It's incredible how heavily the narrative of "for a game about observation the timer is really polluting the entire experience" as if the timer isn't only a necessity in the pursuit of a perfect file and as if the levels aren't designed with the intention of replayability. You are only as limited by the timer as you feel the need to be, and I think that speaks volumes more about the individual than the game's arbitrary score attack elements.

That said Umurangi Generation isn't a perfect game by any means, namely dragged down by jank controls and sometimes awkward placement of objectives that feel as if they intrinsically limit creativity behind the player's approach. Yet overall the game's stellar visuals, themes, and especially the soundtrack are indisputably all bangers. There's a clear Evangelion influence present that took me by surprise, but wholly welcomed, and I believe it's perfectly encapsulated by the set pieces in a way that generates an extremely eerie atmosphere that is wholly unique to itself. It provides the player with the inescapable sensation of being a spectator to something much greater, and Macro further expands upon that with some of the best levels of the entire game in my opinion.

It's a short, tight experience that I don't regret at all.

"Though I called you here to me, it was ever your own feet, your own will that brought you."

Dragon's Dogma is a game that encapsulates the very essence of a game being about the destination rather than the journey. I feel this isn't immediately able to be grasped until the game plays its whole hand. Both the setting and the plot are mundane at best, pitting the player against goblin and cyclops across rolling green hills with incredibly standard sword and board gameplay. The centerpiece of your quest to slay the dragon and restore peace is a single castle-town that plays host to a lineup of characters who are consistently as they appear and no more; stripped back to as-needed personality quirks designed to keep things moving forward, not tropes per se but instead actors playing as set pieces for the progression of plot and world-building sub-stories. I'd argue there is very little frivolous dialogue, everything is seemingly purposed to the ends of your journey as the hero; if not about Grigori directly then about the political state of the kingdom and the duke or about the cult who act in idealization of Grigori.

In this sense there is very little to ultimately consider outstanding, but just the same there is very little that impedes the player from simply experiencing the game and the world laid before them. Dragon's Dogma encourages sandbox exploration and engaging in all that you come across. The rewards are often carefully measured and exciting, very rarely did I feel like I wasted my time on a side venture through a dungeon or a side quest. I'd say this is in part due to an extremely satisfying progression system and the freedom of experimenting with different classes and skills, though I did find myself wanting for more cross-class options.

Dragon's Dogma fully understands what it is, a facet of its being that ultimately decides whether any individual will love or hate the experience; it offers itself humbly as an experience to be immersed in, not as a story that intends to tell itself. It becomes so natural to get lost in the world handed to you on a silver platter; which is further serviced by the game's ending in a more meta sense.

There's a lot at play I could speak on. The pawn system's ingenuity, how each class feels like an entirely different game to play, how the DLC functionally drags the entire game up a full letter grade. Honestly these things cannot be explained, but are instead tactile in nature; words cannot mirror experiencing. I figure it's best to leave it at that.

[Disclaimer: I played the game with a mod that removes stamina usage when sprinting. The game is borderline unbearable early game without it, and my score takes that into consideration. Mileage may vary without such a mod among other possible QOL mods that exist, though this was the only one I used.]

Exceptionally well put together, doesn't overstay its welcome, and offers some briefly engaging logic puzzling. Atmosphere and visuals are perfect as well.

That said it doesn't quite have any real staying power past its incredible first impressions. Double or nothing is fun for a round or two but the player has every advantage in each round shy of some seriously bad item RNG which makes it difficult to remain engaged. I hesitate to call this unfortunate at any rate because the game is perfectly fine as a short, thrilling romp based on an incredibly bizarre premise. A shotgun experience, if you will, even.