rounded and forms a tangible bond with him. You may consider these changes as expanding on previous nuances or venturing into unknown territory – either way, they feel natural and build the party’s bonds in a different yet familiar tone.

Of course, it’s impossible to talk about change without addressing the story. Several plot points and locations from the original are expanded, some in endearing ways and others less so. Others have been rearranged or even cut entirely. Your mileage may vary on all of that, but there’s no denying that the pacing can occasionally drag (and I’m sorry, but Remake had a way better opening hour).

Then there are the final few chapters, which introduce several new twists and additions, further diverging from the original’s plot, but also not, if that makes any sense. I’ll reserve judgment until the final part, though it’s understandable that some find Rebirth’s overall conclusion dissatisfying.

Thankfully, this doesn’t ruin the experience as a whole. I still enjoyed bonding with allies while embarking on side quests (of which there’s an almost ludicrous amount). The voice acting and performances are top-notch, enough to soldier through some iffy dialogue and exchanges. Also, for as many light-hearted moments as Rebirth packs into its story, it capably delivers on the more emotional.

The other big shift is in the environmental design and flow, offering more open-world-like regions alongside the linear sections. While highlighting the new traversal methods, they also deliver a smattering of content, from discovering Summon Shrines and activating Remnawave Towers to finding Lifesprings, gathering materials, and taking on various jobs. Then you have the extensive mini-games.

"However, aside from abilities, spells, Limit Breaks, and Summons, there are also Synergy Skills. They’re a welcome addition, offering something to lean on when building ATB and ensuring a constant tempo."

The card battler Queen’s Blood could be a default activity alone, but Rebirth goes above and beyond, delivering tons of variety, and that’s before reaching the Golden Saucer. Admittedly, there are times when they can affect the pacing and sometimes feel superfluous to the plot, but I found myself enjoying them more often than not.

There’s enough for the combat-minded to indulge in as well. Like Remake, each character has unique abilities, from Cloud’s Punisher Mode to Tifa’s Chi Levels and Barret’s long-range fire. The new additions to the roster further diversify your tactics with Red XIII’s Vengeance Mode providing an aggressive new playstyle. Meanwhile, you have Yuffie, who dishes out damage with her Throwing Star while harnessing elemental ninjutsu.

The combat loop is similar to Final Fantasy 7 Remake in that the action plays out in real-time (at least in Active Mode). You bring up the Commands menu to select different options, with Active Time Bar gauges influencing which abilities can be unleashed. From there, you focus on pressuring and breaking enemies to stagger them, swapping between party members as necessary. However, aside from abilities, spells, Limit Breaks, and Summons, there are also Synergy Skills.

Depending on the party, various members can team up to unleash powerful attacks. It’s a welcome addition, offering something to lean on when building ATB and ensuring a constant tempo. The Folio system governs your unlocking of new abilities, stat upgrades, and Synergies, and it’s straightforward enough. The Party Level also encourages really exploring the various regions and bonding with teammates, if for no other reason than to get stronger.

"Even with occasional frame drops, the visuals are crisp and only highlight how incredible these vistas, character designs, cutscenes, and so much more can truly look."

If you’ve already played Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PS5, all this will sound familiar. The real question is: How does the PC version fare? The good news is: Pretty well. My rig isn’t special, yet I could sustain a solid frame rate even while playing with everything set to High. Some frame drops during busier sections, like those with extensive particle effects, smoke, and environmental details, can occasionally occur. They weren’t too hefty for the most part, and during combat, the action remained relatively smooth without any major hiccups.

Regardless, the fidelity improvements may very well be worth the price of admission alone. One of the biggest criticisms against the PS5 version was the image quality, even after post-demo feedback, on Performance Mode. Even with occasional frame drops, the visuals are crisp and only highlight how incredible these vistas, character designs, cutscenes, and so much more can truly look.

However, some settings can be weird. Changing the resolution requires switching to Windowed mode, selecting your preference, and returning to Borderless Fullscreen (unless you’re fine with a noticeable line at the top of your screen). As for DLSS, you can enable it for Anti-Aliasing. That’s it – there’s no way to adjust for Quality, Performance or anything in between.

In fact, there are no options for upscaling at all, like FSR. It’s not a deal-breaker personally, but for those who want to eke out some extra performance, it’s perplexing. On the bright side, the keyboard and mouse controls feel pretty good, and rebinding offers dual slots for actions. You can also assign functions to mouse buttons, which is great.

"If you’ve held off on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth this long and didn’t want to spend a bomb on a PS5 Pro, the PC version is worth taking the plunge."

Topping all this off is legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu’s soundtrack, perhaps his most extensive work to date. Each track is brimming with personality and charm, whether you’re sauntering through a region on Chocobo-back or conversing with your allies. It fits impressively with the game, blazing a path forward while adhering to the original’s tone and atmosphere.

Even with some narrative and pacing quirks, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is still an incredible role-playing experience, from its presentation and combat to the exploration and characterization. Watching the bonds between these beloved characters evolve in unexpected ways, discovering new challenges and making short work of enemies, customizing Materia loadouts – the list goes on, and much of it is enjoyable while expanding on the lore.

Sure, several parts of the experience may not vibe with certain players. The more open-world-esque exploration also doesn’t break much ground or significantly innovate, so if you’re not a fan of such world design, it’s worth keeping in mind. Regardless, the highs are significantly more endearing than the lows.

As for the PC port, it’s great to finally have an option that brings out the game’s fidelity. I’m interested to see how Square Enix improves on it further with additional optimization and more options. Suffice it to say, if you’ve held off on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth this long and didn’t want to spend a bomb on a PS5 Pro, the PC version is worth taking the plunge.

This game was reviewed on PC.