Played this right after Automata. You can clearly see how it's kind of a sketch of what Automata ended up being (or at least, Automata takes all the ideas explored here and handles them better, notably the routes/endings system)
I read a lot about it before actually playing, about how the story was great but gameplay was horrendous, but it's not that bad imo. I was not particularly attached to automata's gameplay anyway ... The boring part is more about the different routes; when you go for the final ending, you basically skip every cutscene and speerun everything (even more if you decide to do both C and D)
Despite this game's broken and unpolished aspect, it holds a special place in my hearth. I immediately fell in love with the characters, OST is beautiful, and while the story can be a bit of a tearjerker honestly (even the sidequests are like that), it still really works and has very memorable moments.