unpopular take and controversial opinion that im not even going to get into because id have to write like a full 20 page essay i think to accurately get across my feelings about this game but i just really dont like it.

i loved judgment so much and this has some gameplay improvements, like the combat being greatly improved (i really appreciated the buff to crane style), but there's also just so much about it that really fucking sucks and i think the main thing is that yagami is just... awful. he isnt the same person he was in judgment. this is a completely different and worse guy. his behaviours and morals and ideals are literally completely opposite to everything he believed in judgment, he has no personality at all, and everything about his writing in this game is a direct contradiction to who he was in judgment. it makes the game suck! i like a lot of things about lost judgment, new characters, the soundtrack is AWESOME, the gameplay is fun and theres some really cool moments, but the fact that the playable protag is fucking insufferable and infuriating makes this just not worth ever replaying for me. i dont think id enjoy it very much at all and getting through it once was only bearable because i had friends to keep me playing.

i cannot expend the energy to get into this in depth and ive spent too many hours discussing my thoughts about this game. im over it. play judgment and pretend this sequel doesnt exist

my star rating is like for the story of the game itself and not the entire game experience because if it was then man. i'd be giving this 5 stars every single time for the fact that this game is just insanely addictive. i'm not getting through any other games in my backlog or the 200 in my steam library because every day i wake up and i spend 6 hours gathering and crafting and fishing and sending my retainers out on ventures and playing the lottery and doing everything but the story. which is why it took me so long to beat ARR (like since 2 months since i started playing this game)

anyways that being said ARR was... okay! it's pretty fun! it takes a while to really get into it and by a while i mean it really isn't until like. level 30 or 40 msq that things pick up i think. but a lot of the characters are really charming and fun and there's some super cool dungeons and fights in this so far! i'm completly new to ffxiv so i'm excited for what future expansions bring!!

more rambling here since i havent stopped thinking about this since i finished it last night: incredible art style, charming characters (i LOVE double double and their design and their tags), banging ost, just an overall fun little adventure that reminded me a lot of jsr (obviously) and also jazzpunk in a way. exploration-based games are new to me and i'm really enjoying delving into the genre especially with games like this.. the aesthetic and vibes are great and i also really love the messages put across--poverty, capitalism, unionisation, even the fact that the game itself deters you from collecting all 100 tags. this one will sit in my brain for a little while methinks

i think i am letting this one go. i really wanted to enjoy this bc i love the aesthetic of it and theres some really cool imagery in game (i love the one still shot of that big Creature almost like its made of clay) but its just not for me im afraid... the gameplay itself is boring and tedious to get through, not helped by the characters slow walking speed, and its a little repetetive and monotonous with not enough substance to keep me engaged. wish i had better feelings about this! just not my thing though methinks

this took me a while to get into for some reason.. i honestly cant explain why but the game just wasnt clicking me for the first couple of hours and i let it go for a while until i picked it back up and something just clicked. ive been playing this daily and am almost done with 100%ing... its just fun! the story is really interesting and well done (i love a good ol spooky conspiracy mystery and also hints of horror), the characters are charming and have a lot of life to them (chandlo snorpy and floofty my loves), and the gameplay itself (while arguably repetitive) just ticks something for me in my brain and im getting a lot of enjoyment out of working through every single extra quest!! theres so much to do and if u like the game its definitely great to have all this content but i can understand why it doesnt click for some ppl

this is everything. the moment i saw this on steam i knew itd be right up my alley and im so glad to have been right about that.
the atmosphere is incredible, the art style is so pretty and calming and the soothing tone of the daytime segments immediately drifts away when the sun sets and the horror kicks in. the fishing mechanics are rlly fun, genuinely enjoyable, and theres something very relaxing and enjoyable about just going around and fishing and enhancing ur boat. even when u max out the boat theres still a challenge to it, the night segments are tense and theres still dangers to watch out for--which is awesome btw the lovecraftian edge to this and the fish mutations and the story itself are all so fascinating and cool. i loved spending time just flicking through the enyclopedia and reading about all the fish types!! smth about this game just incentivizes you to seek out every side quest and collect every fish and it rlly scratches that collectathon part of my brain.
literally loved this so much and i cant wait to give it time to cool off so i can replay it fresh

also a day later i still cant stop thinking about this game. dredge is about love its about taking care of people and trying to do good and its about love so strong that it destroys the world or you sacrifice yourself to try and keep it alive. love this game