Muv-Luv is an entertaining game that feels decidedly incomplete, and understandably so once you've started Alternative.
As a multi-route VN I will note for prospective players that there are "two" games here, Muv-Luv Extra and Unlimited. Extra has two routes you need to get through to play Unlimited, and three extra routes that I enjoyed. Unlimited has multiple endings but they're all basically the same just with a different favorite character, so pick yours and move on.
Narrative wise, and avoiding spoilers (of which this game has a lot of potential things to spoil), this game is a lot like young love: you spend many hours doing things in very roundabout ways and avoiding the "point" but that's not wasted time, it's a necessary precursor. That is all I can say.
As for the V of VN, this series is actually one of the most impressively directed I've seen. The sprites move around way more than you'd expect, they actually make use of the (perceived) depth of the backgrounds, the camera pans and cuts and there are lots of effects.... it's just overall energetic in a way few other VNs are. Danganronpa is one of the closer comparisons, but even that achieved its effects by rendering 2D cutouts in a 3D space, this is 99% 2D.
As a multi-route VN I will note for prospective players that there are "two" games here, Muv-Luv Extra and Unlimited. Extra has two routes you need to get through to play Unlimited, and three extra routes that I enjoyed. Unlimited has multiple endings but they're all basically the same just with a different favorite character, so pick yours and move on.
Narrative wise, and avoiding spoilers (of which this game has a lot of potential things to spoil), this game is a lot like young love: you spend many hours doing things in very roundabout ways and avoiding the "point" but that's not wasted time, it's a necessary precursor. That is all I can say.
As for the V of VN, this series is actually one of the most impressively directed I've seen. The sprites move around way more than you'd expect, they actually make use of the (perceived) depth of the backgrounds, the camera pans and cuts and there are lots of effects.... it's just overall energetic in a way few other VNs are. Danganronpa is one of the closer comparisons, but even that achieved its effects by rendering 2D cutouts in a 3D space, this is 99% 2D.