I may be overly critical on Caligula Effect here. I picked it up because it was leaving PS Plus within one week. I had to streamline it AND I wanted the platinum. I knew extremely little of the game. I watched the trailer and it looked silly as hell.

The story and gameplay are mid-level in a JRPG. You're trapped in a simulation with a rag tag group. The story itself isn't necessarily memorable; however I do think it's cool you get to hang out and bond with the bad guys. Not many games let you experience both sides. The battles are turn-based but you can predict your combos. Something fairly new to me so that was welcomed. Battles get repetitive, especially when you're constantly pulled into them.

The story deals with heavy subjects. Suicide, bullying, body shaming, it goes on. It's fine to add those in media and I didn't mind the idea at all. However, CE doesn't hold all of those subjects with care. Some received real conversations. Others had constant jokes to the point where it left a bad taste.

My main criticism is much of the game feels bloated. There are 10 characters in your group and 9 baddies. All characters you can hang out with and bond. It's...a lot. Some get character arcs while others feel like they simply exist. Each baddie gets their own dungeon. Again, it feels like their only purpose is to pad the game. The dungeons get more maze like and bland as the game goes on. A great example to cut out what isn't necessary. More does NOT mean better.

While it wasn't a terrible game, I don't know I'd recommend this to others. There's better JRPGs out there.