I bought this game because I love classic RPGs, especially ones that are rough around the edges and have a learning curve. I love customizing characters, building unique people to overcome big challenges, as well as immersive gameplay. This game has none of that, from what I can tell. The game play seems to be quite a bit like the first three Elder Scrolls games, having you walk around a 3D environment, interacting with people and places. That worked really well, but I quickly realized that I wasn't in a nice town with a mystery to uncover, nor was I stranded somewhere having to find my way. The first "town" is made up of all the guilds you need to play all your characters, and little else. This felt totally artificial and really broke immersion for me. Not only that, but there isn't even any mystery. You're on an island and there is a dragon that you should avoid while you should explore the island. Why am I here? I don't care, I just want to leave and do something interesting where ever my team just came from. The reason I rate this game so low though is the combat system, which is without a doubt the worst I have ever seen. Not only does it not have any real animations for your characters that lets you know if you actually hit something, what you hit, or who hit it, but it is literally just "Mash A button". It"s actually the 'A' button as well, which doesn't make it better. The real problem is that attacks have no "cool down period", so your damage output is directly tied to how fast you can push A. The only way to play this game is to take 4 fighters and just push A until everything is dead, because taking the time to cast a spell wastes valuable seconds that you could be pushing A. Not to mention that the first enemies I fought were fire-breathing mosquitoes. My advice would be to give this game a miss and try a game that uses a better combat system and has a story that grips you from the start.
This game blends amazing atmosphere, character customization and exploration with a well-told cyberpunk story. The game is intuitive and easy to grasp, even for people who are new to either action-adventures or cyberpunk. The world is so beautifully built that I often walk around the city forgetting that I'm actually playing a 2-D platformer. The amount of choice in the game is very big, from how to fight your battles to what you install into your body. The voice acting is also very well done. Some of the more emotional quests really bring across the desperation or sadness of the characters, simply through the voice acting. Superb, I must say. Even though the game is perfectly linear, I enjoyed all three of my playthroughs immensely due to the atmosphere. My only major problem is that the game is way too short to properly enjoy all of its features. Since the world is totally static, I can say that the amount of customization points you get is actually perfect to make a character that feels complete but not overpowered. However, there is so much to this game that completing the story feels like an introduction. The fact that it ends on a cliff-hanger also does not help. It REALLY feels like there should be a part 2, or like you should be max level after the "final boss" but keep exploring in a different city after the final cutscene. But nope, credits. All in all though, action adventure fans will love this game! Just make sure to explore all the various areas, you will have way more fun than just completing the story.
