A surprise demo for the ‘Final Fantasy VII’ remake has arrived.

Image Source/ Bang Showbiz

Gamers on Monday morning (02.03.20) were treated to the free demo available on the PlayStation Store.

Square Enix made the announcement via a message on the title’s official Twitter page, which reads:

“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 (sic)”

The demo enables the user to play the first chapter of the remake, which sees Cloud and Barrett attempt to plant a bomb in Mako Reactor 1, whilst also testing out the updated combat system.

A theme is also set to be made available from April 11.

Those who play the first chapter will have to complete the same part when the main game is released on April 10.

The 1997 PlayStation role-playing video game was supposed to be released in March, but it was pushed back by just over a month in order to make time for the “final polish”.

Producer Yoshinori Kitase said in a message from publishers and developers Square Enix:

“We are making this tough decision in order to give ourselves a few extra weeks to apply final polish to the game and to deliver you with the best possible experience. I, on behalf of the whole team, want to apologise to everyone, as I know this means waiting for the game just a little bit longer. Thank you for your patience and continued support.”

The game was originally due to hit shelves on March 3, and has been hotly anticipated by fans of the ‘Final Fantasy’ franchise since Square Enix first suggested the game could get a remake back in the early 2000s.

After teasing the possibility of a remake at E3 in 2005, plans to remake the popular title – which is largely regarded as one of the best video games of all time – were made official a decade later at E3 2015, when Sony officially announced that a full-blown remake was a real thing.

A demo for the game was previously leaked, leading to spoilers about the game’s content circulating the internet