You can play the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo on PS5 now

Veni, veni, venias, Ne me mori facias

Square Enix launched a Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo during the FF7 Rebirth State of Play, and you can get it on PS5 now. The demo’s existence leaked on the PSN Store a day before, including Square Enix’s big surprise: You can play as Sephiroth.

Okay, so it’s not that big of a surprise. Square Enix said in 2023 that Rebirth includes some segments where you play as Sephiroth, and if you’ve played the original Final Fantasy 7, you know it briefly puts Sephiroth in your party for a flashback sequence. What is surprising, though, is what the demo segment represents.

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The FF7 Rebirth demo covers the Nibelheim Incident and says it’s the first chapter. In the original FF7, it takes a little while for the party to retreat from Midgar and find refuge in Kalm before Cloud delves into his memory of the Nibelheim incident. Still, with how Square Enix is toying with the FF7 story and its many versions, maybe that’s not surprising.

The demo also lets you play as Cloud during the Nibelheim flashback, though it doesn’t seem like Zack is there, which makes sense given Cloud’s shaky memory at that moment. Creative director Tetsuya Nomura also said Square Enix will add a portion of the Junon region to the demo before Rebirth's release.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launches on two discs for PS5 on Feb. 29, 2024, and if the demo isn’t enough to whet your appetite, you can check out our latest Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth preview, which covers some of the game’s open world segments and shiny new combat features.