It doesn't re-invent the 3rd person cover based shooter formula, but to be fair I don't think it needs to. It's held together by both its over the top nature and platinum signature spectacal, making an uneven but rather entertaining game in the companies history.

Its story is fine. It shares a lot of DNA with Metal Gear Rising's plot and is pulled along less by intrigue and more shock value. The set-up and finale is great, the ending is crazy, and the middle is just okay. I liked the lead Sam. He's a well rounded character is his own right that deserved more moments to show off.

Shooting feels great. Sliding past enemies, leaping over cover and targeting weak spots is frenetic. The moment I realized I could distract enemies with a lit cigerette throw in the air, I lost my mind. Foes are agressive and match your capabilities with numbers. Overall I really liked the gameplay but to be blunt it feels like it could have gone farther.

All of its mechanics are tied to the same stamina type system. Bullet time, melee and the impressive slide all overheat so quickly. Especially when you take any large form of damage. This forces you to stay in cover way more than you would otherwise want to. The final fight actually shows us a version of this game that would have been alot more fun to play. At that point the limits are reduced significantly leading to a lot more momentum. With that moment it showed us what a true platinum 3rd person shooter could beccome.

I don't think it's likely we are going to get one, but I would love to see a seuqel for this game. It's one of those "good first starts" type of titles. If you can accept that and love the over the top nature of platinum I would recommend this to you.

I wouldn't call it a bad game, but its certainly not as interesting or fun to play as other roguelikes i've played before. There is good polish here, and the general gameplay does overall feel good, but what will likely prevent me from playing again is the lack of build variety. Every single run I did in this game felt exactly the same, with very minor adjustments. Upgrading your power in the blacksmith is nice, but when every run feels the same outside of that I quickly lose my desire to keep going. Minor issues like the annoyance of falling off the edge easily, and being overwhelmed by enemies and room traps with your limited arsenal make it kind of a mess when fighting large groups.

Its not bad, and maybe the sequel will improve on some of these things but I'm not a huge fan of it overall.