13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - PlayStation 4

The storytelling is so intriguing and somehow they have made it work despite how many stories are included. I was pleasantly surprised by the tactical gameplay portions. Also, the artbook that came with the game is great. I love the designs that Vanillaware is known for, so beautiful. For those who care, it's an easy platinum as most of the trophies are tied to the story.

With information from sci fi stories, its an adventure game where you gather the story from 13 characters. You start the game in a RTS/tower defense battle. You then start with the first protagonist in a side scrolling adventure style game. After playing for a while you can choose the characters in any order but sometimes their stories will be locked until you progress an other character's story or finish a certain battle. The battles take place on an isometric plane. You don't see the "sentinels" or enemies like you do in the art style of the adventure sequence. Instead it looks like a pixelated 3D retro-style video game. Your goal is to prevent the enemies from destroying your tower. When you select your sentinel you have the option to move, attack, or heal. After selecting a command, the battle goes into real time untile the next sentinel is selected. There are also bonuses you can receive by completing certain objectives like finishing within a time limit or minimizing damage to the tower. You can also upgrade/customize your sentinels with different weapons. As for the difficulty, I played on normal, but there is easy and intense mode and it can be changed. While the overall system is simple, I found it addictive. One thing I wished that there could have been are cutscenes of the sentinels fighting the enemies but I think it was well done, regardless. Next is the adventure portion. Not the hardest game to play. It's more like an interactive visual novel. You get key information that is placed in the Thought Cloud. You use this to interact with other characters or the environment. There is not much to it meaning anyone can enjoy the game play for this portion with ease though I found myself stuck at points because I didn't know how to activate certain events. As for the music, story, voice acting - overall was great. You can even choose to have the original Japanese voice over if you prefer. I won't spoil anything but I like how some scenes were parodoies of sci fi films. Yes, the story will be confusing, but it all comes together at the end. As for the ending, it was one of the best video game endings I've witnessed over the years. It left me satisfied and wanting more but the game is perfect the way it is. Now, this is an M rated game. There really isn't anything too violent, but it's mainly because you see images of the characters in nude during the battles. It's more PG-13 but just know it's there. One of the best games I've played this year. Highly recommend

Arguably the most complex sci-fi story in any video game ever Art style, music, and voice acting are all incredible- nearly perfect Very endearing characters that you really care about As the puzzle pieces together it’s hard to not stop grinning Combat was better than expected but ultimately samey and can be gimmicky Could have been a little shorter, cutting a few character sections or some combat sections

Very unique, maybe not for everyone. But if you want a refreshing gameplay experience, this is it. The game is split into two distinctly different gameplay experiences. One part will allow you to enjoy the story and all of its sci-if inspired tropes. The other is a strategy/defense game. Both are fun in their own rights. The story mode presents a very deep story that weaves between multiple characters and across various timelines. I’ll stay away from spoilers, but suffice it to say this is a tangled web of a story, that you’ll have to try unwind as you go. It’s pretty dang good, and worth it in the end in my opinion. It plays much more like a graphic novel than a game. The defense game is fairly addicting too. Pretty fun (maybe a bit easy unless you bump up the difficulty), but still pretty rewarding too. For sci-fi and anime/manga fans, definitely check it out. A very unique experience that sticks with you for a while. Maybe a bit repetitive at times (on purpose even sometimes), but it’s worth it if you go in with an open mind! I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, but oddly I can’t recommend it enough.

Unsual game. Was very surpised by how much I liked it. The story is interseting and they keep hitting you w surprises. The side rts combat game is pretty good nothing to deep but is fun to play and moves fast so no complaint from me. If you are a fan of Vanillaware games get this.