... I've mentioned in the past that I don't like coming off of games with hot feelings. I like to let my opinions cool down, let time distill my thoughts into a more analytical form. But even saying that... Even with so much time since letting the story of this ravaged world into my heart... those feelings remain. Cooled though they are, they're still roiling in the reaches of my heart. And I can't discount them. But let's get to everything in due course.

The gameplay is action RPG, as undertaken by PlatinumGames. It's cool but not nearly as flashy as their other titles, and that makes perfect sense for our darling androids. You can dodge out of anything, through anything (mostly), and combos are easy stuff. You have your weapon upgrades, your chip slots instead of equipment (which is a cool system, do this more often everyone), your fishing minigames... Yknow. A Japanese Action RPG.

The worldmap is small, but well-traveled. Very efficiently used. The music... Well, I'm not even going to try. Even without emotional context for each track they're still amazing. Go listen to some ambient stuff and maybe a boss fight. Seriously, do it. And of course, because no review of this game would be complete without it: 2B's butt. It's a good butt.

Speaking frankly, I like A2 (and her butt) more, but that's because I'm not a basic fool like most of you, apparently.

But all of this is simply a vehicle for story. And the story is what keeps you going. It's why you're here. Through every pulling back of the curtain, every reveal, every horrible truth, every despair that digs into your heart with a spoon and somehow pulls out more emotional jelly despite you being very certain there was nothing left. Even abandoning the main questline gets you no further from the main themes of repeating your failure over and over again, as you encounter various sidequest folks who are going through their own horrible depressions. Yoko Taro has drunk deep of my tears, and may he grow strong from them.

A friend of mine on Discord offered to me this tiny snippet as I allcaps'd my reactions to events into the chat, and I think it sums up the general feeling pretty well: "There is always more, and it is always worse." And I'm going to tell you to play it. It's a slog if you're going for 100%, but stick to the beaten path (and maybe google what sidequests are the best ones) and you're in for a deliciously bitter treat. From beginning to crushing end.

... I've mentioned in the past that I don't like coming off of games with hot feelings. I like to let my opinions cool down, let time distill my thoughts into a more analytical form. But even saying that... Even with so much time since letting the story of this ravaged world into my heart... those feelings remain. Cooled though they are, they're still roiling in the reaches of my heart. And I can't discount them. But let's get to everything in due course. The gameplay is action RPG, as undertaken by PlatinumGames. It's cool but not nearly as flashy as their other titles, and that makes perfect sense for our darling androids. You can dodge out of anything, through anything (mostly), and combos are easy stuff. You have your weapon upgrades, your chip slots instead of equipment (which is a cool system, do this more often everyone), your fishing minigames... Yknow. A Japanese Action RPG. The worldmap is small, but well-traveled. Very efficiently used. The music... Well, I'm not even going to try. Even without emotional context for each track they're still amazing. Go listen to some ambient stuff and maybe a boss fight. Seriously, do it. And of course, because no review of this game would be complete without it: 2B's butt. It's a good butt. [spoiler]Speaking frankly, I like A2 (and her butt) more, but that's because I'm not a basic fool like most of you, apparently.[/spoiler] But all of this is simply a vehicle for story. And the story is what keeps you going. It's why you're here. Through every pulling back of the curtain, every reveal, every horrible truth, every despair that digs into your heart with a spoon and somehow pulls out more emotional jelly despite you being [i]very certain[/i] there was nothing left. Even abandoning the main questline gets you no further from the main themes of repeating your failure over and over again, as you encounter various sidequest folks who are going through their own horrible depressions. Yoko Taro has drunk deep of my tears, and may he grow strong from them. A friend of mine on Discord offered to me this tiny snippet as I allcaps'd my reactions to events into the chat, and I think it sums up the general feeling pretty well: "There is always more, and it is always worse." And I'm going to tell you to play it. It's a slog if you're going for 100%, but stick to the beaten path (and maybe google what sidequests are the best ones) and you're in for a deliciously bitter treat. From beginning to crushing end.