I won't ever make the mistake of playing any gatcha more than its main story again, so this review only talks about exactly that. And... I kinda liked it? Since the game is mostly two parts - visual novel and combat - I'll structure this review this way.

So, the story! The script's translation is beautifully bad, which gives the international cast quite a lot of charme (honestly I buy that none of these ppl know "correct" grammar). This translation also makes the script more mysterious than its "original" version probably is. And there's still quite a lot of good writing - the voiced segments with the really deep voice especially are a real treat most of the time. Thewriting also tends to delve into delightfully weird or unconventional ideas (the final chapter i.e. is a weird bureaucracy thriller), which I really like! So yea, story's good & weird & a little unconventional & really charming in its "bad" translation.

The combat on the other hand? It's the one link the story mode has to the awful gatcha and progression mechanics that and it's exactly that link making the experience much worse. While the actual combat mechanics are actually quite cute & fun, the awful grind for the resources necessary to level up your characters is really tedious & boring. Also, gatcha is gambling, which is not only exploitative but also a very cheap gameplay mechanic. So yea.

The bottom line: It's a great and charming story with an okay combat system made (a lot) worse by all the things that make it a gatcha. Which, to be honest, was the review I could've already written before playing the game.

Somehow every review I write on this ends up
hampered by issues in clarity,
issues of both creative phrasing and,
technically, meaningful content.

For certain, my critique on the game is simple;
on any grounds, the writing and story are harmful,
routinely espousing the most toxic of views towards victims.

Clearly, Bloober Team relies on shock tactics to earn clout, an
underhanded attempt to earn viral attention through harmful
notions and rhetoric. I'm not writing in clearest terms, and
that could be chalked up to being tired of thinking about this
shit for cunts.

Come for the impressively bad performance on powerful machines and poorly thought out camera angles, stay for the Source Filmmaker cutscenes and miserable gameplay. I can't even be offended by The Medium's portrayals of pedophilia and mental illness because that would ascribe more intention to its writing than I believe Bloober Team is capable of - this game does not have themes, characters, or plot in the way a genuine narrative would and simply isn't worth engaging with on any level. I don't think the creators gave a second thought toward what it would mean by presenting Humbert Humbert's internal excuse for why he wants to fuck kids as a literal, tragic event - right down to quoting Lolita's opening line verbatim - nor do I think they understood the potential implications of Lily's... "arc" is probably too strong of a word. At least some of the environments and music are good?

I have always loved the underlying themes and social and psychological implications of the mecha genre. I have watched and played anime and games respectively that question the elements from which mecha is built, but I had never played something like Heaven Will Be Mine: it goes beyond its genre.

At their core, these stories are always about the people piloting the robots, but Heaven takes both the superficial plot elements of the mecha genre and its inherent, mind-bending themes newer stories have as a well-structured, but ultimately backdrop to the relationships between the pilots. I was amazed at how they made it work so well. The writing is excellent and reminded me of how I look for myself and my interests in everything I read.