I never thought this moment would come, but is mere days away from release. Some of you might actually already have it in your filthy mitts if you’re very lucky, in fact. But here’s the million dollar question: can a game that’s been in development for this long, a remake of one of the most-loved games of all time, possibly live up to the hype?

Well yes, apparently it can. At least, that’s according to the majority of critics who recently published their reviews of the action-RPG. While I’ve no doubt is going to cause arguments between fans everywhere for a while yet, at least for right now the consensus seems to be that it’s Pretty Darn Great.

Let’s kick off this review roundup with thoughts from our very own Mike Diver, because… well, because he wasn’t actually that hot on the game compared to a lot of other reviewers. He had his reasons of course. Good ones, I daresay.

“By aiming to please newcomers alongside its millions of existing fans, and padding out its run-time with too many meaningless side-quests and comparatively bland-feeling extra areas, falls short of classic status in a 21st century context,” Mike wrote in his 7/10 review.

“If you love these characters and these locations, this music and materia, you’re in for a fine time,” he continued. “Presentation-wise, this is a marvel to behold way more often than not. But if you’ve been raised on a diet of the very best role-players of the past ten years or so, may struggle to hold your attention as it streamlines itself into a tunnel-vision state of failing to see the bigger picture of what could have been.”

USGamer and EGM were similarly not quite as convinced as the majority in their own reviews. Giving 3.5/5, USGamer argued that it’s “exhilarating, tedious, and shocking all at once.” EGM awarded the game 3/5, writing that much of the new material feels like unnecessary padding in the first part of a larger story.

There was plenty of praise for elsewhere though. GameSpot slapped a mighty 10/10 on the game, writing that it’s an “astounding achievement” that was very much worth the long wait we endured for it. Press Start also had a hell of a lot of love for the game too. A 9/10 review dubbed it a staggering achievement that exceeded expectations.

Calling it a magical retelling of a timeless classic, VGC awarded the game with a handsome 5/5. It also bagged an entirely respectable 8/10 from IGN, RPGsite, and Stevivor.

See the rest of the scores here:

• VGC (5/5)
• Eurogamer (Recommended)
• USGamer (3.5/5)
• VG247 (4/5)
• PushSquare
• Gamespot
• The Telegraph (3/5)
• IGN (8/10)
• RPG Site (8/10)
• Daily Star (4/5)
• EGM (3/5)
• Wccftech (9.3)
• Games Radar (4.5/5)
• God is a Geek (9.0)
• Destructoid (9/10)

is hitting PS4 on April 10th. Will you be picking it up? Have you already gotten your hands on it? Let us know your thoughts on the game over on Facebook or Twitter.