A Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo has got a surprise release this morning.
Square Enix announced the demo and its immediate availability on Twitter, which you can see below.
We've just released the free #FinalFantasy VII Remake demo on PlayStation Store.What are you waiting for? Download it now and experience the beginning of the story for yourself! #FF7R👉 https://t.co/Gi4onqN0Cb pic.twitter.com/rX0ELUINHOMarch 2, 2020
According to the demo description on PSN, this first public look at the game let's you play through the first chapter of Final Fantasy 7 remake. This section follows Cloud and Barrett as they attempt to plant a bomb in Mako Reactor 1, and gives you an chance to try out the games reimagined combat system.
On top of that, there's an exclusive theme available for players who download the demo, which you'll be able to get from 11 April. That's handy if you feel like your home screen has been needing a bit of spruce up for a while.
As a bonus for those of you who want to get your hands on it as soon as possible, the demo's file size is 7.59GB, which seems very reasonable considering it's the first chapter of the game.
However, the demo description page also confirms that progress made in the demo won't carry over into the main game. That's great if you wanted a chance to make up your mind on this new take on the iconic JRPG, less so if you know you're going to be replaying the same section when Final Fantasy 7 Remake releases on 10 April.
12DOVE staff writer Heather Wald recently got to play a substantial chunk of it at a Final Fantasy 7 preview event, and was full of praise for the remake. She wrote, "Entertaining and engaging, with a generous sprinkling of nostalgia thrown in, I truly can't wait to dive right back into the action and relive this classic adventure in a new and exciting way."
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GamesRadar was recently at PAX East and you can catch the highlights of our stream below and don't forget you can check out where to pre-order Final Fantasy 7 Remake here.
Ben Tyrer is a freelance games journalist with over ten years experience of writing about games. After graduating from Bournemouth University with a degree in multimedia journalism he's worked for Official PlayStation Magazine as a staff writer and games editor, as well as 12DOVE (hey, that's this website!) as a news editor. He's also contributed to Official Xbox Magazine, Edge, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, PC Games N, and more. His game of the year - no matter the year - is Rocket League.