When I saw the initial reveal trailer for this game, I found it very intriguing and was pretty hyped for it. However, the second trailer had really lowered my expectations. The combat didn't seem particularly appealing and it was clear that the game wasn't going to go the survival horror route as I'd hoped.
Parts of the game still interested me so I still ended up buying the game. It's probably thanks to my lowered expectations that I didn't come out severally disappointed than I could've.
STORY
The game's story was probably the weakest part of the game for me. I didn't find it particularly interesting outside of the opening scene. The story events felt like they barely advanced the story or were important in general.
CHARACTERS
I thought the Characters were also another weak part of the game. There's just not many characters in the game and of the few characters that were, they weren't very interesting or developed. Outside of the K and Akito duo of course which I thought were pretty solid.
Even the main antagonist had little impact on me. I didn't care for their motivation by the end. The story could've been better if there were stronger and compelling characters to support it. I think the short prequel Visual Novel did a better job showcasing the characters than the main game itself.
That said, the final sequence of the game was an emotional one and helped with a certain character's development, but I felt it was just too late by that point.
COMBAT
I didn't like the combat much at first, but I did grew to find it serviceable by the end. The combat upgrades did little in making it more exciting, but not by much.
EXPLORATION
Despite the game's heavy flaws for me, I thought the exploration and open world aspect of it carried the game well. Shibuya is fairly large with a lot to explore. However, it's not too large that I'd get fatigued or burned out from it.
The city has a lot of familiar real life landmarks and locations so it was interesting exploring places. There's a lot of collectible artifacts and notes that were fun to find. Each of them even comes with brief descriptions for a fun read as well. Although, I thought the number of spirits retrieval were way to excessive.
I also love the verticality in the exploration such as being able to reach the top of tall buildings. Unlocking the ability to summon a tengu really opened the exploration.
ATMOSPHERE
I thought the tone and atmosphere of the game was good overall. Outside of the combat sections, it had good horror vibes. The scattered belongings from the disappeared people and the lack of people in general made it seem like I was experiencing the rapture.
Some of the story events and the sidequest jobs had a psychological aspect that reminds me of Silent Hill.
Speaking of the Sidequests, I liked many of the stories in them. The spirit detective aspect of the game was more interesting than the main story itself.
FINAL REMARKS
Overall, the disappointment of the story and characters didn't detract my enjoyment from the exploration side of the game fortunately.
POSITIVES:
Exploration
Collectibles and Notes
Atmosphere and Tone
Sidequest Missions
NEUTRAL:
Combat
NEGATIVES:
Story
Characters
Too many Spirits to collect
Parts of the game still interested me so I still ended up buying the game. It's probably thanks to my lowered expectations that I didn't come out severally disappointed than I could've.
STORY
The game's story was probably the weakest part of the game for me. I didn't find it particularly interesting outside of the opening scene. The story events felt like they barely advanced the story or were important in general.
CHARACTERS
I thought the Characters were also another weak part of the game. There's just not many characters in the game and of the few characters that were, they weren't very interesting or developed. Outside of the K and Akito duo of course which I thought were pretty solid.
Even the main antagonist had little impact on me. I didn't care for their motivation by the end. The story could've been better if there were stronger and compelling characters to support it. I think the short prequel Visual Novel did a better job showcasing the characters than the main game itself.
That said, the final sequence of the game was an emotional one and helped with a certain character's development, but I felt it was just too late by that point.
COMBAT
I didn't like the combat much at first, but I did grew to find it serviceable by the end. The combat upgrades did little in making it more exciting, but not by much.
EXPLORATION
Despite the game's heavy flaws for me, I thought the exploration and open world aspect of it carried the game well. Shibuya is fairly large with a lot to explore. However, it's not too large that I'd get fatigued or burned out from it.
The city has a lot of familiar real life landmarks and locations so it was interesting exploring places. There's a lot of collectible artifacts and notes that were fun to find. Each of them even comes with brief descriptions for a fun read as well. Although, I thought the number of spirits retrieval were way to excessive.
I also love the verticality in the exploration such as being able to reach the top of tall buildings. Unlocking the ability to summon a tengu really opened the exploration.
ATMOSPHERE
I thought the tone and atmosphere of the game was good overall. Outside of the combat sections, it had good horror vibes. The scattered belongings from the disappeared people and the lack of people in general made it seem like I was experiencing the rapture.
Some of the story events and the sidequest jobs had a psychological aspect that reminds me of Silent Hill.
Speaking of the Sidequests, I liked many of the stories in them. The spirit detective aspect of the game was more interesting than the main story itself.
FINAL REMARKS
Overall, the disappointment of the story and characters didn't detract my enjoyment from the exploration side of the game fortunately.
POSITIVES:
Exploration
Collectibles and Notes
Atmosphere and Tone
Sidequest Missions
NEUTRAL:
Combat
NEGATIVES:
Story
Characters
Too many Spirits to collect