Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is really big, weighing in at 145GB onPlayStation 5and is crammed onto two discs if you are picking up the physical version. A thicc boi. It’s not too much of a surprise, given how massive the game is, but it does prove an obstacle for the console.
Aside fromCall of Dutyand its infamously large install size, few games on the platform rival the requirements of Rebirth. At least it doesn’t require me to constantly install and delete the files of certain games and multiplayer modes if I no longer want to play them, turning actually enjoying my games into the most obnoxious version of Jenga I’ve ever experienced.
Some of thebiggest games in terms of overall install size on PS5include NBA 2K23 (153 GB), Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (148GB), Destiny 2 (139GB), and Horizon Forbidden West (101GB). Final Fantasy 16 lags behind a little bit at just 90GB. Small fry…
Rebirth is just big - like really big, eclipsing the majority of modern games once you break it all down. Once review code came in I cleared my entire SSD, knowing that I not only needed to house the game in its entirety, but several hours of footage I would need to capture and store over the next 60+ hours. Given I’d constantly be recording, deleting, and needing to accommodate myriad fringe case scenarios, it made sense to have an excess of space instead of continually deleting games and footage out of necessity.
But this inevitably turned my PlayStation 5 into an all-consuming Rebirth machine. It’s lived and breathed Final Fantasy 7 for the better part of a month now, leaving other games behind because, in its default state at least, Sony’s console just doesn’t have enough room. It hasn’t for the past four years, and anyone curious to store more than half a dozen modern video games and a handful of indies will likely need to juggle their current installs constantly or fork outat leasta hundred quid for an additional SSD boasting the exact right speeds.
For so long now, even as someone who needs to keep up with the latest games for a living, I have held off on this purchase. But Rebirth has finally pushed me to the breaking point, and I won’t lie, I’m relieved this has happened.
Rebirth has given me a hankering to replay Remake in its entirety for the first time since the PS4 release, but I also want to keep Rebirth installed to finish up the endgame and jump in and relive certain moments and battles for work. That’s 300GBat least, not to mention titles such as Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Unicorn Overlord, and several other upcoming gems I’m eager to play, but don’t want to throttle my internet by constantly deleting and installing them over and over again because the PS5 just can’t keep up.
At least by upgrading my SSD - which I’ve heard is a relatively painless experience - I won’t need to live with the omnipresent anxiety of being told I need to delete something, or nothing can be recorded until I delete a game I’m still playing or footage I’m yet to use. Video games aren’t getting any smaller, so I’m preparing for the inevitable and avoiding future frustration.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
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Final Fantasy Rebirth is the second part of the FF7 Remake project. It continues the story of Cloud Strife, a former SOLDIER turned mercenary who joins Avalanche, a group of eco-terrorists seeking to save the planet from the malevolent Sephiroth. As the party pushes out of Midgar, leaving the Shinra Corporation devastated, where will their paths take them?
