An immaculate, beautiful game, and in my view the best RPG ever made. The atmosphere is deliciously depressing and fed back into by every facet of the game design. The narrative is the best this series gets in terms of thematic resonance and overall pacing. The combat is filled with interesting choices. Every element of friction added against the player - the few save points, the AI-only party control, the hilarious illness mechanic, having your "social links" be unlikable idiots who'd sooner break their legs than make a sensible decision - makes the play experience better, sometimes in fascinating ways, others by virtue of making it less "clean", a play experience that rubs and chafes against the player like sandpaper. I love it. Even The Answer, an awful suffering pit that would alienate the most committed enjoyer, serves a thematic purpose and contributes positively to the play experience.