Very very very good multiplayer gameplay. Really not a deep game and it really doesn’t need to be. Playing with friends is such a treat.

Directional input on stratagems is such a genius idea.

Retiring this from my actively playing list but I’ll be on here and there with pals. Good game!

Absolutely blew me away. Best 3D platformer movement I've ever experienced. Works great as a Metroidvania, the sense of exploration is really great and since the atmosphere is great and your movement is inherently fun, it's never a pain to have to go anywhere. It's pretty open-ended too, you aren't railroaded all the time like in actual Metroid. And honestly, it feels like the intended experience of this game is to accidentally sequence break at several points, which I love. This game makes you feel like a 3D platforming genius and I fucking love it.

I have just a couple tiny, tiny knocks on it. The music is kinda meh and loops quickly. And the final boss / ending was extremely underwhelming, felt like kind of a letdown after such a cool game to have an easy beat down boss. I would have liked some sort of final epic platforming challenge.

This is pretty much everything I have wanted in a JRPG. Let us start with the gameplay. After every battle your HP and TP (MP) resets. Meaning, you are incentivized to use all of your skills. I almost never used a simple attack. Furthermore, there is a gauge. You want to be in the green (middle) not in the red. If you are in the red your defense is decreased and your spells cost more TP. You can stay in the green by defending at times or using a specific type of spell, that is randomly decided, that will lower your gauge. Scenario as an example: I want to use a poison skill but if I do I will be in the red, the gauge says if I use a buff my gauge will go down so I use a buff instead. Some won't like this but I think managing your gauge gives the combat an extra layer of strategy.

Also, there is no EXP in the traditional sense. Instead, there are Grimoire shards that will allow you to upgrade your characters (learn a skill, stat boost, or passive skill). 1 shard upgrades all your characters once. You mainly earn these shards by just completing the story events. However, to earn additional shards there is a chart of achievements (like kill 10 wolves in Fiorwoods or explore most of the area) and if you link a chain of achievements, you will get rewarded a Grimoire shard. This negates the need for traditional grinding. There are other things and nuances, but I have spoken too much already.

STORY! In the beginning I was intrigued by the whole grand story, which is largely political but does have a lot of fantastical elements as well. The characters I was less sold on, but I did like the fact that the tone was more adult than other JRPGs. As the story goes on you learn more about the characters and I loved them. Victor, Ba'thraz, Sienna, Lenne and Glen's backstory chef's kiss. The story reveals in this game were amazing. So much so that I tried to think of the simplest way to explain them to my GF because I wanted to share it. She was also shocked or at least pretended to be for my satisfaction. Also, by doing side quests you will fill in story loose ends from the main quest.