I think there's a lot of broad problems with certain parts of the ending and how the writers don't necessarily know how to write a story that doesn't end with all the characters getting paired up. There's a few points I would've liked the game to commit to or elaborate on, and some other weird writing choices here and there. Might put those problems in a rot13 comment later.
But for the most part, the experience of 13 Sentinels is really something special. A complicated web of a story that's arranged to be completely baffling for much of its runtime. It plays a number of tricks to deceive and confuse you. Much of the game's run focus on the player just utterly confused, trying to decipher all the bits and pieces and try to make it all even vaguely coherent in their heads. The real magic trick is that, by the end, the entire game makes perfect sense. All the game's spinning plates land perfectly on this immaculate dinner table its created for you to feast on. This game has some of my favorite characters of all time in it and even the characters I didn't connect with are endearing in some way. Its a truly incredible work of fiction and its a miracle it all flows as well as it does.
Even beyond all that character work, the gameplay was a delight. The real time strategy sections are crunchy little delights that reward a player's experimentation and care. I specifically want to praise the distinctions between the PS4 version and the Switch version I played. The Switch version gives each character unique attacks that weren't present in the original game. It helps differentiate your playable characters and helps encourage switching them out to see what everyone has to offer.
All these little factors combine together in one of the most overwhelmingly satisfying games I've ever played. There's a part of me that was dreading continuing because I didn't want the experience to end. I wanted to spend more time with these characters. Experience their everyday lives and conversations. After 36 hours, I wanted more. And that speaks to the incredible depth Vanillaware managed to put into this experience. One of my new favorite games of all time. What a phenomenal journey.
But for the most part, the experience of 13 Sentinels is really something special. A complicated web of a story that's arranged to be completely baffling for much of its runtime. It plays a number of tricks to deceive and confuse you. Much of the game's run focus on the player just utterly confused, trying to decipher all the bits and pieces and try to make it all even vaguely coherent in their heads. The real magic trick is that, by the end, the entire game makes perfect sense. All the game's spinning plates land perfectly on this immaculate dinner table its created for you to feast on. This game has some of my favorite characters of all time in it and even the characters I didn't connect with are endearing in some way. Its a truly incredible work of fiction and its a miracle it all flows as well as it does.
Even beyond all that character work, the gameplay was a delight. The real time strategy sections are crunchy little delights that reward a player's experimentation and care. I specifically want to praise the distinctions between the PS4 version and the Switch version I played. The Switch version gives each character unique attacks that weren't present in the original game. It helps differentiate your playable characters and helps encourage switching them out to see what everyone has to offer.
All these little factors combine together in one of the most overwhelmingly satisfying games I've ever played. There's a part of me that was dreading continuing because I didn't want the experience to end. I wanted to spend more time with these characters. Experience their everyday lives and conversations. After 36 hours, I wanted more. And that speaks to the incredible depth Vanillaware managed to put into this experience. One of my new favorite games of all time. What a phenomenal journey.
23 Comments
I'll warn that a lot of my problems with the game comes down to "wow this is real hetereosexual," which could possibly be even more of a dealbreaker for more people than it already is for me
Hmm... I may have to reconsider depending on how heterosexual it is.
This comment was deleted
Its mostly just forcing all the characters into straight couples, with one nice gay pairing, and one EGREGIOUSLY hetero pairing of obviously gay characters
Also I can't murder Tetsuya Ida with my own hands, but that's a whole other mess to untangle
I think I can power through if it's just that. I might quit though!
Your issue is...too many straight couples...wow
Fine man, you want the nitty gritty?
The problem isn't that there's too many straight people. Its that two couples involve stalking, one couple involves an adult grooming a minor so he can find his vtuber wife (and getting away with it and the narrative blaming the minor). I said heterosexual because the game can't imagine the characters having an ending that doesn't involve getting hitched. 50% of the couples are bad and just forcing characters together just because. Its problems that uniquely emerge from forcing heterosexuality instead of just letting the kids be friends with each other.
The fact that this game made me adore a pairing like Ogata and Tomi shows me there could be some good writing to sell the other couples here, but there just isn't.
The problem isn't that there's too many straight people. Its that two couples involve stalking, one couple involves an adult grooming a minor so he can find his vtuber wife (and getting away with it and the narrative blaming the minor). I said heterosexual because the game can't imagine the characters having an ending that doesn't involve getting hitched. 50% of the couples are bad and just forcing characters together just because. Its problems that uniquely emerge from forcing heterosexuality instead of just letting the kids be friends with each other.
The fact that this game made me adore a pairing like Ogata and Tomi shows me there could be some good writing to sell the other couples here, but there just isn't.
The fact that I love this game and want others to play it IN SPITE of those issues speaks to how good the writing is otherwise.
Removed by a moderator
Also true!
The way some characters are paired up is honestly my one gripe with the game. It was really hit or miss with how much it was able to sell me on some of those pairings, especially since I think I know which pairing of obviously gay characters you're talking about.
This comment was deleted
God I hate backloggd users
This comment was deleted
Hating either one makes you an idiot
You know things are getting real when a dude with a Halo 3 pfp shows up
Genuinely can't believe a comment/warning I thought was relatively innocuous is doing this.
Gamers
This comment was deleted
I truly hope you're joking
let me know if this is too spoiler-y and I'll delete it, but I'm too curious which hetero-coupled characters you read as being gay--was it SA and YT?
Absolutely YT. The whole situation around her is So Weird and reads like a last minute change when they realized how gay it was.
Totally agree, I feel like because of where the story ends up, at some point late in the process a writer had an unwarrantedly panicked thought of "we need to make as many of these characters procreate as possible" and the shoehorning began
Really great review. I’ve honestly been kind of halfsies avoiding it because of it being seemingly super het lol but your expressiveness of the writing quality is convincing me to finally dunk myself in at some point. Good stuff <3
i'm interested in this game having heard about how insane the plot is, but is actually playing the game worthwhile for someone who doesn't usually play strategy RPGs?
@gruel I’ve never enjoyed any real time strategy game and I absolutely adored the gameplay in this. It has a couple different difficulty levels that you can switch between at any time, but I found normal mode to be a really crunchy, fun play style that kept me on the edge of my seat. I think it helps that you actually have a lot of time to make your decisions. Whenever a character’s energy is full, the battle pauses and lets you consider your options. I was genuinely stunned by how much I enjoyed it.
Archagent
1 year ago