The E3 2021 PS5 demo for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Square Enix's new Soulslike action RPG, is currently unplayable. When downloading the Final Fantasy Origins PS5 demo from the store and attempting to launch it, an error message pops up stating that the "data is corrupted".
Why doesn't the Final Fantasy Origin PS5 demo work?
Whatever's going on here, it's happening on Square Enix's side, since everyone who tries to play the demo is seeing the same error message. In its entirety, the message reads thus: "Can't continue using this game or app. The data is corrupted. Delete it from your PS5, and then download it again from your library." Of course, doing so doesn't resolve the issue, with the same message appearing even after a clean install of the demo.
For its part, Square Enix says it's working to fix this problem. In a tweet posted yesterday, the studio said it was "aware of issues being experienced" while attempting to play the demo, and that the devs will "tweet an update as soon as we can". The tweet is disappointingly vague; it doesn't give a timeline for when the demo will be available again, nor does it hint at what the issue might be. It looks like if you want to play the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin PS5 demo, you'll have to wait just a little longer.
What is Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin?
Announced during yesterday's Square Enix E3 presentation, Final Fantasy Origin is a Soulslike action game developed by Nioh studio Team Ninja. It seemingly riffs on narrative elements from the original Final Fantasy; the three leads introduce themselves as the Warriors of Light, they're on a mission to kill a force known as Chaos, and Garland makes an appearance in the trailer too. According to this translation of a message posted by director Tetsuya Nomura on the official Japanese Final Fantasy Origin website, the game will be "a story of an angry man" in which the battle system will be "heavily linked" to the narrative. It merges that idea with his desire to make a bloody game.
Reception to the Final Fantasy Origin trailer has been somewhat mixed. The overabundance of the word "chaos" in the script has been noted and widely mocked, with the word being spoken eight times across the trailer's two-minute thirty-three second running time. Many fans have also commented on the dark and muted tone of the trailer, as well as the somewhat ordinary dress style of the main characters, and questioned whether these aspects truly represent the "bold new vision for Final Fantasy" promised during the closing moments.
We don't yet know when the Final Fantasy Origin PS5 demo will be available to play, but we'll bring you more on this as soon as we get it. You should also keep an eye on the game's official Twitter feed, as any developments in the situation will likely be posted there.
What do you think of the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin trailer? Let us know in the comments below!
