13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

I didn't know what to expect when I started to play this game, so I was pleasantly surprised when 13 Sentinels decided to take me on a wild rollercoaster ride.

Despite the game essentially being one half visual novel and the other half being a tactics battle simulator, it's a genuinely amazing game.

The painterly artstyle and various shading techniques makes the game look like an immaculate moving painting, surpassing any other visual novel I've played. But probably the game's strongest asset is the absolutely insane story and the fantastically unique, varied, and memorable cast of main characters.

The story is a convoluted blend of sci-fi and anime tropes that somehow manages to constantly subvert all expectations and has a series of never-ending twists that are more puzzling yet exciting than the last. But I will say, the story can seem needlessly complicated at times, and by the end of the game my brain felt fried. But the journey is completely worth it since the game delivers an ending that perfectly wraps up everything with a nice little bow.

It's honestly impressive how this game was able to create 13 different protagonists that are all memorable in their own way. I'll admit I preferred some characters storylines much more than others, but each character has a very compelling story that end up being entertaining in their own right. Stellar voice cast too. Shout out to Hijiyama, Minami and Yakushiji for having my personal favorite storylines. I've never wanted to try Yakisoba Pan as much as I did after this game.

The battle system is pretty fun as well and I found myself thoroughly enjoying planning out my Sentinel units' attacks on a virtual battlefield. Although I'll admit, some missions can be very overwhelming at times and have some crazy difficulty spikes. But it's not too much of a problem since the battle difficulty can be changed at any time.

Overall, this is a game I would highly recommend to anyone as it's an unforgettable gaming experience.

It's been years since I, a transhumanist, have seen a decent audiovisual science-fiction story that is not a fantasy masquerading as one. What I couldn't hope to expect is this, a biblical-scale secular epic about nature & struggles of conscious beings that is both incredibly optimistic and existentially horrifying.

It tackles similar themes and on the same grand level (or more) as Metal Gear Solid 2, NieR: Automata and Outer Wilds. Also has music just as good as legendary superb soundtrack of N:A.

It heavily references famous works of fictions all throughout 20th century: literature, VNs, anime and films such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Steins;Gate, Madoka Magica, Ghost in the Shell (first 2 movies and SAC), Pacific Rim, All you need is kill / Edge of Tomorrow, The Alien Machine / This Island Earth, Star Wars, WALL-E, Men in Black, Terminator 1/2/3, Total Recall, Sixth Day (unfortunately), Back to the Future, WarGames, fiction of Arthur Clarke, H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov.

There is only 3 "flaws" in it: the fact that it was made with a shoelace budget and that not a single point about it's story could be told or shown without spoiling a major revelation. Even START menu visual transition, name of main musical theme and first minute of prologue's intro are endgame spoilers with some context. With all that, it is a massive >30-hour heartbreaking story of tens sympathetic characters.

The 3rd flaw is that difficulty modes "Casual / Normal / Intense" should be more aptly called "Absentmindedness / Casual / Easy".

This game is breath taking how they were able to pull off 13 different characters into one coherent story and different time the story takes place in. The gameplay is on another level when it comes to intense tactical gameplay.

But what's most striking when you play the game is the visuals I absolutely adore them. I have always liked vanillaware drawing artistry, but this one just takes it to another level in how much time was put into each drawing. Oh my god looked like paintings.

And I love the characters they have so much charm and character to them and I cannot stop thinking about it even after I played it. I got a platinum and God everything on it. I just wanted to play this amazing story I was so sad after 26 hours that it was over.

The way the story is separated so you cannot see all the character story at once you have to play that is character and this character and this character and feels like cliffhanger's all of it and it's so weird what I want to know more about the story so I played the Gameplay part and the story part just to know what's happening to my boys and girls.

And the game keeps so many disks in the air so many story points but its career and there is a good coherent fun intelligent story behind this game. I did not expect but I'm so happy about it.

I do not want to say anything more about the story. I do not want to say anything more about the gameplay this game is amazing. It's a 10 out of 10. Please play it, it's vanillaware best game.