Simply hacking and slashing your way through enemies will not work in "Final Fantasy VII Remake." But using Cloud's massive sword for basic strikes builds up a meter that enables you to pull off more dramatic moves.
This system is called "ATB," and it mixes up the way combat works in "FFVII Remake."
As the meter builds up, you'll get up to two bars worth of ATB moves. When you activate these moves, time slows down so much that it's nearly paused. From here, you can pull of more RPG-like moves that have large, dramatic animations.
There's another meter to the right of ATB as well, called "Limit." And when it fills up, you're able to pull off a kind of super move that deals much higher damage to enemies than normal.
Mixing up these systems with the button mashing hack-and-slash gameplay offers a nice dose of tactics to otherwise straightforward gameplay.