This game has a very good story and an excelent gameplay. I would recommend going blind into it for the history sake.

That being said, i feel like sometimes the story drags for too long, and the fact that you cant pause during the cutscenes also agravates me.

The plot twist is good but also a bit predictable if you are paying attention

Overall great game 8/10, could be better but it delivers a fun experience

I feel like where this goes narratively (and the almost comical amount of hoops it jumps through toward the end to get there) almost requires a different structure of game that wouldn't have to have its pacing absolutely tanked to tell its story. The worldbuilding suffers for it too - the central mechanic here would have been lovely to explore the setting with, but as it stands we mainly just get tight, underwhelming start/stop corridors (and that bullshit laser robot) - it wasn't until the last stretch where I felt the level design and energy really kicked it into gear. Makes me long for a 2D grappling hook metroidvania Deus Ex. Still, I thought the main supporting characters were genuinely well-realized, and I did like the ending.

I'm incredibly split on this game. The art direction and the way this game presents its narrative feels incredibly refined and creative but the flaws in its storyline just can't be ignored. The soundtrack is immaculate but I resent the jarring decision to stop it every time you die or take damage. The gameplay feels serviceable in a way that feels like it should be better. It's incredibly abundant in bugs and there's one boss that is so unbearable to fight I would've given up had it not been so close to the end. By far the biggest issue with this game though is the ending, it near ruined the entire experience for me. I don't think I've ever seen another piece of media try THIS hard to have an emotional moment. It is so unbelievably sappy which completely contrasts what I liked about the subtle, detached presentation of the entire game prior and they just seem to completely drop the rest of the climax. I was in disbelief that it ended as it did.
Overall this game definitely has what I want to see more of in games, that being an interesting approach to presenting a story, but it hits far too many sour notes to fully realise its potential.

Also just stop writing Futaba-archetype characters please, thank you.

Comparing this game to Katana Zero is a massive insult to Katana Zero.

I've spent more time reading cringe worthy, poorly written and paced dialogue written by a disgusting weaboo that probably gets off to Silver Wolf in Honkai Star Rail and decided to put her in the game, than actually playing the game. The writing is abhorent. It's a mystery to me how can anyone sit through the cutscenes and actually pay attention rather than wanting to just return to the gameplay.

Stages themselves get old very quickly. Halfway through the game they just become annoying, relying on leaps of faith and being outright confusing. They aren't intricate set pieces that the player slowly masters like in Katana Zero. Bosses are also, quite bad.

The OST is fine, the only problem is that just like with the story, the dev has no idea how to pace the OST. You can basically mute the OST and put on a "80s SYNTHWAVE DRIVING MIX" on youtube and get the same exeprinece. It's not bad, it's just lackluster.

All in all, this game is awful. I was told that it was Katana Zero with a grappling hook. I got a mediocre platformer with an awful story.