13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (PS4)

I bought this after hearing them talk about it on the Trash Taste podcast as I'd never heard of it and the premise sounded intriguing. I am SO glad I did, this game has left a real impression on me and I can't stop thinking about it. It's a crime that it has been so hidden. I hope the Switch release changes the tide on that! My review is spoiler free but other than reading some Amazon reviews I'd go into this as blind as you possibly can. Do NOT go on YouTube for reviews/gameplay because I've seen so many thumbnails on my suggested that I would have been really unhappy to see before I finished! A few easy things to note first. If you like Spike Chunsoft style games (Danganronpa, Zero Escape, AI Somnium Files) there is a really high likelihood you will love 13 Sentinels and you should stop reading and just buy it already. Obviously this is not a SC game, but the themes are similar, you already know the level of reading to expect, yet better story than in any SC I've played (imo). If you've never played a SC game or were on the fence, I'd think hard about how much you enjoy reading as the biggest portion of this game is visual novel style and that definitely isn't for everyone. 13 Sentinels has been labelled as a JRPG by fans yet I'm not sure you'd be impressed if you went in expecting a JRPG. So the game is split into story and battle. You choose when you want to do chunks of either depending what you're in the mood for. It needs to be said that the story is 13S' focus and is masterfully done. The battle...wasn't my favourite. I actually turned the difficulty down to casual about two thirds of the way through as I was so eager to see the story pan out I really didn't want to sit through the battle sections which felt like a chore to me. The battle is, I guess, strategy RPG-lite. Which would normally be my sort of jam but I don't know... I find it hard to explain why I didn't like it. It felt very repetitive. There are small chunks of dialogue within battles which are essential for the story still, and the story is locked if you fall too far behind on battle, hence I said it became a chore so I could continue with story. The story. I am in awe of the quality of writing with the story. It is really hard to go into detail for why it is so good due to spoilers. I think I am just super impressed at how they managed to make something so confusing yet the confusion feels right. Within the first ten hours or so I was constantly surprised at the amount of sci-fi tropes being used in the same plot. But then they just kept adding in new elements right until the last 5% of the story. A story using an almost stupid amount of sci-fi tropes as well as trying to tell this story through the eyes of 13 protagonists should absolutely not work - and just to clarify, it isn't like everything is cleared up at the end. After all there is a video called "piecing through the story of 13 Sentinels" on YT that is ten hours long!! It's a complicated and confusing story but the writers know this which is why there is a third segment in the game called "analysis" which lets you constantly look through the lore and scenes you've unlocked. I really enjoyed looking at this constantly theorising and then at the very end a bumper amount of codex unlocks which clears a lot of stuff up. There is tonnes of foreshadowing in this game from the very first scene and I can't wait to replay knowing what I know now. I compared 13S to Spike Chunsoft above but there is no SC game that has the depth and quality of story that 13S does. I didn't like the art style much at first. I've never played a Vanillaware game so seeing their name everywhere didn't mean much to me but it grew on me really quickly and now I can't imagine it any other way. The battle visuals/interface could be better though. Also, if you can appreciate game music as much as I can, this is just another area where 13S really shines. When I love a soundtrack I normally try and purchase the physical OST as I am a collector. I just bought it today for more money than I'd normally consider spending but it needs to join my physical collection. I was truly absorbed in this game and I have to say it may sound cheesy but when the end credit scene finished, I actually clapped. I've never done that before.

A Japanese visual novel. Has a strong time travel story. It's also a turn based 2D strategy simulator. You play as multiple characters in almost any order you like, experiencing the stories of each character and their interaction with each other. Yes, the story is mostly about high school students at school. The story starts slow and takes a while to introduce each of the many playable characters. If you stick with it the story becomes deeply compelling. Can also fast forward through parts that are less interesting if you wish. The puzzles in the visual novel part of the game aren't very challenging but are interesting. The voice acting in English is pretty good, didn't play it in Japanese. Artwork is great, the game looks good. The turn based 2D strategy part of the game isn't difficult but is enjoyable. It adds instead distracts from the somtory telling. Highly orginal game, set in an cliché environment of a Japanese high school.

Beautiful art style, compelling characters, intricate plot and a really unique mix of gameplay. The game is half "cut-scenes" - dialogue, mostly walking around, interacting with things and advancing the plot, interspersed with chess-like, turn-based, top-down strategic combat. Once you beat the prelude (about 2 hours worth of gameplay) you can choose whether to plough through the combat missions, or simply advance the story. Meaning you can get really into the intricacies of the combat and play properly, or if you're looking for a more casual experience, you can just sit back and enjoy the characters, art and dialogue with minimal effort. I've never played anything like this before, where you can choose which "half" of the game to play, but I really like it, and it's a quality game to boot. Vanillaware have made some gems in the past and I hope they continue to innovate and create in this way.

This is a fantastic gaming experience very different to most other things out there. It’s mainly a sci fi story told from the different viewpoints of a cast of characters with strategy battle sections. The plot seems crazily disjointed jumping all over the place, but as you proceed you slowly unlock more facts and things fall into place. It is really original and looks beautiful. If you like pure action games it’s probably not for you, but i would recommended for anyone who likes strategy rpgs and story. It’s my game of 2020.

I would definitely recommend playing this game just because there is nothing else like it. It's a mixture of side-scrolling visual novel and turn-based top down combat. The presentation of the combat is very basic and resembles a tabletop game with a board and various pieces, but you do get some cool animations of the characters talking to each other. The story is a convoluted bargain-basement sci-fi romp that draws heavily on everything from war of the worlds to the terminator. I felt like it could have been more simple/original and less time consuming with more focus on the mech customisation and combat which I found the most enjoyable part of the game.. so maybe there could have been some mini games or strategising about how to refine your mech such as testing weapons etc. Be warned that this game is incredibly narrative heavy and involves some oft frustrating repetition of story segments and seemingly endless walking back and forth between the same backdrops. One of the main character event loops was particularly mindless and almost made me quit the game. But overall it is worth playing, art style and music are exceptional.

Truly a unique and masterful story. 10/10

Una narrativa no lineal como pocas (seguramente no haya otra historia menos lineal que esta). De una forma u otra toca todos los temas de la ciencia ficción. Es una maravilla. A tener en cuenta que la mitad del juego es de tipo casi peli juego y la otra mitad de combate táctico por turnos.

This game is so good so play it.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim è una perla, un gioiello, un fulgido esempio di cosa e soprattutto come un videogioco possa narrare una storia. Vanillaware dimostra di essere totalmente consapevole delle capacità narrative del medium videoludico e di saperle padroneggiare. Anche senza entrare nel merito di ciò che viene narrato (che è meraviglioso, ben costruito, poco scontato e tutt'altro che prevedibile, eccetto che in alcuni punti, ma saprà comunque sorprendere sempre, risultando alla fine, quando si saprà già tanto, purtroppo, parzialmente ridondante) quello che il gioco offre è un'esperienza narrativa letteralmente unica per ogni giocatore. A seconda dei personaggi che si usano di volta in volta e dell'ordine di svolgimento delle missioni si ha un grado di comprensione della storia e del mondo diverso e informazioni nuove con cui comprendere la verità, e questo sarà diverso per ognuno. Questo solo il videogioco e la sua asincronicità possono offrirlo. E gli sviluppatori lo hanno ben compreso. Non entro nel merito delle battaglie (divertentissime e fortemente legate alla storia, nel quale verrà anzi fuori una realtà metavideoludica del menu di battaglia) e dell'aspetto estetico mozzafiato del gioco. Tutto è poi condito da un amore per certi tipi di storie e di fantascienza giapponese e non solo, come i kaiju, Godzilla, la guerra dei mondi, E.T. e perfino Evangelion (impossibile non vedere citazioni e analogie con Eva nel gioco).

This is one of the best games I’ve played in my life Amazing story Really interesting & unique Sci Fi multiple choice scenario narrative that is expertly unravelled over 60 odd hours of gameplay intertwined with a strategy combat Must have game that will leave you really fascinated