I'm apparently in the minority with my rating here based on the recent reviews, but as someone who has seldom liked fast-paced arena/survival shooters like CS, Apex, Fortnite, Tarkov I've absolutely fallen in love with this game from its very first trailer. The Closed and Open Betas have only strengthened my love for it.

My most loved set of shooters has been the Battlefield franchise, and the level of destruction in the first trailer (and actually playing the game now) confirms the excellently crafted destruction physics. And, the destruction is something that even the naysayers can agree with being impressive. No surprises, some of the developer team are previously from DICE.

Agreeably the gameplay isn't terribly groundbreaking. The need for tactics to approach objectives reminds me of Seige. The verticality reminds me of Apex. And, the pacing reminds me of any other arena shooter.

But, man, the hype the game can dish out just doesn't compare, in my eyes. And, that is a huge part of why I keep coming back. It doesn't really do anything all that different, but it's just the feeling the game gives off. That doesn't necessarily equate to a good game, but I've had nothing but fun while playing.

The game is also surprisingly demanding, given the simpler assets and mostly open space. Performance can get pretty abysmal for anyone not running the latest, higher end hardware. Would be nice if this wasn't the case, but luckily the performance issues are not a problem for me.

And, the drama brought up a few weeks ago about the game using AI generated voices is really a non-issue, in my eyes. It's not illegal to do this and the developers are free to do so, whether it's to save development costs or try to achieve something more novel. Ultimately, I don't really care. Obviously, a shame for voice actors who could have been paid to offer their voices to the game, but if the world really detests this behavior, it will stifle it or welcome it and things will take their course. Regardless, the voices are well done, and add to the experience all the same.

Just about as good as a game can get, in my eyes.

Overall: 8.3/10 (8)

Gameplay: 10/10
Story/Narrative: 8/10
Graphics/Visuals: 8/10
Audio/Soundtrack: 7/10

I cried, man. Hard. I also spent way too much time just sitting on the main menu listening to the menu music.

Overall: 8/10 game, 9/10 visual novel.

Gameplay: 6/10
Story/Narrative: 7/10
Graphics/Visuals: 9/10
Audio/Soundtrack: 10/10

A gacha game I surprisingly adore. Great strategic gameplay. A compelling sci-fi story. An adorable dorm system. Superb artwork and animation. Real clever and cheeky expedition systems. Seemingly endless challenges and secondary tasks for you to do. You can also get by without paying for premium currency, if you get clever with where you invest your T-doll upgrades. There's also an awesome level of replay-ability from chapter to chapter - I rarely felt like I had to mindlessly grind the same level. Win-win-win-win for me.

If you want a turn-based strategy RPG (heavy on the strategy), this is the one. If you want something else, play Azur Lane (bullethell), Blue Archive (tactical RPG), Arknights (tower defense), Genshin (open world, hack/slash), Honkai (turn-based RPG), or FGO (turn-based RPG).

Overall: 7.3/10 (7)

Gameplay: 7/10
Story/Narrative: 8/10
Graphics/Visuals: 7/10
Audio/Soundtrack: 7/10

Talk about building upon success. A truly worthy successor to the previous games in the series.

Overall: 7/10

Gameplay: 7/10
Story/Narrative: 6/10
Graphics/Visuals: 10/10
Audio/Soundtrack: 5/10

Imagine the second game doesn't exist, and stop once you finish this game.

Overall: 7.8/10 (8)

Gameplay: 8/10
Story/Narrative: 8/10
Graphics/Visuals: 7/10
Audio/Soundtrack: 8/10