There's a lot to like here but the final boss is not on that list. It's part and parcel for the genre but I would give half my toes for a turn based rpg that doesn't have an absurd spike at the end. Nothing prepares you for that final fight and nothing in the laborious dungeon leading up to it clues you in that you might be underleveled. But really the thing did it in for me is zip through 10 minutes of dialogue each attempt. I'm not gonna do that. It's a good game with a fun premise and a really likeable cast. Don't play it on hard, it's not worth it.

I could push through to the end but not sure why I would do that at this point, I'm well past the point where I'm having fun. Each twist in this is worse than the last but there's something about this game, and games like it, where the complete removal of sexuality but the desire to shove everyone into neat heterosexual pairings makes me very upset.

The setup of a woman who hurts people when she touches them (or vice versa) and a man who cannot feel pain is good and wasted. Alphen (aforementioned painless man) pulls a literal sword from her chest and there's no heat, no longing, no desire. The game wants to centre a romance but it needs to pad it out until the end where feelings are acted on. Bad.

There's also a slavery plot which is handled with some degree of responsibility. For chunks of it, it doesn't really hold back, committing to murdering the people who oppress and enslave. And then it walks it back, in ways that are more baffling given the earlier stance. It's the typical thing, actions in of themselves are inherently good/bad regardless of context. The enslaved murdering a slave owner is akin to a slave owner murdering a slave. Boring shit.

The combat is fine. A bit weird to get used to. Berseria is much much much better game.