My controversial opinion about this game is that it would have been better to go all in on a heavily scripted Uncharted 10-20 hour game. There are two games here: the aforementioned and a post-Zelda style adventure / puzzle game that made up a larger chunk of God of War (2018)'s gameplay. The strange thing is I liked the adventuring in 2018. Here, it did very little for me. I don't think it's because it was more poorly designed (though its possible), but because this games high points are SO high, that when you go back down to average gameplay it feels like utter drudgery.

Sure, if you stripped out so much combat, exploring, collectibles, puzzles, you would have something much closer to a movie than a game. But they created a movie that's far more compelling than the game. There are so many exhilarating memorable moments that made this game a blast to play (or watch), while I'll be remembering very little of the exploring.

It feels strange to say, because the exploring and combat wasn't bad. It wasn't amazing, but it was good. Above average, for sure. Just compared to some of the strongest performances we've ever seen in a game, it feels...dated, trite. Like two separate aspects of the game that are both good in their own right, but when you put them together they drag the entire project down rather than complement each other.

This review seems more negative than it is. God of War Ragnarok is a great game. Everyone knows it. Still, its hard not to notice that its simultaneously the future of AAA games and just more of the same.

Also, I've gotta say, there are some pretty funny moments, but they went a little overboard on the marvel humor.

When I started replaying this game, I was impressed by how good it was. I couldn't figure out why I put it down. The start was so strong, already exploring mature themes with interesting writing. These characters talking about time and regret and what could've been hit so much harder as an adult who can feel life rapidly passing me by. Ironically, that feeling is what would push me towards putting it down. The game starts so strong and then just meanders for hours and hours and hours. It's charming, with unique characters and a beautiful world. The soundtrack will remain one of the greatest of all time. I can totally understand why it's one of the best games to some people. It's just so unrefined. There is A LOT of chaff you have to chew through to get to the cream of the crop. For me, it just wasn't worth it. I couldn't justify what felt like a waste of time with not enough payoff.

I'm actually so disappointed in this game. Part of it might've been my expectations. Ishin was like this legendary spinoff I was waiting to play since I first heard about it after finishing 0. Still, RGG definitely made a lot of weird decisions that inarguably hamstring the game.

When I first saw it was carrying over a lot of the RPG-ized mechanics from Y7, I was pretty excited. I thought things like gear and crafting worked way better in those systems compared to the traditional Yakuza games. There's a weapon crafting system that basically looks like Monster Hunter's. Unfortunately, you will hardly get to use it. Money is so scarce outside of chicken race exploits and save-scumming gambling that you'd have to dedicate an actual dozen of hours to doing tedious crafting tasks to get it to the level to craft the high-grade weapons. You are so aggressively incentivized to ignore it. XP has a similar issue. It's fine for a while, then you hit about the halfway point of the game and it slows to a crawl. You basically stop unlocking new skills. Again, you can remedy this by dumping more hours into the game to make money to buy XP orbs (or spend real money on them; can't help but wonder if this is an Assassin's Creed Odyssey situation), but really it just doesn't feel worth it. Why bother? Just finish the game and save yourself 20 hours on tedious crafting and money-making schemes.

The combat and enemy design also have pretty significant issues. I found the boss fights pretty great in the first half of the game, but later they fall off sharply, becoming damage sponges (its BAD) and having very few interesting mechanics. In general, you'll be spending most of combat wailing on or shooting at a downed enemy. In sword fights, you will likely find yourself just repeating the 4 light 2 heavy combo. Sure there's other things you can do, but outside of most situations, this is just the best thing you can do. It's a shame because a lot of the aspects of the real-time combat are good. It has great hit collision as in Y0/K1, instead of Y6/K2's weird bumbling Death-Stranding-tripping-over-a-rock movement and collision. The gameplay could be better, it's just held back by baffling combat and enemy design choices. I found few fights to be memorable, except the Sauna fight and the three-way buddy brawl, which I admit almost makes the game worth playing in itself.

I found the plot to be pretty forgettable. It's not terrible like 3, just kind of standard for the series. The opening premise is interesting, and with all these great actors that have worked on the newer games I was hoping it'd be elevated to the levels of 0 and 7. Some of the acting / characterization was good. This is maybe the most interesting incarnation of Kiryu. You see sides of him that are rare to see in the mainline series. I thought Mine's actor did a really great job. Saejima and Majima stayed interesting throughout the whole game. Awano did good reprising his role. Most other characters, I was unimpressed or let down by. Kuze was a huge disappointment. Now, I don't know if this is the writer's fault or the actor's fault, but Kuze played such a bland character that didn't seem to incorporate the original characters personality and quirks the way nearly every other character did. Maybe his performance felt dry because they gave the character nothing to work with. For whatever reason, it was a bummer.

In conclusion, I would only recommend this game to diehard fans of the entire series. A lot of the series' charm is present here, but the gameplay and systems are very poor. I'd seen people online recommending new players to start the series with this and after finishing I have to strongly argue against this. It will definitely turn some people off on the series. So much of this game is a wink at other characters and plot points in older games that a new player will just not appreciate or even notice. I also have a sneaking suspicion that the characters don't work well enough on their own and need the implied backdrop of which Yakuza character is "playing" them to fill in gaps. This game is for fans of the series, who know and accept its tropes and repetition, and love it in the way people love a bad season of their favorite TV show.

It feels strange for me to not give this 5 stars because there's definitely some exceptional aspects. The movement, to me, might be the best movement I've played in a video game. More easily overlooked, its impressive how effortlessly it lets you move and orient yourself in 3D space, quickly, on an xyz plane. Being able to move that way in a game is relatively rare [I understand basically standard for mech games but I'm an outsider and am thinking of this more in the context of action games and 3D real-time combat games as a whole], and when it is present it's usually difficult to understand or somewhat clunky. If everything about this game totally sucked but it retained that movement, it would still be extremely notable and, imo, influential. In the same way as Sekiro mechanics have started to, and will continue to, influence action games- not just soulslike but video game combat in general- I believe (and really hope) the strides Fromsoft have made in creating fast, satisfying movement will inform movement in their games going forward, as well as inspire other developers.

The gameplay is extremely good overall, and despite it's old school mission-based format, stays fresh; arguably, it gets better the more you play it. It's easy to have a blast and let it wash over you, mashing buttons and smiling at the screen. On the other end of the spectrum, there's an almost bottomless amount of depth when it comes to customizing your mech, and your own control of it. There are so many interesting little techniques veteran players can master regarding movement and aiming that new players will never even know exist. It's a huge success for a game to have that wide of a spectrum of playability: that low of a skill floor and that high of a skill ceiling. PVP freaks will be discovering new techniques and builds for years to come.

While the story and characters are not the best Fromsoft have done, I think it's all a lot better than most people give it credit for. Characters like Walter, Rusty, and Carla- while not very complex or unique- are really likeable and memorable. These are more like archetypes than deep characters, and I think that's fine. Michigan's boisterous but charming affable drill sergeant routine, Snail's almost lovable uptight snootiness, Iguazu as a relatable figure the player can feel both a kinship and rivalry with. These were all great to me. Again, not super in-depth, but its not a game you're playing for character development. They have their roles in the story and in their relation to the player and it's executed well.

The visuals and sound design of the game are also extremely impressive. I've since gotten almost numb to it, but the first few times playing this game, it immediately stood out. Just flying up to a building in the war-torn city and rotating my camera to look at all the floating industrial megafactories in the sky. It's a really great science fiction aesthetic- the kind of thing I want to see a lot more in games.

Having said all that, I can't even really give you a good reason why this is a 4 instead of a 5. For comparison, I gave Resident Evil 4 Remake a 5. Why? Because I felt it perfectly executed everything it set out to do. For what the game is, and the players' relation to it, there are in my estimation no major mistakes on the developers part. It's extremely engaging from start to finish. As I said in my succinct review, it feels like "the perfect action game."

So what's my issue with AC6? It just feels, to me, like it could've been more. I can't quite put my finger on it, but so many aspects feel like it ALMOST got there. Like it could've been my favorite Fromsoft entry ever. The story could have just had a little bit more to it to make it more meaningful. Or the characters could have been a bit more engaging. Or the ending boss battles could have been just a little more interesting. And so on. I genuinely am too unfamiliar with the AC series and the mech genre in general, so that might just be an error in my perception. Maybe for what they set out to to do, this is about the limit of it. Maybe it is a perfectly executed mech game, and my vision is clouded by being a Fromsoft groupie. Like I'm holding them to a standard that's not reachable RE: mech games. I really don't know. I just know it does feel like there's something missing that would've taken it over the edge from "really, really good" to "one of the best of all time."

Really great gameplay. Works so well, I'm surprised this isn't a subgenre that's already emerged. If you're into the quirks of FPS movement (rocket jumping, bunny hopping, exploiting momentum), this is a must-play. Music is amazing, huge plus. The dialogue and story is a little weak but its ok, its not really what the game's about. Its easy to ignore and skip through if it's not your thing. Some people will like the characters and find it humorous. Despite rolling my eyes at most of it (cough Violet cough), I did find things funny or endearing once in a while. Yellow's exaggerated bro persona and Mikey's scenes were something I would look forward to between missions. Steve Blum voice-acting is a nice cherry on top.

One of the most beautiful games I've ever played. Great humor, extremely well-written, very knowledgeable on fringe internet communities without coming across as preachy or annoying. One of those games (or books) where you just feel "this guy gets it." I mention books because this could be a novel (or short story) and really hold its own, which is something you can't say for the writing in most games. That's not to say the beautiful pixel art doesn't add a ton to the game. Great characters, great plot. Melancholic humanism at its finest.

Fuck dude, this fuckin sucks. I love Suikoden, and I know this is just an introductory game before the REAL, BIG game. But the writing is so mediocre, I'm worried about the real Eiyuden. Playing this is like being in purgatory. It's like a fake mobile game. Total slog. Total waste of time. Honestly, this is the type of game that stumps me. How was it made? I guess the playtesters are just afraid to say "this fucking sucks and is boring as hell." You're probably wondering why this has 1.5 stars instead of 0.5. Well, there's probably some weirdos out there who will find the characters, story, or world charming or nostalgic. There's definitely much better stuff they could play, but if you like it, you like it.

This is a great game. The story and characters are much better than you might think from the demo. The strategy combat is extremely fun and rewarding, with many well-made and interesting maps (Ch.16 is my favorite I've played in an SRPG). The ending I got made me cry and I'm already looking forward to doing it over again to go down a different path.

Reasons you might not like this game:
- Lack of class / build customization:
Every character has a defined role they fill, that they can't really step outside. The customization is in your composition: what characters you bring to a map. But if you like SRPGs to customize and tailor individual characters, it's almost wholly absent from the game. I think the game works fine without it, but I understand it's a dealbreaker for some.

-Very wordy, some bad pacing:
If you hate reading in games and just want to get to the combat, this might not be for you. You can just skip everything, but so much of what makes this game great is the politics of the story and how the characters react to the tragedy of this erupting war. Also the impact of the branching paths basically requires you pay attention. If you're all in on combat and don't want to sit through a bunch of (good) dialogue, there's maybe better strategy games for you. Still, you could really gel with the combat so its worth giving the demo a shot. Anna's a super fun character to play, for example.