SQUARE ENIX recently released Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, the PS5 version of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. It comes with next-gen upgrades and features, and it comes with the INTERmission DLC featuring Yuffie Kisaragi. Interestingly enough, the supposed better version of FF7R received a lower aggregate score on Metacritic. But why? Here's what the critics say.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Release Date: June 10, 2021

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade release just in time, right before E3 2021. Its release date was on June 10, 2021, coming out in the PlayStation Store for the PS5. That's just the perfect time to launch, releasing just before the attention of people turned to new hyped games at E3.

However, this timing can also be bad. With E3 coming up, some people may have abstained from buying the game. After all, some people only have limited resources when it comes to video games. They might have wanted to wait first for what's coming up at E3 before deciding whether to buy the game or not. That being said, we're sure that big Final Fantasy fans would have still bought Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade at launch. Some may have even pre-ordered the game months in advance.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Review Scores: 83 Aggregate Score at Metacritic

The original Final Fantasy 7 Remake received exceedingly high praise from critics. It was divisive for the fans for the way it handled the story, sure, but it still received an aggregate score of 87 from critics and 8.1 from fans.

Meanwhile, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade features the same base game, but with improved functionalities and features to make use of the stronger PS5 hardware. But interestingly enough, the game so far has a lower aggregate score on Metacritic. It has received an 83 Aggregate Score from critics, with a slightly higher user score of 8.2. What's caused the lower score for the upgraded version of FF7R?

While FF7R Intergrade itself played very well, its overall similarity with the original Remake lowered its score. One issue criticized in Intergrade is the inconsistency of the upgrades. “Now don't get us wrong,” writes Push Square. “The highs of Remake far outweigh the lows overall, but the quality is still inconsistent.”

Perhaps, the expectations were too high for the game, hoping that Intergrade will make the Final Fantasy 7 Remake experience vastly different. It's an upgrade for the original Remake, that's for sure. But its upgrades weren't enough to bring the most out of the PS5 engine. “No big surprise here, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is better on PlayStation 5 now that the technical limits are much less burdensome,” says Millenium. “This is obviously not comparable with the prowess that some games specifically developed for the PS5 such as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart from a technical point of view, for example, are capable of but compared to the PS4 version, it is more beautiful, more fluid, faster, and the finishes have finally been made, even if they could probably have been made a long time ago. ”

The length of the INTERmission episode, starring Yuffie, also dampened the score of Intergrade. “The episode is titled quite accurately,” reviews Slant Magazine. “At five-to-seven hours, Episode INTERmission isn’t quite filler, but it’s also not entirely filling. It’s an appreciable detour on a much longer journey.”