Crymachina is a game I adore the story and visual presentation of while simultaneously thinking of it as one of my least favorite gameplay experiences. From also playing The Caligula Effect 2, another Aquria-developed RPG, their difficulties don't make any sense. I completed CE2 on the hardest difficulty and found it too easy; I completed Crymachina on Casual and found it irritatingly hard. Random basic enemies should not be able to two-shot you before you can blink when you’re at the appropriate level on any “casual” mode, in my opinion. It should also not be so punishingly trial-and-error in platforming sections (I am never going back to running from the chasing whale).

But everything but the gameplay pushed me to force my way through the ridiculous amount of game overs and late-game grinding to stay at the recommended level. The atmosphere is so heavy and put together phenomenally; environments, music, lore, voice acting, and character portraits all work together to craft something wonderful. It’s a story that reminds me of some other fictions a lot more than Nier Automata, but it’s spoiler territory to explain which and why. Honestly I’d probably love this game a lot if the gameplay was just an exploration of the beautifully desolate Eden, with no annoying battles to speak of.

Although character designs can be casually sexualized and there’s some breast physics going on, play this if you want an intense, human-civilization-pessimistic sci-fi story starring girls shamelessly attracted to other girls.

Also, it runs fine on the Switch, but it does look pretty muddied in handheld.