Heartman
2001
really did not expect to like it this much.
im kind of a sucker for those pre-rendered graphics that you could find in stuff like ff7 through 9 and though the game isn't completely made of those when it uses them it forces to stop and just look at it. similarly the 3d cutscenes used to mark significant story moments are the most shiniest and prettiest thing ever put on a ps2 disk and they instantly grab your full attention.
didn't think i would like yuna as a character but she turned out to be surprisingly great. i really like the trope of characters having to deal with the weight of the expectations put upon them in general and thought the way she developped really well throughout the game. tidus i thought was a bit annoying but in the end was kind of endearing (though maybe in a somewhat ironic way).
the combat was fun. the way it forces you to use several party members makes it very dynamic (though i kinda feel like you kinda need auron at almost all times with how good he is). the sphere system was interesting. idk how people are feeling about it. i personnally enjoyed seeing your progression and feeling like almost every fight was important.
the biggest problems are a bunch of small stuff that really add up together like the encounter rate being pretty high in some areas and every single minigame (that you need to accomplish to finish the game because i know there is stuff i didnt do like chocobo racing) is absolutely terrible. the worst part is at the end of the game right before the final boss (thats locked behind a 5 minutes cutscene) where you have a chance of dying and having to redo the whole thing again. also, the beginning of the game felt very sluggish, with the story having trouble to pick up and being bombarded with tutorials. there are also some incredibly bad puzzles at several points in the game that bring nothing of value.
though honestly as much as it feels like a cop out i almost want to say that those flaws make the bright spots of the game shine so much more
im kind of a sucker for those pre-rendered graphics that you could find in stuff like ff7 through 9 and though the game isn't completely made of those when it uses them it forces to stop and just look at it. similarly the 3d cutscenes used to mark significant story moments are the most shiniest and prettiest thing ever put on a ps2 disk and they instantly grab your full attention.
didn't think i would like yuna as a character but she turned out to be surprisingly great. i really like the trope of characters having to deal with the weight of the expectations put upon them in general and thought the way she developped really well throughout the game. tidus i thought was a bit annoying but in the end was kind of endearing (though maybe in a somewhat ironic way).
the combat was fun. the way it forces you to use several party members makes it very dynamic (though i kinda feel like you kinda need auron at almost all times with how good he is). the sphere system was interesting. idk how people are feeling about it. i personnally enjoyed seeing your progression and feeling like almost every fight was important.
the biggest problems are a bunch of small stuff that really add up together like the encounter rate being pretty high in some areas and every single minigame (that you need to accomplish to finish the game because i know there is stuff i didnt do like chocobo racing) is absolutely terrible. the worst part is at the end of the game right before the final boss (thats locked behind a 5 minutes cutscene) where you have a chance of dying and having to redo the whole thing again. also, the beginning of the game felt very sluggish, with the story having trouble to pick up and being bombarded with tutorials. there are also some incredibly bad puzzles at several points in the game that bring nothing of value.
though honestly as much as it feels like a cop out i almost want to say that those flaws make the bright spots of the game shine so much more
2023
This review contains spoilers
an absolute great gem that manages to shine on its own. the pinocchio aspect of the game, which is probably the most bizarre aspect about it, is genuinely well done and interesting. theres a great part where they cite asimov's laws of robotics and turn it on its head by reversing the importance of the first two laws (the first being that a robot cannot harm a human and the second being that a robot must obey its master), which you can see in the streets because there are puppet policement and soldiers (the plot twist regarding this i personally did not really like to be honest). my favorite line in the whole game is when someone (i dont remember who or what exactly they said) said something to the effect of "lying makes you human".
the exploration feels somewhat shallow. which is fine. they wanted to make a linear game and they did. the problem is that by doing that you feel like you're just walking through a corridor the whole game. so in effect the very well constructed and detailed world they built doesnt really feel like one. which is kind of unfortunate tho i dont know how you would remedy that.
The game is at its best during boss fight. combat encounters outside of it are fine, even good, you can feel that the mechanics were built around boss fights with how beautifully it all works. the parry system, like most well executed parry systems in games, feels like absolute crack. the only gripe i have with it is that the sound it makes isnt that much different from when you normally block something. this is despite having the thing flashing red when you do parry, which i am not looking at because im fighting a boss. with the parry system, and because the stagger you cause is also inflicted by attacking, so you have to keep being aggressive. Romeo and laxasia were stand outs for me personally because they utilised those mechanics the most.
what i think the most about this game, besides the whole pinocchio thing, is that there are some genuinely psychotic choices in this however. the first is gemini which ruins a lot of moments by himself. the game tries to do environmental story telling but because of what feels like lack of confidence coming from the devs he comes in and start narrating about what is happening. in itself its fine but the main thing is is that he sounds so out of place. By that i mean that no one in the game sounds remotely like him when he talks, he sounds like hes coming from a marvel movie but without saying any of the jokes (dont know if that comparaison is appropriate). the only other character who sounds weird is venigni but with him its more like a joke because unlike anyone in the game he sounds so violently italian.
the most insane part was towards the end, right after fighting laxasia. After the fight, you enter a building, and see sophia totally messed, dying, asking you to kill her. and that emotional moment gets totally ruined, ravaged, by gemini simply opening his mouth and commenting that it really is a terrible choice to make. the worst part somehow comes after where, 15 secounds after the end of that encounter (yes i timed it), you run up the stairs, as you're still thinking about and without any separation you get jumped by three enemies attacking you and it creates such a bizarre, brutal whiplash.
Despite that its still a great game and good jumping point to whatever that studio is planning to do.
the exploration feels somewhat shallow. which is fine. they wanted to make a linear game and they did. the problem is that by doing that you feel like you're just walking through a corridor the whole game. so in effect the very well constructed and detailed world they built doesnt really feel like one. which is kind of unfortunate tho i dont know how you would remedy that.
The game is at its best during boss fight. combat encounters outside of it are fine, even good, you can feel that the mechanics were built around boss fights with how beautifully it all works. the parry system, like most well executed parry systems in games, feels like absolute crack. the only gripe i have with it is that the sound it makes isnt that much different from when you normally block something. this is despite having the thing flashing red when you do parry, which i am not looking at because im fighting a boss. with the parry system, and because the stagger you cause is also inflicted by attacking, so you have to keep being aggressive. Romeo and laxasia were stand outs for me personally because they utilised those mechanics the most.
what i think the most about this game, besides the whole pinocchio thing, is that there are some genuinely psychotic choices in this however. the first is gemini which ruins a lot of moments by himself. the game tries to do environmental story telling but because of what feels like lack of confidence coming from the devs he comes in and start narrating about what is happening. in itself its fine but the main thing is is that he sounds so out of place. By that i mean that no one in the game sounds remotely like him when he talks, he sounds like hes coming from a marvel movie but without saying any of the jokes (dont know if that comparaison is appropriate). the only other character who sounds weird is venigni but with him its more like a joke because unlike anyone in the game he sounds so violently italian.
the most insane part was towards the end, right after fighting laxasia. After the fight, you enter a building, and see sophia totally messed, dying, asking you to kill her. and that emotional moment gets totally ruined, ravaged, by gemini simply opening his mouth and commenting that it really is a terrible choice to make. the worst part somehow comes after where, 15 secounds after the end of that encounter (yes i timed it), you run up the stairs, as you're still thinking about and without any separation you get jumped by three enemies attacking you and it creates such a bizarre, brutal whiplash.
Despite that its still a great game and good jumping point to whatever that studio is planning to do.
2019
i lost patience with this one sorry. went through the midway part of the saejima story. its probably the yakuza that suffers the most of the multiple protagonist thing. even tho i only got to the second main character im just kind of burned out of constantly getting exposition dumped because they need to explain the story of each character on top of almost good but unfocused combat (once again because of the multiple main characters). there might be a chance where i go back to it eventually but im not sure about that.
2021
one of the most unique shooters out there. everything about it exist to make you feel uncomfortable. what sticks with me the most is how much this game hates everything which rules hard. levels are extremely open and feel fresh to play in this sea of modern shooters. uncompromising and great
2010
i used to love this game but that was because i 100% it when i was either 10 or 11 and never played it again. now as an actual adult i still think that the gameplay is very solid but maaaaaaaaaaan is there a solid argument to say that this might unironically be the most sexist game ever made. no clue why they included a first person camera thats used for like 5 spots in the game and to remind you of prime. it feels like its one rewrite and one skip cutscene button away from being one of the best games on wii
This review contains spoilers
somehow even more interesting than the first. a lot of what makes the first fnh work still applies here. its basically the first on an even grander scope because of the multiple protagonists. the lore builds on what the first game established in part by using stuff from real world history, still buy referencing it and by diverging from it. deeply love the way the game tackles religion in the wake of modernity with the death of the old gods and how that eventually get replaced by machines. theres not much like this game.
cute strategy game. played a tiny bit of the original on ds. presentation is very nice and elevates it a lot. music is surprisingly very good. found myself spending more time doing the war room missions than the campaign. wished there was an option to accelerate even more the enemies actions. besides that not much else. very enjoyable.
2016
Ok so what i liked. It looks cool (that’s the part everyone talks about with this game and they’re right). The music is great besides the one track that’s a 10 second loop that plays in mementos. I think that might be it. It’s a deeply badly written game made for deeply unintelligent, lonely people who want the media they consume to look into their eyes and tell them that theyre special.
The game is a power fantasy where you, the player, can finally get all the women you want like you wish you could in real life while also having cool powers. There is nothing else of value in this game.
Its very badly written. It’s the stereotype of anime writing where half of it is bad exposition where every time someone says something two different characters repeat the subject of the sentence and act shocked and then they continue like this for an hour (theres an especially bad one after I think the casino) and the other half are extremely bad anime jokes you’ve seen 1000 times where you’ll have for exemple a hot girl and a guy think shes hot and it makes the girl angry and then she hits the guy and then the guy overreacts and then the girl calls him a bakka and then you contemplate killing yourself in real life using a gun like in the bad game persona 3 (I never played persona 3).
None of the characters are interesting. Some side stories can be interesting. There was one with futaba about what I believe was one of her friends that was a victim of abuse that I thought was well done. But I think that might be the only one??? There is stuff I missed but theres no way im ever going back to this game. I was hearing people say that morgana is annoying and while this is true I do not understand why they don’t also complain about every single other characters in this game.
The combat is fine. Ill even go as far as to say that its good. Its standard turn based jrpg combat. Really the worst part is that if you want your character and your party members to get better in combat you need to endure the bad writing.
The real world part that’s used to enhanced your character in combat is almost good but because every character sucks it lacks the sustenance you can find in something like stardew valley for exemple (in terms of a game where you can do activities with other people and have events with them because in sv the events are actually something I look forward to).
The palaces also arent interesting. Design-wise theyre just bad zelda dungeons. The only thing they offer are cool visuals sometimes. Even then the game still feels the need to overexplain because it thinks you're stupid. On the pyramid one theres a painting representing the trauma one of the characters felt, which is something you instantly get right away, but then they game spats out a minute of bad dialogue to explain what you're looking at and what it means.
The worst part is that the whole time while you play it the game feels like its gonna do anything interesting soon but then when the credits roll after slugging through it for 100 hours theres just nothing.
Rarely seen so much effort wasted on a product this bad. The fact that people have been gassing this game up for years now makes me worry about whats in the water supply.
The game is a power fantasy where you, the player, can finally get all the women you want like you wish you could in real life while also having cool powers. There is nothing else of value in this game.
Its very badly written. It’s the stereotype of anime writing where half of it is bad exposition where every time someone says something two different characters repeat the subject of the sentence and act shocked and then they continue like this for an hour (theres an especially bad one after I think the casino) and the other half are extremely bad anime jokes you’ve seen 1000 times where you’ll have for exemple a hot girl and a guy think shes hot and it makes the girl angry and then she hits the guy and then the guy overreacts and then the girl calls him a bakka and then you contemplate killing yourself in real life using a gun like in the bad game persona 3 (I never played persona 3).
None of the characters are interesting. Some side stories can be interesting. There was one with futaba about what I believe was one of her friends that was a victim of abuse that I thought was well done. But I think that might be the only one??? There is stuff I missed but theres no way im ever going back to this game. I was hearing people say that morgana is annoying and while this is true I do not understand why they don’t also complain about every single other characters in this game.
The combat is fine. Ill even go as far as to say that its good. Its standard turn based jrpg combat. Really the worst part is that if you want your character and your party members to get better in combat you need to endure the bad writing.
The real world part that’s used to enhanced your character in combat is almost good but because every character sucks it lacks the sustenance you can find in something like stardew valley for exemple (in terms of a game where you can do activities with other people and have events with them because in sv the events are actually something I look forward to).
The palaces also arent interesting. Design-wise theyre just bad zelda dungeons. The only thing they offer are cool visuals sometimes. Even then the game still feels the need to overexplain because it thinks you're stupid. On the pyramid one theres a painting representing the trauma one of the characters felt, which is something you instantly get right away, but then they game spats out a minute of bad dialogue to explain what you're looking at and what it means.
The worst part is that the whole time while you play it the game feels like its gonna do anything interesting soon but then when the credits roll after slugging through it for 100 hours theres just nothing.
Rarely seen so much effort wasted on a product this bad. The fact that people have been gassing this game up for years now makes me worry about whats in the water supply.
This review contains spoilers
writing this after having played 0,kiwami 1, kiwami 2, 3, 4 and 7/lad.
felt like i needed a palette cleanser after playing 4. like a dragon is so great and the main reason for it is for ichiban. ive heard people simplifying why hes great as "hes relatable", which is true, but i feel like it misses the main part which is his undying will to keep helping other people. hes an incredible protagonist that i dearly love.
your party is also great. having your starting be an ex yakuza, a homeless man, an ex cop and a sex worker reinforces the theme of everyone in "lower society" having to stick together to have a shot at succeeding at whatever and its great.
the way the story is told is fine. it still suffers from the usual bad pacing from the yakuza game which is by far its biggest flaw. ngl i did skip a cutscene or two at the korean hideout place. its best element however is its message where it says that no matter where you are in life, even if you are at the bottom of the worst possible place, its not too late and you can work to reach your true potential. which feels refreshing because its not something you see that much in video games.
the turn based combat is decent. at a certain point you feel like youve seen it all but its a great base upon which you can easily develop in future games. they still succeeded in their transition.
still a great game and a great accomplishment to have switched main protagonist on the 8th main game.
felt like i needed a palette cleanser after playing 4. like a dragon is so great and the main reason for it is for ichiban. ive heard people simplifying why hes great as "hes relatable", which is true, but i feel like it misses the main part which is his undying will to keep helping other people. hes an incredible protagonist that i dearly love.
your party is also great. having your starting be an ex yakuza, a homeless man, an ex cop and a sex worker reinforces the theme of everyone in "lower society" having to stick together to have a shot at succeeding at whatever and its great.
the way the story is told is fine. it still suffers from the usual bad pacing from the yakuza game which is by far its biggest flaw. ngl i did skip a cutscene or two at the korean hideout place. its best element however is its message where it says that no matter where you are in life, even if you are at the bottom of the worst possible place, its not too late and you can work to reach your true potential. which feels refreshing because its not something you see that much in video games.
the turn based combat is decent. at a certain point you feel like youve seen it all but its a great base upon which you can easily develop in future games. they still succeeded in their transition.
still a great game and a great accomplishment to have switched main protagonist on the 8th main game.
2019
This review contains spoilers
writing this after having played 0,kiwami 1, kiwami 2, 3, 4 and 7/lad.
probably the yakuza game i skipped the most cutscene. there is some interesting stuff in that game like with akiyama and saejima but its kind of lost in a sea of dullness. combat still feels bad but not much compensates for it. ngl even after beating it somewhat recently i have trouble remembering anything about it that isnt tanimura's awful, terrible final boss fight.
probably the yakuza game i skipped the most cutscene. there is some interesting stuff in that game like with akiyama and saejima but its kind of lost in a sea of dullness. combat still feels bad but not much compensates for it. ngl even after beating it somewhat recently i have trouble remembering anything about it that isnt tanimura's awful, terrible final boss fight.
2009
This review contains spoilers
writing this after having played 0,kiwami 1, kiwami 2, 3, 4 and 7/lad.
nothing could have prepared me for the whiplash of going to kiwami 2 to this. by that i mean that basically every element feels so much worst to play. which i mean makes sense its an earlier title but i was still shocked. fighting is definitely bad in this game, its stiff and you basically just mash one button. mini-games also suck. tbh i didnt play much of them because i kind of just wanted to get this game out asap but even bowling feels bad. theres like no other words it kinda just feels bad.
its carried by the fact that its a yakuza game and you play kiryu who still a great protag. the main problem is that not much happens in it. tho as i think i understand having barely started yakuza 5 it was a necessary step to take in the greater story. not much happens because kiryu is at an orphanage taking care of kids. most of it is dull tho by having you spend time with them you do understand why kiryu likes them which is important in the whole of yakuza. the greater plot truly just happens later in the game and its kind of blend an uninteresting.
even though i think it mostly fails at what its trying to do im still glad they made this necessary game.
nothing could have prepared me for the whiplash of going to kiwami 2 to this. by that i mean that basically every element feels so much worst to play. which i mean makes sense its an earlier title but i was still shocked. fighting is definitely bad in this game, its stiff and you basically just mash one button. mini-games also suck. tbh i didnt play much of them because i kind of just wanted to get this game out asap but even bowling feels bad. theres like no other words it kinda just feels bad.
its carried by the fact that its a yakuza game and you play kiryu who still a great protag. the main problem is that not much happens in it. tho as i think i understand having barely started yakuza 5 it was a necessary step to take in the greater story. not much happens because kiryu is at an orphanage taking care of kids. most of it is dull tho by having you spend time with them you do understand why kiryu likes them which is important in the whole of yakuza. the greater plot truly just happens later in the game and its kind of blend an uninteresting.
even though i think it mostly fails at what its trying to do im still glad they made this necessary game.
2017
writing this after having played 0,kiwami 1, kiwami 2, 3, 4 and 7/lad.
probably the best yakuza game in huge part because the combat doesnt feel like punching the wall over and over again. the mini games in themselves also feel better to play. its the game the series that feels the best to play (even better than lad tbh). the main issues with the game really is the story which, like a lot of times with yakuza is both great and kinda bad. its at its best when it focusses on daigo whos trying to find his place as the chief of the tojo clan and on everything relating relating to goda (whos just a great antagonist). however half the game relates to a somewhat bad and uninteresting sub-plot with the chinese mafia that take so much time out of the game its a huge shame. need to admit that i was looking at my phone everytime there was anything relating to them. despite that its still a good game that tells its story somewhat appropriately.
probably the best yakuza game in huge part because the combat doesnt feel like punching the wall over and over again. the mini games in themselves also feel better to play. its the game the series that feels the best to play (even better than lad tbh). the main issues with the game really is the story which, like a lot of times with yakuza is both great and kinda bad. its at its best when it focusses on daigo whos trying to find his place as the chief of the tojo clan and on everything relating relating to goda (whos just a great antagonist). however half the game relates to a somewhat bad and uninteresting sub-plot with the chinese mafia that take so much time out of the game its a huge shame. need to admit that i was looking at my phone everytime there was anything relating to them. despite that its still a good game that tells its story somewhat appropriately.
2016
This review contains spoilers
writing this after having played 0,kiwami 1, kiwami 2, 3, 4 and 7/lad.
its yakuza. going from 0 to this the combat really does show its cracks. fighting people in this is really the least fun part of the game.
story-wise the more i think about it the more i like it. half the reason it works is because of nishiki who's just a great antagonist that the game takes time to humanize. which is the part i enjoy the most with the game. kiryu as a protag is good. hes stern but having it contrast with the way he acts both during the mini-games, where hes sometimes just clearly very passionate about stuff, and during important story moments where his heart just explodes with emotions makes those instances so much better. the least interesting part is anything that doesnt relate to those two which, to be honest, i dont remember much of. haruka in her first appearance is kind of just not interesting. which makes sense because shes like 8 years old it was before she becomes an actual person in the later games. good game.
its yakuza. going from 0 to this the combat really does show its cracks. fighting people in this is really the least fun part of the game.
story-wise the more i think about it the more i like it. half the reason it works is because of nishiki who's just a great antagonist that the game takes time to humanize. which is the part i enjoy the most with the game. kiryu as a protag is good. hes stern but having it contrast with the way he acts both during the mini-games, where hes sometimes just clearly very passionate about stuff, and during important story moments where his heart just explodes with emotions makes those instances so much better. the least interesting part is anything that doesnt relate to those two which, to be honest, i dont remember much of. haruka in her first appearance is kind of just not interesting. which makes sense because shes like 8 years old it was before she becomes an actual person in the later games. good game.
2015
writing this after having played 0-kiwami 1- kiwami 2, 3, 4 and 7/lad.
like most yakuza games theres lots to love. Unlike most yakuza games the story, despite still having some pacing issues, flows pretty well. it also did the unthinkable and did the multiple protagonist thing decently.
it has some of the best side quests in all the yakuza games i played. most of them being funny and even some of them being surprsingly heartfelt.
probably because it was the first one i played i thought the side activities were the most interesting in that one, eventually when you play these games you realize that theyre all recycled but its really fine tbh.
the really big thing 0 has against it is that most yakuza games the combat is kind of very bad and terrible. it was before they figured out how to do combat with kiwami 2 (or maybe even 6???). so you're kinda just mashing one button while the enemy blocks everything. despite that its still hard to not recommend especially with how great of an entry point it is.
like most yakuza games theres lots to love. Unlike most yakuza games the story, despite still having some pacing issues, flows pretty well. it also did the unthinkable and did the multiple protagonist thing decently.
it has some of the best side quests in all the yakuza games i played. most of them being funny and even some of them being surprsingly heartfelt.
probably because it was the first one i played i thought the side activities were the most interesting in that one, eventually when you play these games you realize that theyre all recycled but its really fine tbh.
the really big thing 0 has against it is that most yakuza games the combat is kind of very bad and terrible. it was before they figured out how to do combat with kiwami 2 (or maybe even 6???). so you're kinda just mashing one button while the enemy blocks everything. despite that its still hard to not recommend especially with how great of an entry point it is.
2017
This review contains spoilers
yoko taro is arguably the biggest hack in the video game industry, with the only contenders being david cage and that guy who writes those kingdom hearts games.
its a very pretty game that sounds nice. the washed out look of the world complements the apocalyptic setting pretty nicely.
overrall gameplay was fine. need to admit that ive always had trouble with hack n slashes. so for me the fighting was mostly kind of not interesting being broken up by more fun shmup sections.
the main thing with this game is that it feels like it was made by someone who tried to make something that was deep and who tried doing that just by referencing stuff without actually saying anything. it always feel extremely shallow. the stuff always feels like theres someone screaming "im smart for knowing the names of philosophers (and also basic stuff about the bible i guess)". so you get exemples like "here are the factories named marx and engels because theyre factories and production and capitalism or something, im smart for knowing these two guys", "did you guys knew that simone de beauvoir had a relationship with jean-paul sartre, women amirite" and "its smart because adam and eve is a bible reference". it never goes beyond surface level high school homework explanations. the references are so in your face theyre extremely unsublte, which in itself is fine, but its so dull its unsubtle about nothing.
there is some intresting stuff but it all just gets thrown out the window the instant its introduced. at one point (i dont remember where) either 9s or the player, probably both, get called out because of how much they "want to **** 2b". i read it as some sort of commentary on the sexualization of 2b but i dont see much else besides being shocking. its also kind of a cheap trick to introduce a conventionally attractive protag and saying "yea shes hot and you want to fuck her" and pretend you're saying anything. and then after that happens the game does nothing with this, at least as far as i know. its exactly like the stereotype of those games that try to say something on game violence by forcing to murder people and then say "oh my god you moster you killed people".
was told that i needed 3 playthroughs to finish the game. got the ending where a2 and 9s kill each other. as the credits rolled for the third time i only felt anger at all the people who were gassing up this vapid game for years. it feels like a game for anime fans who want to say that theyre smart but instead of actually going out and reading stuff they play this. this game feels like the weeb equivalent of teenagers saying they dont need to go to history class because they played assassins creed.
its a very pretty game that sounds nice. the washed out look of the world complements the apocalyptic setting pretty nicely.
overrall gameplay was fine. need to admit that ive always had trouble with hack n slashes. so for me the fighting was mostly kind of not interesting being broken up by more fun shmup sections.
the main thing with this game is that it feels like it was made by someone who tried to make something that was deep and who tried doing that just by referencing stuff without actually saying anything. it always feel extremely shallow. the stuff always feels like theres someone screaming "im smart for knowing the names of philosophers (and also basic stuff about the bible i guess)". so you get exemples like "here are the factories named marx and engels because theyre factories and production and capitalism or something, im smart for knowing these two guys", "did you guys knew that simone de beauvoir had a relationship with jean-paul sartre, women amirite" and "its smart because adam and eve is a bible reference". it never goes beyond surface level high school homework explanations. the references are so in your face theyre extremely unsublte, which in itself is fine, but its so dull its unsubtle about nothing.
there is some intresting stuff but it all just gets thrown out the window the instant its introduced. at one point (i dont remember where) either 9s or the player, probably both, get called out because of how much they "want to **** 2b". i read it as some sort of commentary on the sexualization of 2b but i dont see much else besides being shocking. its also kind of a cheap trick to introduce a conventionally attractive protag and saying "yea shes hot and you want to fuck her" and pretend you're saying anything. and then after that happens the game does nothing with this, at least as far as i know. its exactly like the stereotype of those games that try to say something on game violence by forcing to murder people and then say "oh my god you moster you killed people".
was told that i needed 3 playthroughs to finish the game. got the ending where a2 and 9s kill each other. as the credits rolled for the third time i only felt anger at all the people who were gassing up this vapid game for years. it feels like a game for anime fans who want to say that theyre smart but instead of actually going out and reading stuff they play this. this game feels like the weeb equivalent of teenagers saying they dont need to go to history class because they played assassins creed.