I love how the movement in this game feels- Ori is lightweight and fluid, dashing in and out and over obstacles with ease. The game doesn't feel unfairly hard- if I make a mistake and die, I can easily understand why it happened and how i should start fixing the issue. The story is emotional despite not having any dialogue, and though it's perhaps not the most unique, it's still full of potential as a heartwarmer and tearjerker both.

The "boss" battles of the game are intense chase sequences which test your mastery of new abilities, and they're full of a healthy adrenaline. Unfortunately, some parts can have /very/ steep reaction time requirements, and it can sometimes feel like you're intended to die as a learning experience and start over, instead of escaping by the skin of your teeth. This interruption of flow can be very jarring!

The music and the art, are, of course, top notch, and I don't think there's a single moment in the game that looks or sounds bad.

This game is bland most of the time, full of grinding, the story is mediocre.. but when I set all that aside and make this my comforting dollar menu fast food game, I love it. I played it for over a hundred hours and don't regret it, even if I don't think the game is objectively good.

Arata is by and large the highlight of the first game for me, and with the exception of the main character, the cast of Hacker's Memory are all pretty good. Hackers' Memory improves on Cyber Sleuth in a lot of ways, but I can't help but wish it was it's own game. HM feels very tacked on, which doesn't let it's own characters shine. That said, I appreciated the deepening of Arata's character that HM allows for.