Ben Veress is a Contributing Features Writer at DualShockers based in Melbourne, Australia. He has been covering games professionally since 2021, with experience writing features, lists, reviews, and news across gaming, tech, culture, and entertainment.
Before joining DualShockers, Ben wrote for Kotaku AU, Gizmodo AU, Vice AU, Pedestrian.TV, Quest Daily, Blunt Magazine, Impulse Gamer, and Inkl. At Pedestrian.TV, he served as the publication’s sole tech and gaming writer, leading coverage of major gaming releases and events for one of Australia’s major youth publications. He holds a Bachelor of Communications in Media from RMIT University and was nominated for Best Branded Content Journalist at the Australian Samsung IT Awards in 2025.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation has been on quite the media tour, showing off a number of different demos at conventions around the world. At Gamescom and PAX, attendees could spend 45 minutes with the game, exploring its vast open world and expanded roster of characters.
At Tokyo Game Show, I got hands-on with an entirely new demo, one that takes place halfway through Chapter 1, right as the party reaches a dungeon in what I'm assuming is Revelation's take on the Great Glacier. We only had 25 minutes to clear the demo, which the team member at Square Enix admitted usually takes around 35 minutes. I love a challenge, so I was more than happy to try and blitz my way through it, but admittedly, as someone who didn't get the chance to play the previous demo, there was plenty to take in.
From the get-go, the demo throws a lot of Revelations' bigger changes right at you. The FITS system is introduced immediately, although we don't have the option to switch roles yet. There were also several materials, like materia fragments, to pick up while making my way through the dungeon. At this point in the game, Cid officially joins the party, finally rounding out the iconic roster. While Vincent is also part of the party during this demo, it's still unclear if he's supposed to be a part of the team at this stage of the game.
Unlike the previous demo at Gamescom, this one focused more on story. After the events of Rebirth, it was clear something just wasn't quite right with Cloud, and it looks like the game isn't sidelining that plot point at the start. Fans have been anxious as to how Revelation might onboard new players starting with this game, and it doesn't look like the game is holding back on throwing us into the thick of it.
As someone who's counting the days until Revelation drops, I felt very satisfied with the direction the game is heading in based on my quick hands-on experience. So, without any more teasing, let's get into the nitty-gritty of the demo and what it revealed.
The demo kicks things off by having us already tracked down where Sephiroth will pop up next. Once again, we're following a mob of hooded figures rattling on about "the reunion". We fight through some groups of monsters, who, once again, use these hooded figures to create stronger beasts for us to fight.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.dualshockers.com/tgs-2026-final-fantasy-7-revelation-preview/
