this game is one of extremely high highs, and extremely low lows.

the combat feels satisfying, but its completely rudimentary, mostly involving getting behind an enemy to spam attack or holding block in exchange for a free damage move.

the story is basic and melodramatic, but the interactions between the main cast are down to earth and can be far more emotional than i ever expected they would.

the music is great.

for everything it gets right, it gets two things wrong. there are several chapters that are thrilling from start to finish and some that are just absolute garbage. there are some story moments that get me misty eyed, and some that make me laugh unintentionally. its a technological marvel with some of the systems working exceptionally well, but sometimes the actual gameplay can completely bug characters out of position and look jank as hell. its baffling that this game exists at all, and its baffling it ended up in this state. conceptually its a fantastic idea, and in execution its a pretty god damn good game. but its makes too many mistakes for me to come back to it any time soon.