The game features real-time exploration and combat, with a more open-ended overworld compared to the linear progression of Remake's Midgar. Objective…

The game features real-time exploration and combat, with a more open-ended overworld compared to the linear progression of Remake's Midgar. Objective markers appear in the heads-up display, highlighting main story quests and sidequests to complete along with their respective distances from the party in the overworld. In addition to walking on foot, the party can ride on Chocobos as a faster means of traversal by equipping the specialized Chocobo Lure Materia. Rebirth expands on the hybrid of action-focused melee combat and the Active-Time Battle (ATB) system introduced in Remake, in which the player takes control of a party of characters that can be freely switched between during gameplay. During combat, characters use both physical attacks and magic, and can consume items for offensive, defensive and resuscitative purposes from a menu while gameplay is suspended around them. The "Synergized" mechanic, first introduced in the downloadable content (DLC) "Episode INTERmission" campaign for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (2021), returns, allowing party members to synchronize their attacks.