What surprised and delighted me most about Undertale was how well-rounded a product it actually is. Sure, the bullet-hell mechanics are okayish, but that's neither the central mechanic of the game, nor its main draw. Talking to monsters, forming friendships with fantastically written characters, getting to know more about this mysterious setting - one which welcomes you with open arms, while having more than enough to keep you intrigued, that's priceless. I like how the metafictional aspects of the game aren't restricted to cutesy in-jokes either - they're important parts of the narrative, as well as being a deconstruction of why we play RPG games in general. This is more than evident in one of the routes you can take in the game - but saying more wouls spoil things. I'vr quite probably been spoilt by having jumped on the train quite late, when there's little to no toxicity the Undertale fandom became infamous for. Even so, any piece of art should be judged on its own merits, sometimes even on the merits of the artist themselves - but never by the people consuming it. (Also, it's got one of the best OSTs ever)
The catch is the buggy, unfinished nature of the game. I'll be frank, even with the restored content mod (which you should totally install), there will be times when your characters will simply stop moving, and you'll have to quicksave and quickload. There will be (rare) occasions where medpacs won't increase your health. Hell, the loading screen tries to prepare you for all of this by suggesting you save your game in multiple slots. Obviously, I've given this five stars, so it means all of these frustrating things pale in front of the actual product. For me, at least. The simplest, most basic recommendation I can give is this - if you liked The Last Jedi, you'll like KOTOR 2. KOTOR 2 is hell bent on deconstructing the mythos, the whole black-and-white morality that has been a staple of the whole franchise, and there are a lot of times where the Force itself is dealt with in a way that longtime fans won't like. It's a very, very divisive story, and a very, very divisive game. If you like being challenged once in a while? Go for it. If you loved everything I just said? Buy it right now.
This game is clearly a labour of love, with great attention to detail given, It's an RPG set in China where you basically play as a Monk class with light magic and weapons, and combat can be satisfying enough for you to keep playing. The story is also pretty nice, with some memorable characters. It's not perfect. I nearly quit once because of a game breaking bug that wouldn't let me talk to a character (only coming back and reverting to an hour old save because I wanted to play it through to the end). The story is good, but not BioWare great. And there are two chapters with big hub worlds stuffed with lots of sidequests, where you'll spend the majority of the game, but all the chapters following them are linear punchfests. Still, I'm glad I played it, and it's certainly worth checking out.
Base game highly recommended. Graphics may have aged, but gameplay incredibly solid, as is the pacing. Extraction Point is a little worse for the wear, but the hospital level is some of the most nerve wracking stuff in games, ever Perseus Mandate, never played. Will play through GOG.com :D
