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. DarkwingSchmuck
    Jul 27, 2023
    9
    13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim may have its flaws, but it is also a one-of-a-kind experience -- far better than the sum of its parts. Vanillaware's best effort by a mile, 13 Sentinels is an incredibly unique and ambitious game that's separated between two very different gameplay experiences -- a story-driven visual novel, and a real-time strategy RPG -- and while combat is serviceable enough,13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim may have its flaws, but it is also a one-of-a-kind experience -- far better than the sum of its parts. Vanillaware's best effort by a mile, 13 Sentinels is an incredibly unique and ambitious game that's separated between two very different gameplay experiences -- a story-driven visual novel, and a real-time strategy RPG -- and while combat is serviceable enough, the former works better than the latter, as 13 Sentinels' story is really what holds everything together.

    Despite a few too many instances of cringy teenage romance drama here and there, 13 Sentinels boasts one of the most finely crafted high-brow science fiction narratives you'll likely ever encounter in a video game. Smart, weighty, extremely dense, and completely engrossing, 13 Sentinels' story and characters will stick with you long after completion; even if its 40-hour playtime may go on for a bit longer than is necessary.    … Expand
  2. blend_one
    Jul 27, 2023
    10
    An absolute masterpiece in storytelling, it's incredibly satisfying how the 13 characters stories intertwine as you gradually learn more and more about the world and events. The story can be a bit confusing at first, but as you progress, every piece falls into place.

    The combat mode is surprisingly fun as well.
  3. hazukimio
    Jun 28, 2023
    9
    13 SENTINELS: AEGIS RIM has one of the most unexpected yet brilliant narratives in both visual novels and strategy games. Despite the lack of impression in the combat part, I would still recommend it to any gamer who has a predilection on storytelling.
  4. J_R
    May 14, 2023
    9
    9.0/10

    13 Sentinels is one of my favorite pieces of science fiction ever, across any medium. The story and characters are excellent. Go into this as blind as you can. It's looks and sounds absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately I can't praise the gameplay as highly. The gameplay isn't bad, it's just not as compelling as the narrative, art, characters, etc. It's fun but not    9.0/10

    13 Sentinels is one of my favorite pieces of science fiction ever, across any medium.

    The story and characters are excellent. Go into this as blind as you can. It's looks and sounds absolutely beautiful.

    Unfortunately I can't praise the gameplay as highly. The gameplay isn't bad, it's just not as compelling as the narrative, art, characters, etc. It's fun but not interesting enough and lacks challenge.

    I highly recommend 13 Sentinels. It definitely deserves more love and attention than it has currently received.

    9.0/10    … Expand
  5. aleqhz
    Apr 22, 2023
    9
    Amazing story, nice graphics and gameplay. It provides what you expect from a game: it's fun.
  6. egoBorder
    Mar 16, 2023
    9
    While not perfect, this clever adventure packs enough excitement to keep your head and your thumbs spinning. A truly innovative story makes for a bite-sized game that can feed a village. Go in as blind as you can!
  7. AdoMobA
    Mar 15, 2023
    10
    Pros
    - one of the best takes on visual novels ever made
    - a masterpiece of storytelling when it comes to mysteries - each of the 13 main protagonists feels just as valid and interesting as the rest - perfectly paced to drip feed you information for you to make your own conclusions - beautiful artwork that is a joy to look at - the tactical gameplay is a lot of fun Cons - poor    Pros
    - one of the best takes on visual novels ever made
    - a masterpiece of storytelling when it comes to mysteries
    - each of the 13 main protagonists feels just as valid and interesting as the rest
    - perfectly paced to drip feed you information for you to make your own conclusions
    - beautiful artwork that is a joy to look at
    - the tactical gameplay is a lot of fun

    Cons
    - poor optimization on the Ps4, you will experience performance drops during the major battles when there are hundreds enemies exploding on the screen

    13 Sentinels is one of the best hidden gems that you have never heard of. Made by Vanillaware and published by Atlus, the game is a hybrid between a visual novel and a light strategy game, each part feeding into the progression of the other one.

    When it comes to visual novels, they live and die by their story. So how is the story of this game? Masterful. Perfectly paced, as you have to meet certain thresholds in both the story and combat to progress most of the characters' segmented storylines. Steady and unrelenting drip feeding of information allows you to come to your own conclusions, sometimes letting you click a couple of things together in your head just seconds before it confirms them. Absolute perfection.

    I also believe that the order you play this game in lets you figure out different things at different times, so I might have figured out plotline A ten hours in and plotline B thirteen hours in while plotline C, D and etc. had to have been spelt out for me. While you play the game, you might understand C then B and never get A until the game beats you over the head with it. Perfection.

    The strategic part, called Destruction, has you fighting the enemy forces on an abstracted map of a city, where you use a team of six sentinels to plough through horde after horde of enemies. Each mission has a unique set of objectives that reward you with exp and additional information. The sentinels themselves are divided into four classes, allowing for different loadouts and combos to be thrown at the hordes of enemies.

    The last thing I will mention is the Analysis section of the game. I have never seen a more fantastic glossary for a game in my life. The Analysis serves as a sort of timeline for you to put context to the non-linear storytelling the game engages in, allowing you to look through many of these to understand the correct sequence of events. Just brilliant.

    13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a game that everybody should play at some point, because between the story, the art, the combat and the interesting mystery, this game is that one hidden gem that is missing from your library.    … Expand
  8. WindlessNight
    Jan 31, 2023
    9
    One of the best stories. At first things make sense, then they get wildly confusing depending on which order you play the stories in. Eventually the game gives you a guide to help explain the twist within the story guide which is nice. And then everything makes sense again. The real time tactics gameplay was okay, it never really sat right with me as the two gameplay styles felt veryOne of the best stories. At first things make sense, then they get wildly confusing depending on which order you play the stories in. Eventually the game gives you a guide to help explain the twist within the story guide which is nice. And then everything makes sense again. The real time tactics gameplay was okay, it never really sat right with me as the two gameplay styles felt very disjointed from one another. One being very low stakes story based, and the other being a very high one with drastically different art styles is a little weird to me. I always got the mech fights out of the way as soon as possible as they weren’t nearly as enjoyable as the story itself. The graphics during the story portion was absolutely lovely, like a nice painterly and anime mix. The story plays on the obvious anime troupes really well and it’s done very purposefully. If you love a good story and don’t mind real time tactics to get to the end, it’s worth your time.… Expand
  9. Belonski
    Jan 25, 2023
    10
    This game is primarily a visual novel game with a complex story. That means you actually have to pay attention to the story, think and speculate to enjoy it best. If you don't like that or hate anything that's slower paced, visual novel, anime or any nudity, this game is not for you.
  10. nanansgxz2
    Jan 18, 2023
    9
    13 哨兵：宙斯盾边缘充满了各种复杂性和细微差别，让你想要加倍分析每个场景中的剧本、传说和艺术品。有很多事情要做，但它的处理方式是，你通常永远不会得到超过你能处理的。相反，它让你为它的重要时刻做好准备。
  11. 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!
  12. Ragnar_san
    Sep 25, 2022
    10
    Uno de los mejores videojuegos de la historia, simple y llanamente. Muy recomendado a todo aquel que le gusten las visual novel.
  13. 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
  14. willozsy
    Sep 7, 2022
    9
    The game is a slow burn but one of the best stories I've ever experienced in any media
  15. Vaeu
    Jul 21, 2022
    9
    Great game, shame I can't share more of my thoughts because I keep getting a 404 error.
  16. UglyBunny
    Jun 27, 2022
    6
    This was the first game of this sort that I've ever played, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but by about 20 hours in, I was growing weary and I just wanted to see the end of the story.

    And when I saw it, well, it wasn't as profound or intriguing as the buildup made it seem. The whole "Remembrance" mode (where you're controlling the characters and interacting with other people and    This was the first game of this sort that I've ever played, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but by about 20 hours in, I was growing weary and I just wanted to see the end of the story.

    And when I saw it, well, it wasn't as profound or intriguing as the buildup made it seem. The whole "Remembrance" mode (where you're controlling the characters and interacting with other people and objects) weaves a convoluted tale - one that really doesn't come together neatly in the end; partly, perhaps because I'm just too stoopid, but partly because of the way the game allows you to jump around narratives. I felt there was too much forced intrigue; it's a story that features time-travel, clones, androids, AI, characters who are the child version of the parents of other characters, good guys, bad guys, characters who can transfer their consciousness into other humans and machines, etc. Much of it was shoehorned in to the detriment of the clarity of the narrative. This became especially clear towards the end as the developers tried desperately to tie it all together by making Renya Gouto the final character's story you can complete before the final battle. To muddy the waters even more, two characters have EXACTLY the same name, and two others have the same first name, different last names, but actually are each other (or, the same person).

    The "Analysis" mode is more or less throwaway; it's a collectopedia and reference in case you get lost, but it's not well organized and can be ignored entirely, except to spend your "mystery points," which is required to progress the story at one point. It can be kind of interesting to peruse, but I didn't spend much time here. A lot of the files are updated as you progress through the game. It's possible that if I were to seek out the characters or events that were a little confusing to me and read, I would understand better, but I never really felt compelled. There are some interesting tidbits about Japanese culture here and there, though, so that was nice.

    "Destruction" mode is a game within a game (within a game?). It's a turn-based RTS-style game where you control up to 6 sentinels with the goal of destroying all the bad guys, represented by weird, twisty, stacked two-dimensional shapes on the battlefield. It was interesting at first and had some good potential, but by the end, I found myself bringing down the difficulty to casual because I just wanted it to be over with. Every level was more or less the same, with slightly varying goals, enemies, etc. While it's not un-fun, it's not the most engaging aspect of the game and you really need to grind A LOT in order to upgrade your sentinels sufficiently to be able to able to get S* rank in every battle on Normal difficulty, let alone Intense. It's satisfying watching the icons blow up, but I found I only used a scant few of the skills available. Each sentinel has around 10 or so active and passive skills that can be upgraded, plus overall sentinel upgrades, plus a "meta terminal" that can be upgrade, all which require hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands of "meta chips," - the currency you get for winning battles - to upgrade.

    The problem here is that battles don't net you nearly enough meta chips when you have to spread them between 13 characters' skills, 13 characters' sentinel upgrades, and the meta terminal. This is what I mean you have to grind if you really want to upgrade. A battle might net you 100k chips (once you've sufficiently upgraded your terminal) but those will be gone in a flash on ONE character's skills, let alone their sentinel upgrades. The thought of the grind makes me shudder.

    Anyway, I'm glad it's over and I'm glad to have experienced it.

    Pros:
    - Natsuno's butt in the track outfit
    - Beautiful art style
    - 100% voice acted (English VA was great)
    - Ultimately, a very cool concept

    Cons:
    - Walled-off progression pending other activities
    - Too many required destruction stages (should have been skippable)
    - Some characters' paths were VERY unintuitive (only needed a guide once, though)
    - There's no secrets; nothing to "find" - you just push the button until you exhaust the prompts

    Scores
    Visuals: 7/10.
    Sound: 7/10.
    Gameplay: 5/10.
    Story: 7/10.
    Replay Value: 2/10.
    Total: 5.6/10. Average. It's not all it was hyped up to be, but it's by no means a bad game. It's not a "must play" and I certainly won't replay it, but I have no regrets and will probably give these sorts of games more of a chance in the future. It was intriguing, tedious, confusing, interesting, annoying, and heartwarming all at the same time.    … Expand
  17. proxzia
    May 29, 2022
    10
    This is truly a masterpiece in the sci-fi genre. A beautifully crafted game with gorgeous art and music, which is brought to life by its immersive story and cast of characters.
    This game truly blows you away, the number of twists and turns and questions to be asked and answered in this game's narrative is truly mind-boggling, and yet somehow it all makes perfect sense in the end.
    Play this game.
  18. Ramas
    May 15, 2022
    8
    If you love Japan, big chance you will love this game :) its mostly about story, gameplay itself is simple.
  19. sohronery
    May 3, 2022
    10
    Must play masterpiece with 10/10 story telling. Visual novel and tactical mix works pretty well but the split is about 80/20 for the gameplay.
  20. itamarJr
    Apr 28, 2022
    10
    Essa é um experiência única de um jogo, essa jornada é maravilhosa em tds os sentidos, o jogo é cheio de plots( o melhor é que, por vc ter uma certa liberdade para avançar na história, alguns desses plots ñ são inteiramente explicados jogando com um só personagem, vc precisa ver cada perspectiva diferente pra ficar boquiaberto pela sensação incrível que é entender 100% cada segredoEssa é um experiência única de um jogo, essa jornada é maravilhosa em tds os sentidos, o jogo é cheio de plots( o melhor é que, por vc ter uma certa liberdade para avançar na história, alguns desses plots ñ são inteiramente explicados jogando com um só personagem, vc precisa ver cada perspectiva diferente pra ficar boquiaberto pela sensação incrível que é entender 100% cada segredo revelado), o jogo é cheio de referências a outras obras de ficção científica, o que deixa ainda mais prazeroso pra quem curte essa temática, o combate tb é legal ( achei que ñ gostaria mt, mas quando vc joga é uma delícia), eu simplesmente recomendo essa obra pra qualquer um, vc percebe que esse é um jogo feito com muito amor pela Vanillaware(Dificilmente deve ter outro assim), qualquer um que jogou esse jogo fica chateado por ñ ter vendido no mínimo dez vezes mais doq vendeu, eu preciso dizer uma coisa: esse jogo possui um dos melhores roteiros dos jogos da história com certeza, vou guardar com mt carinho os momentos que passei nessa carta de amor para os amantes dos jogos.… Expand
  21. 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
  22. MoGee
    Apr 23, 2022
    8
    通关后第一个感慨就是这游戏感觉是个套娃游戏，以为是这样结果是那样，但其实又不是那样。
    每天玩几个小时，玩了一星期，人物地点过多，对于我这种记性不好的人来说算是一种痛苦。
    很有意思的叙事结构与内容，一开始以为是极限脱出那种，没想到。。 还算可以吧，战斗有点没意思，表现力也一般，打到一半切到简单模式靠无人机和哨戒炮莽过去了。 剧情要素过多，虽然很有意思，但感觉设定有些过了。 8.5分，不到9分能惊艳到我与乐不思蜀的感觉，但不可否认是一个值得一玩的佳作。    通关后第一个感慨就是这游戏感觉是个套娃游戏，以为是这样结果是那样，但其实又不是那样。
    每天玩几个小时，玩了一星期，人物地点过多，对于我这种记性不好的人来说算是一种痛苦。
    很有意思的叙事结构与内容，一开始以为是极限脱出那种，没想到。。
    还算可以吧，战斗有点没意思，表现力也一般，打到一半切到简单模式靠无人机和哨戒炮莽过去了。
    剧情要素过多，虽然很有意思，但感觉设定有些过了。
    8.5分，不到9分能惊艳到我与乐不思蜀的感觉，但不可否认是一个值得一玩的佳作。
  23. Emrawww
    Jan 13, 2021
    9
    I played Dragon's Crown and Odin's Sphere. Both Vannilaware games. This game is NOTHING like those two. If you expect the same gameplay as those games, please research this game more.

    This game has two main sections. One is the story (visual novel) and the other is gameplay ( tower defence). Story: WOW. Just WOW! The story is just amazing. One of the best videogames story ever made! The    I played Dragon's Crown and Odin's Sphere. Both Vannilaware games. This game is NOTHING like those two. If you expect the same gameplay as those games, please research this game more.

    This game has two main sections. One is the story (visual novel) and the other is gameplay ( tower defence).

    Story:
    WOW. Just WOW! The story is just amazing. One of the best videogames story ever made! The way it's told and paced is just on another level. Amazing...

    Gameplay:
    Nothing special here. I expected more from the gameplay section. It's not bad but it is just a simple towerdefence mode where you can level your mechs/characters unlocking new abilities.

    Even though the gameplay is average, the story is so well made that I still think this game deserves a big fat 9. Must play for people that like scifi and/or story driven games.    … Expand
  24. Ventu
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    13 Sentiels: Aegis Rim es un gran juego, obligatorio para los amantes de Novela Visual y RPG Tactico. La historia es muy interesante, los personajes carismaticos, un apartado artistico precioso, y el sistema de combate muy entretenido. Siendo realistas, es un muy buen juego, pero no diria que es la obra maestra que todo el mundo dice. Hay que tener en cuenta que no es un juego para todo el13 Sentiels: Aegis Rim es un gran juego, obligatorio para los amantes de Novela Visual y RPG Tactico. La historia es muy interesante, los personajes carismaticos, un apartado artistico precioso, y el sistema de combate muy entretenido. Siendo realistas, es un muy buen juego, pero no diria que es la obra maestra que todo el mundo dice. Hay que tener en cuenta que no es un juego para todo el mundo, la historia puede ser dificil de entender en su totalidad, y el sistema de combate puede abrumar un poco al principio hasta que te acostumbras a su estetica. Hay que destacar que conforme avanzas es un juego muy gratificante, todo va encajando y el sistema de progresion hasta el 100% es muy completo. Lo mejor es su historia y como logra conectar todo, asi como un apartado visual dibujado a mano precioso. Lo peor no es algo malo 'per se', pero la historia puede ser confusa en ciertos momentos.… Expand
  25. Unrighteousss
    Jan 29, 2022
    6
    Is 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim a masterpiece?
    No.
    Is 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim a good game? No. Will you like it? Maybe. I'd like to preface this review with saying that I have the platinum for the game; not a difficult feat, but it should at least inform you that I've played my fair share. There are three different modes in the game, but your time will mainly be split into the combat    Is 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim a masterpiece?
    No.
    Is 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim a good game?
    No.
    Will you like it?
    Maybe.

    I'd like to preface this review with saying that I have the platinum for the game; not a difficult feat, but it should at least inform you that I've played my fair share.

    There are three different modes in the game, but your time will mainly be split into the combat and story modes, so I'll be focusing on those.

    To start off, even people giving this game a 10/10 will likely submit that the combat isn't the best; certainly not masterpiece level. In my opinion, it's a horrible and confusing mess to look at, and the strategic gameplay isn't fun for the most part. None of Vanillaware's strengths are on display here at all. I'm done talking about combat; I'm pretty sure even Vanillaware doesn't really care for it all that much.

    The artwork in the game's story is just as beautiful as you might expect from Vanillaware, and it brings up what would otherwise be a 3/10 to a 6/10. Unfortunately, you'll be staring at the same environments and characters for hours on end, which can make even the most beautiful artwork look boring.

    The story itself isn't hard to follow despite being very complex, which is the only positive thing I have to say about it. I won't get into spoilers, but for certain reasons, character development isn't really possible in this story, and we don't get much of a chance to get attached to any of the characters anyway because we only get to spend a few minutes with each at a time.

    On top of the characters being uninteresting plot devices that we follow around, the reveals and plot twists are just as boring, and only serve to add layers of needless, empty complexity onto a story that really didn't need it. If they had spent more time trying to get me invested into the lives of the characters, and less time talking about every sci-fi trope under the sun, I may have enjoyed myself a bit more.

    The way you interact with the story, at first, is actually rather interesting, but 20 hours in becomes tedious. Running around trying to figure out what object or person you're supposed to talk to is just wasted time. There's no choice here, you find where the story wants you to go next, and you go there, or talk to that person, or think that thought. It's not hard, it's not engaging, it's just boring.

    The voice acting is excellent (I played in Japanese, not sure about English). The dialogue feels very natural, but it's often very boring because of this. I found myself watching schoolgirls speaking to one another, and thinking: "this conversation seems like what actual schoolgirls might talk about; too bad I have absolutely no interest in anything they're saying." There were other characters that did make me laugh a few times, and I was occasionally interested in what was going on, but most of my time listening to conversations was time wasted. Excellent voice acting can't save a boring story with mostly boring dialogue.

    I could go on for ages about how stupid some of the twists and reveals are, but obviously there's loads of people that actually love this game, and I wouldn't want to spoil anything for anyone reading who also might wind up loving the game.

    I consider myself a fan of Vanillaware, and I have no issue with them making different kinds of games; I just wish they'd stick to their strengths, which is mostly their beautiful artwork. If I could take a break from the story, and button mash with a gorgeous 2D sentinel instead of giving myself a seizure looking at flashing neon lights in the combat system, I may have liked this game. Vanillaware has never been good storytellers, but that didn't matter when I could take control of their art and beat up other art. Odin Sphere had better character development and a more engaging story even without its combat, but letting me control the characters in combat helped me get more invested in them; 13 Sentinels could have greatly benefitted from giving the player more agency over its characters, which rarely ever happens at all. Decisions are actually meaningless, and will force you into saying "yes" if you said "no," and any combat in the story is just a single button press that often fades to black with beat-em-up noises playing in the background. I just didn't care.

    Regardless of what I think, there are people that will love this game, and there are people that will hate this game. There are also people that will fall in the middle and tear themselves apart agonizing over it (me). What it really comes down when deciding whether or not to play this game is to figure out what kind of person you are.    … Expand
  26. 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
  27. Satisfyer
    Dec 14, 2021
    9
    It's just a masterpiece. Amazing story, thank you for this amazing videogame, Vanillaware.
  28. Premier991
    Dec 3, 2021
    7
    This reminded me somewhat of a telltale game with more depth and tons of borrowed scifi themes. There was a lot of fluff in the story, but it was good overall. It's a fairly easy platinum trophy, just takes about 40 hours depending on mode you play. Overall, it had beautiful static backgrounds, but there were elements that needed more work. The characters look like paper cutouts, and theThis reminded me somewhat of a telltale game with more depth and tons of borrowed scifi themes. There was a lot of fluff in the story, but it was good overall. It's a fairly easy platinum trophy, just takes about 40 hours depending on mode you play. Overall, it had beautiful static backgrounds, but there were elements that needed more work. The characters look like paper cutouts, and the battle system looks really bad. It felt like a really long $15 game with a better than average story that was a little messy.… Expand
  29. CarsonButBased
    Nov 24, 2021
    10
    The few times I heard people talking about this game I always heard that it was amazing. I went in with pretty high expectations and it completely blew those out of the water. The game loads up and you're greeted with probably the best title screen music I've ever heard.
    The game is split into a real time tower defense combat mode, and a visual novel mode. While the combat mode is good,    The few times I heard people talking about this game I always heard that it was amazing. I went in with pretty high expectations and it completely blew those out of the water. The game loads up and you're greeted with probably the best title screen music I've ever heard.
    The game is split into a real time tower defense combat mode, and a visual novel mode. While the combat mode is good, the main appeal defiantly comes from the vn mode. In the vn mode you go through the events that happened to the 13 main characters leading up to the final battle.
    What makes the game so incredible is how the story is told. As you experience each characters story, you'll get twist after twist after twist. At first nothing makes any sense, but as you get further and further everything starts connecting. I didn't have everything 100% figured out until the ending. You can also play through the stories in almost any order, so your experience with the game won't be the same as someone else.
    Like I said before, I went in with high expectations, and this ended up becoming my favorite game of all time. If you have a PS4/5 give this game a shot, you won't regret it.    … Expand
  30. Chickenph
    Nov 23, 2021
    10
    It’s a definite 10/10 *if* you can enjoy a game with a lot of story (and some tower defense that’s fun and pretty easy). There’s a lot of effort put into the world, the story, the animations. Watch some gameplay videos and you'll know if it seems interesting. It’s misleading to call it a visual novel because you play through the story instead of just clicking through text.

    The graphics    It’s a definite 10/10 *if* you can enjoy a game with a lot of story (and some tower defense that’s fun and pretty easy). There’s a lot of effort put into the world, the story, the animations. Watch some gameplay videos and you'll know if it seems interesting. It’s misleading to call it a visual novel because you play through the story instead of just clicking through text.

    The graphics are really pretty, and there are a lot of different locations. The gameplay in the story sections involves talking to people, a little interacting with things, and presenting topics to people. It’s very streamlined so you don’t waste time trying out every option like in adventure games. It’ll highlight any option that you need to use, and give you an onscreen indicator that you have a topic you need to present to someone.

    The story involves time travel, high school, conspiracy theories, a cat, mech battles, gangs…I mean, it’s a fun story that touches on a lot of topics and genres. You play through short episodes that continue each character's story, and after the prologue you choose what character's story to play next.

    The tower defense sections are cool and I’m not usually a huge tower defense fan. They’re pretty easy on normal difficulty, and I enjoyed using the different abilities. Like, some characters control mechs that are for close-range damage, so you can make them jump in the air and do AOE damage. If you don’t enjoy it, you can set the difficulty on easy and just rush through it.

    I looked at screenshots and didn’t get why I kept hearing rave reviews of “This game deserves to be way more popular,” but I bought it and agree. The story is enjoyable to follow and slowly understand, and it’s presented in a way that feels like you’re playing through a season of a cool show. It’s a special game that just has that game magic you can’t explain.    … Expand
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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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