madness. gameplay--simple yet effective. the 7 different pcs induce replayability (mostly played as con in my last, KAEDE in my first; who knows what the future holds). story is the opposite--bursting at the seams thematically, a paranoid, surreal vision of international political intrigue. possibly the most unnerving non-horror game out there, due to both a narrative driven primarily by nightmarish dream-logic as well as its unflinching portrayal of the worst parts of humanity. also includes a sequence with a super sentai parody for some reason, like every other video game in existence. play it.

very definition of a flawed masterpiece. excellent, colorful writing, not too cloyingly clever yet always naturally witty. evokes an unnerving nocturnal atmosphere; even walking into a mostly eventless apartment building can make you feel on edge. feels almost like a proto-fallout: new vegas, with its wild yet smooth emotional turns and its stats-induced replayability. unfortunately, similar to fnv, it's noticeably held together with duct-tape and string; not to an unplayable degree (at least after so many patches and mods), but the jank can be occasionally distracting. and unlike fnv, its ambitions were clearly compromised halfway, its standard stats-based crpg fare infrequently deteriorating into something more beat-em-up-esque, particularly in its back-half. while not terrible if you've heard about the mandatory linear combat sections beforehand and knew to level up your combat skills (even the awful, nearly endless sewer level doesn't drag this game down too much), it'd most likely beat the stuffing out of anyone exclusively focusing on stealth and speech. but don't let those hiccups scare you off; this is a must-play for fans of crpgs of this era, or of any era, or for fans of any genre really.