As much as I like the core idea of learning to love a gang of cringe-worthy group of individuals slowly letting down their mask and letting us and each other embrace them in all their strengths and weaknesses, I find that it never quite got there for me. The characters are broadly sketched but also feel somewhat lacking in depth once you get to the last third, they feel as tropey but more understandable. So when the finale comes it feels like it should be a bigger cascade of emotions but it ends up serving the barest of bones. I love all these guys deeply as I am so very, very weak for obviously posturing outcasts who embody an author's fantasies of how they see themselves and others in a way that a teenager would, I just wish there was more once it's done all the great buildup.

The structure is fantastic and the gameplay is a satisfying way of feeling like the badass these characters make themselves out to be, with genuinely effective moments of imposed powerlessness like when chasing one of the characters in order to stop them from self destruction. The 'optional' collecting of gifts for the fellow compatriots is a great way to make you inherently feel like you are not just trying to get these rewards for yourself, but for the sake of those who'll be given them in gift form, so it subconsiously deepens your connection to the gang and the supporting heavenly cast when it feels like you've actually been working hard to something FOR them.

My only gripe with the structure of the gameplay itself, and it's a minor one, is that the optimal way of playing the first go-around, both narratively as you need to have gotten to number 1 in the in-story rankings to fulfill the original goal (which ingeniously doesn't seem to matter in the end when it's all apocalyptic on a personal and worldly level) is you have to get the golden crosses but your first instinct will be to go for platinum every time (and beat your friends' times if they've done it before you) and it slows the narrative and flow of the intended game down to a crawl. It might have been better reserved for NG+ as when I finished I didn't see much reason to return just for the scores but I know the temptation will come crawling once certain friends in my friendgroup find their way to the game, then the game will feel truly full circle as you try to outpose and outposture your own friendgroup just as the characters in the game start off. It might even deepen connections if you find yourself having discussions and showing each other tips and tricks to beat one another, after all as the game illustrates, the shortest paths will be revealed the more you play and take part in the community and gain insight (literally and in points) so it ends up all being a matter of execution. It's both far more empowering and forgiving than a Souls game to me and ends up having greater immediate communal potential as the play is personal but the competition both global yet local, and it's so easy to pick up and play and get lost in. It's the epitome of "just one more go."

Def my fave game of 2022