Finished the second chapter, there's a third out already (I'm not sure how many there are right now. Twelve?) and I'll get through it sooner than later but for the time being this is more of a mechanical and presentational overview. I'll update this (or make a different review) after the plot has gotten a lot farther in since it's still pretty clearly setup, but quick review: this game is still very depressingly optimistic in the same vein as Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruina, but considerably more lighthearted from the moment to moment. Makes sense as to why, as this is the first real dive into the City first-hand, rather than Library of Ruina having some vignettes demonstrating moments of the City. Regardless, it's fucked up but fun, and is filled with a lot of moments that switch quickly from one to the other. I also prefer the way the writing of the cast is handled; if Lobotomy and Ruina had any major issues with its writing, it's that character relationships are really nonexistant as characters barely talk to each other. Roland and Angela are easily extremely strong in Ruina thanks to this, but even Tiphereth in Lobotomy only really works by herself, and less so as a dynamic with Tiphereth.

Speaking in terms of presentation, wow, this game is beautiful. Ruina was already a good-looking game thanks to its style, but Limbus immensely improves it all. The character models during gameplay and animations are smooth and well-drawn, and the music is, as always, great. The different art styles between sprites and CGs make each moment distinct; there's a more comic book-ish style to the way it's done, but it also makes it a lot more graphic. It's somewhat like if the beginning minutes of Ruina had you see Roland's limbs being cut off visually, rather than just the intense SFX and writing. This definetly feels like what Ruina wishes it could have been.

Though in terms of comparing it to Ruina, the mechanics are somewhat of a down grade. The "Sin Resonance" gameplay is way too random. While parts of Ruina are very similar, with the resistance, stagger and health, the speed die and so on, the ways Limbus differs are generally weaker. During normal battles, you aren't able to target the units you wish to attack, but rather, have to deal with the RNG and choosing between two (well, three, counting defense (and four, counting EGO)) attacks in order to deal with them. In normal fights, this isn't too bad, but in fights like 2-18, this is a huge problem as there really isn't any counterplay to the boss of 2-18 staggering a unit immediately because you simply cannot clash with them other than obtaining different units. And since Limbus is a gacha, you aren't really able to get these units without some luck or some money.

I say generally, though, because while the normal fights have these issues, the Abnormality fights are great. You are able to select whichever Abnormality to target in the moment to moment, being able to redirect, and yeah? Thank god. These fights are extremely fun, with selecting various parts of the Abnormality and breaking them, having similar mechanics to Lobotomy Corporation's Abnormality Suppression and confinement mechanics. This is also combined with some great mixture of storytelling, such as Chapter 1 having Yuri's death linked to the mechanics of the fight, and Chapter 2's big Abnormality fight being less of an actual fight, and more you just running away from (what I assume is) The Snow Queen's castle.

Linked to the Abnormality fights are also the dungeon crawling. I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed that when Limbus was first "announced", it sold itself as a dungeon crawler as my assumptions were that it would be closer to a Wizardry deal, but the actual dungeon crawling is still very fun. It mixes the plot very well, while the actual exploration is more similar to multiple risk/reward events that benefit the player for the final fight, utilizing various EGO gifts to strengthen yourself. Utilizing all 12 Sinners is also a lot of fun, as switching between them during different fights really sells the idea of Limbus Company itself, as these Sinners have various potentials and strengths that we are able to harness and use from the moment to moment.

Limbus is also obviously riddled with bugs, with a launch that immediately went into maintenance because of 100k users, but frankly, yeah that's just Project Moon. And while the bugs and technical issues are obviously problems, it's at least extremely surprising how high-budget and high-effort Limbus is, where its style and writing hasn't been compromised for the sake of reaching a wider audience. Rather, the esoteric comedy and drama PM prides itself in is simply put in a medium that reaches a wider audience. I hope there are some changes to the battle system as being unable to select specific units to clash against makes the potential this game has much weaker, but as it stands right now? Yeah, it's fun.