This was truly a unique experience, I've never played anything like it. From the very start hearing this almost light breakcore beat with entrancing vocals while scenes are carnage, birth, and longing are shown immediately brought me in. I love games that start immediately in the action and start your journey from there giving you the opportunity to fill in the blanks yourself. One thing this game does exceptionally well is the tasteful lack of explanation for the world. You simply exist in it and follow it's rules, you have no reason to ask why. You aren't told the backstories and motivations for each character because that's something you need to gather yourself by watching them throughout the story, the game doesn't treat you like you're stupid. Of course this is all for narrative reasons but still it's nice. The story itself is very interesting and quite metaphorical as is expected with SMT or SMT adjacent games. The whole atmosphere is great, the visuals are expertly stylized with Kaneko's art and the environments are desolate when desired and intricate when needed. The music as well, my god. I heard that this was the first game where they told Shoji Meguro that he could compose whatever he'd like and honestly I believe it because the music is so raw and ethereal and driven it really feels like it came from the soul. The characters were great, I especially liked Argilla and her Atma Avatar is very interesting. Another thing that really amplifies the atmosphere and the identity of this is the significant and deep Hindu influences, there's so much to learn and explore if you dive into the religion and mythology and connect it with the game. I did find a few scenes to fall a little flat with some wonky character writing and voice acting but that doesn't detract much from the overall experience and how I viewed the characters. That ending was certainly unexpected but welcome because I can't wait to play the sequel.