I want to like this game.
(minor spoilers) I started Partitio's storyline and within the first 3 minutes I was like "I hope this game doesn't do some super predictable shit like having the only other minor character named in this cutscene besides this dude's dad betray them" and it turns out the only other minor character betrays them. That is literally the writing for most of the game.
I played for a couple more hours hoping the writing would get better and it just didn't. Partitio's whole shtick is that he's a capitalist that wants to eliminate poverty, and I'm not expecting Square to write a whole Disco Elysium Marxist Revolution but something other than "money should be used for GOOD!!!!" would maybe make me care. I can't stand personalities that are as deep as No Man's Sky gameplay on release. Like, just compare the personality sections of characters in the OT wiki to characters in the P5 wiki, hell even the P4 and P3 characters. You could argue that this is due to fanbase size but it's pretty obvious that the lackluster writing and character interactions in OT2 are to blame for this.
It sucks cause every single aspect of game design is perfected for this particular game. They outdid themselves with the art and music design. It doesn't really get much better than this for a stylized JRPG. The combat system is a unique but engaging way of recreating JRPG turn based combat in a modernized style, and it's fleshed out beautifully. I just can't power through the story though. I just don't fucking care. If you can genuinely resonate with the plot and be emotionally invested in these characters, I'm glad you can but I can't. It's just so bland. If Forspoken has that shitty marvel-type writing, OT2 has the boring and safe anime-type writing.
At least you can skip cutscenes in this game, but when I start skipping everything in a story-based game I just realize this shit isn't even worth playing anymore. I tried giving other character storylines a chance, but I just come to the same realization. Reading reviews and seeing people saying the story is "much better" than the first makes me scared of the first game.
In a game where a main selling point is that you can play 8 different characters and plotlines, it would really help if literally ANYTHING was interesting or thought-provoking at all. Maybe the story gets better once everyone is intertwined, but it's pretty clear it's not worth staying around to find out.
(minor spoilers) I started Partitio's storyline and within the first 3 minutes I was like "I hope this game doesn't do some super predictable shit like having the only other minor character named in this cutscene besides this dude's dad betray them" and it turns out the only other minor character betrays them. That is literally the writing for most of the game.
I played for a couple more hours hoping the writing would get better and it just didn't. Partitio's whole shtick is that he's a capitalist that wants to eliminate poverty, and I'm not expecting Square to write a whole Disco Elysium Marxist Revolution but something other than "money should be used for GOOD!!!!" would maybe make me care. I can't stand personalities that are as deep as No Man's Sky gameplay on release. Like, just compare the personality sections of characters in the OT wiki to characters in the P5 wiki, hell even the P4 and P3 characters. You could argue that this is due to fanbase size but it's pretty obvious that the lackluster writing and character interactions in OT2 are to blame for this.
It sucks cause every single aspect of game design is perfected for this particular game. They outdid themselves with the art and music design. It doesn't really get much better than this for a stylized JRPG. The combat system is a unique but engaging way of recreating JRPG turn based combat in a modernized style, and it's fleshed out beautifully. I just can't power through the story though. I just don't fucking care. If you can genuinely resonate with the plot and be emotionally invested in these characters, I'm glad you can but I can't. It's just so bland. If Forspoken has that shitty marvel-type writing, OT2 has the boring and safe anime-type writing.
At least you can skip cutscenes in this game, but when I start skipping everything in a story-based game I just realize this shit isn't even worth playing anymore. I tried giving other character storylines a chance, but I just come to the same realization. Reading reviews and seeing people saying the story is "much better" than the first makes me scared of the first game.
In a game where a main selling point is that you can play 8 different characters and plotlines, it would really help if literally ANYTHING was interesting or thought-provoking at all. Maybe the story gets better once everyone is intertwined, but it's pretty clear it's not worth staying around to find out.