I??????

What the fuck. Holy shit.

Alright, so, first off: the marketing tagline that this is standalone from AI1 is...true in a technical sense, but this is so character-driven that I really do think there's aspects to this that won't work without prior knowledge and experience with the cast. I also don't think you can really appreciate just how much of a step-up from the first game this is on almost every level without it, and I say this as someone who regularly ranks AI1 in their top 10 favorite games. The Somnia are better-crafted, more personalized, and varied, the music is excellent as always, the character models are ironed out and emote so fluidly, and the plot. Holy shit, the plot. It's essentially a victory lap for Uchikoshi Game Enjoyers - I called a few of the twists ahead of time, but I found that that made me more engaged because, in typical Uchi fashion, I had no way of anticipating how everything would really fit together in the end. It's a game about love and hate and how, even if we do find that everything is fake, the love will always be real. Just a sublime game. Holy shit. He was forced to play 999