The first playthrough was OK. The combat is too repetitive. It is just Bayonetta with a floating gun. That said, aiming the gun is a nice addition, giving you something to do. Still, all that happens is that you spam the dodge, since there's no punishment for that. Also, the weapons don't feel different enough (like in Bayonetta), giving players no reason to find variety. Onto the story, the first plot twist is what kept me going after mashing into the same robots over and over again. But then, nothing really topped that and the story just dragged along, not going anywhere. No characters were given enough room to become rounded in any way, except for Pascal, who I liked. Especially the two main characters were too bland to get me invested in them. I kept thinking: "Maybe that's intentional and some new revelation will tell me why they're bland." Suddenly, I beat the final boss, I don't get a satisfying ending and they want me to play the same levels with this character I'm not that interested in. Well, that's not for me. Someone else can put the time into pressing xxxyyy and xxxyyy again combos to be rewarded with whatever is down that drain.

This might be the worst told story I've ever seen. The narrative itself barely makes sense. Gameplaywise everything has gotten a downgrade compared to the original, fewer options and just more mashing in combat. That being said, it was serviceable. The aesthetics of the areas are bland and there are not enough of them. I kept getting the feeling that there must be more to this game. That feeling never passed. But the game loves to overstay its welcome. Who is the villain? What am I doing? Barriers? None of these questions will be answered in a sequel that I assume has nothing to do with this one, aside from Aya Brea, mitochondria and guns.
Skip this one