13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

 PlayStation 4
User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 383 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 339 out of 383
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 383
  3. Negative: 23 out of 383
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  1. Treyzinets
    Jan 9, 2022
    3
    13 Sentinels is two games in one: An epic visual novel where you play as a rotating cast of high school-aged protagonists, and a tactical combat game where those same characters pilot giant robots (“Sentinels”) to defend your city against waves of kaiju.

    The visual novel is where you’ll spend most of your time. It’s a lavish production: beautiful art, excellent voice acting, and tens of    13 Sentinels is two games in one: An epic visual novel where you play as a rotating cast of high school-aged protagonists, and a tactical combat game where those same characters pilot giant robots (“Sentinels”) to defend your city against waves of kaiju.

    The visual novel is where you’ll spend most of your time. It’s a lavish production: beautiful art, excellent voice acting, and tens of hours of content. The only problem is… it’s boring. The story is convoluted even by the standards of sci-fi anime. I tried my best to follow it, but at a certain point I just stopped caring who’s a clone of who, whose dreams are whose implanted memories, and so on. And the gameplay is tedious. There are no choices, just steps you need to take to advance: talk to X, think thought Y, touch item Z. Usually the next step is obvious, but occasionally it’s a frustrating exercise in trying to read the dev’s mind.

    The combat is actually pretty fun, though it doesn’t require much strategic thinking. Usually you can just spam your rockets at the incoming waves and call it a day. (If you like your kaiju fights to be more cerebral, go play Into the Breach instead.) Also, your performance in combat doesn’t affect the story at all, so there’s no sense of stakes.

    Overall, 13 Sentinels is a unique, ambitious genre-bending experiment that fails to cohere as a gaming experience.    … Expand
  2. blackcat11
    Apr 23, 2022
    2
    I genuinely don't understand why this game has so many reviews raving about how great the storyline and conclusion to it are. I honestly enjoyed the combination of strategy and the sense of trying to piece together what is happening, but the conclusion was, in my opinion, so bad that it ruined the rest of the game for me. If you structure a game around trying to figure out what is reallyI genuinely don't understand why this game has so many reviews raving about how great the storyline and conclusion to it are. I honestly enjoyed the combination of strategy and the sense of trying to piece together what is happening, but the conclusion was, in my opinion, so bad that it ruined the rest of the game for me. If you structure a game around trying to figure out what is really going on, then the anseer had better be good, and it wasn't. Add to that some transphobia pretending to be trans positivity and a lot of unnecessarily sexual drawings of teens, and I'm honestly annoyed that I bothered to play the game, much less finish it.… Expand
  3. morjito
    Aug 9, 2021
    3
    Having a hard time getting immersed in this game, though really liked past Vanillaware games like Odin Sphere and Dragon's Crown, on the other hand 13 Sentinels does not motivate to play. The battle system is good and the character stories are interesting, and yet, the game does not capture enough attention to immerse the player. After playing through the "tutorial", its difficult toHaving a hard time getting immersed in this game, though really liked past Vanillaware games like Odin Sphere and Dragon's Crown, on the other hand 13 Sentinels does not motivate to play. The battle system is good and the character stories are interesting, and yet, the game does not capture enough attention to immerse the player. After playing through the "tutorial", its difficult to pickup the game again and I tried... and tried... it seems the uniqueness of the game play is made for a niche crowd, and its not for me. Will revisit the game again later, but for now, there are better and more immersive games out.… Expand
  4. anti-juve
    Nov 10, 2022
    0
    Great story and visual, worst gameplay possible. A rts -tower defense hybrid? What the hell are they thinking? Gimme a real jrpg!
  5. rexicola
    Jan 17, 2021
    2
    Mechas are ugly
    Fan service overload
    Story is messy
    Battle phase is super ugly

    Meh
  6. DRNBRIO200616
    Nov 2, 2020
    0
    Absolutely one of the worst games i i ever played in 2020, everything is a boring and an uninteresting mess.
  7. edreesespieces
    Sep 15, 2022
    1
    I didn't really like this game. The story had no real hook in the first 3 hours, felt confusing just for the sake of being confusing (like a soap opera style of storytelling) and the gameplay style of RTS/Tower Defense wasn't my thing. It'a a shame because I love Vanillaware art, and I tried to give this game a chance, but it just doesn't suit my style, and probably won't suit a lot ofI didn't really like this game. The story had no real hook in the first 3 hours, felt confusing just for the sake of being confusing (like a soap opera style of storytelling) and the gameplay style of RTS/Tower Defense wasn't my thing. It'a a shame because I love Vanillaware art, and I tried to give this game a chance, but it just doesn't suit my style, and probably won't suit a lot of people that don't fit the niche.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best PS4 Game of 2020
33
#33 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 69
  3. Negative: 0 out of 69
  1. Edge Magazine
    Dec 31, 2020
    70
    No, it doesn't make any damn sense. But consider us compelled. [Issue#354, p.112]
  2. CD-Action
    Dec 18, 2020
    80
    “Huge mechs, a ruined city, and a hot female teacher in a latex suit”, is how one of the game’s characters described his visions. That’s, in a nutshell, the essence of this unique, crazy RPG where you face kaiju in turned-based combat one minute, and follow weird conversations of high-school students the next. And there is nothing wrong with that. [12/2020, p.70]
  3. Games.cz
    Nov 12, 2020
    90
    A game of two halves. One of them is an amazingly detailed and well-told sci-fi story, the other a fun, strategic RPG. And as a whole it works perfectly.
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