This is such a half-assed game that feels like it was released a year before it was actually ready to ship. So much of this bizarre nonsensical game doesn't make any sense. And yet...I couldn't stop playing.

The camera is agonisingly slow, with no option to speed it up. There is barely anything resembling a tutorial. It just throws you into the world and you have to figure out what the hell the controls are or where you're supposed to go. Often times, it has that maddening Japanese trope of expecting you to explore the entire map for any changes in world state to progress the story.

You have a backpack with limited space, and yet you will never even come close to filling it up. There are rooms and buildings that often contain nothing rewarding your exploration with a big "fuck you". Sometimes you'll be able to interact with a bookcase or cash register and all you'll get for your trouble is a notification saying: "this is a bookcase" and "this is a cash register". There are also moments where characters are just left completely hanging, with no resolution to their fates that is maddening.

Game mechanics like peeing, eating, yelling and the compass are literally useless. Nothing happens if you ignore them. Morality Points also seem to serve no purpose which is bizarre, and further emphasises how half-assed this game is.

Disaster Report 4 feels like it was shat out by a bunch of students in a hurry for a university deadline.

And yet...I could not stop playing. Why? Well, it sometimes reminded me of Yakuza. Minus the combat and charisma. But it still very much belongs in the same sphere as that wacky series. The visual aesthetic of it all as you stroll through a Japanese city will remind you of Yakuza's Kamurocho.

The game can careen from heartbreaking pathos to bizarre slapstick from breakneck speed. One minute you'll be amidst the human misery left in the aftermath of societal collapse, the next you find yourself the leader of a cult or acting like Columbo solving a mystery. The last hour of the game has some absolutely insane plot twists that will make you laugh at how stupid and out of nowhere they are.

Although the game is silly, it's also unique in that the atmospheric aftermath of an earthquake is very visceral, especially when aftershocks hit and you end up running in a panic as buildings fall apart around you.

The side stories are all weirdly addictive, and some are actually shocking too, I found myself saying "what the fuck" loudly several times. We're not talking Witcher 3 tier storytelling here, but the Japanese seem to have a trademark on quirky side quests that you can't bring yourself to turn away from. Add to that the range of downright bizarre and hilarious replies your character can provide during conversations and you have yourself the kind of game that will have you saving video clips for posterity.

Although I personally didn't go the 'renegade evil' route with my character, I'm curious what on earth it would look like, because all of the 'bad' conversation choices are hilarious in how lacking in subtlety they are, like generally being super creepy even when saving citizens from peril.

Speaking of evil, there is one huge sour point in this game that's been alluded to in other reviews, it's a scene of sexual assault. Japanese devs are the absolute last on this planet I would entrust with depicting such a thing, such is the level of immaturity and flippancy that they treat serious topics. More to the point, this instance is just so unnecessary and mean-spirited, even if it has an element of truth to it, i.e - sexual assault does happen during disasters, but if you're going to depict it then it should be with nuance and seriousness, and although this game doesn't exactly treat it lightly, the incident still occurs within an irreverent game that has no time to actually treat it with the gravitas it deserves. (plus we get the typical male gaze shot of the woman in the aftermath, because of course we do, Japanese devs just can't help themselves. A woman just got raped but we have to have the camera slowly go up her legs to admire them in full. Bleh)

Disaster Report 4 is a seriously weird game. So weird there are billboards advertising Disaster Report 4 within the game itself, as well as a ridiculous degree of self awareness, to the point that your character can change the name of the game itself at one point. I'm glad it was available on PS Extra. I probably wouldn't be as amused if I had paid to experience it.