Look, I like my games like I like playing dress-up with my girl characters. I mean, this point we're all playing with Barbies in the digital screen. Except ours deal with monsters, questions about humanity as a whole and oneself, while looking absolute dashing in slaying.
If my hard work is any indication, grinding for the more advanced Beta and Burst skills led me to take my frustrations out against enemies that are so relentless, terrifying in numbers, while also looking like they came out of every Eldritch Horror's anuses. So what is my endgame? I know the main story isn't much worth it, how was my overall fun experience playing this?
- What is death after extinction?
A little time after battling Tachy and getting to the Great Desert, I started clearing out the miscellaneous errands left, like finding types of fish, finish up taking photos of anthropomorphic animals plastered across, helping out survivors, maybe help a guy find his daughter even.
Besides the grind, power trip and skill plays, there's a world to explore, and this journey has multiple of these stories to tell from many perspectives. I kind of was invested, in some emotional sense, to help out these NPCs. Heck, I even love some of their design, seemingly have grown on me even. The full on cyberpunk, augmentative look intertwined with derelicts and abandoned areas.
I'm talking beyond the fanservice, the fancy graphics, the immersion factor and the world has so many things for me to do. It was also nice adding Nier's Emil van, just so I can flip-flop around in revealing tights akin to what 2A or 2B wears.
Sadly, there's so much of these dresses to unlock, requiring me to clear areas, and do those aforementioned tasks. The grind had to continue, and this on top of finding bear and soda cans. But one of the most important quests was helping this guy named Su. The woman he loves, Enya, needed her limbs in order to walk after waking up from slumber.
I never thought I'd be so teary-eyed over one trying to revive another, who was pretty much a droid with a copied conscience of an actual person. I found out somewhere in the ruins of the Great Desert that she was an opera singer, pretty famous. But had struggled with her fame here and there. Also realized it was an allegorical about Korea's celebrity culture, before tying it all in a neat bow. I know how things will end, so least these two are happy.
Then I went on a surfing in a tunnel, like it's sporadic how I switch between important stories to playing a mini-game that is crazy enough, I hope the sequel goes much further with. Juicy secrets with great loot, item discoveries and opening ways to progress locked out quests.
Life is short, so is my rental period on the PS5, so I'd made the best by doing the exact opposite of finishing the main quest. I never did fish in life, but technology has evolved things, and maybe I'll catch a Mackerel or Red Seabream. I never thought a video game of all things would capture that essence. Maybe that's why I'm so caught up.
- Joy and wonder before the fall
Not going to lie, not every part of it was fun. There were grand conspiracies, some involving kids even being sent on errands. Korean media tends to lean towards the extreme at times. Those guys know how to edge. But what really destroyed me was this woman who plead with me to find her lost boyfriend, only to realize she was the one who killed him in a psychotic rage.
Another man lost his daughter, and is helpless, grieving hard before I found this bear that helped him keep in touch like a memorabilia. A number of humans were brutally slaughtered in a hidden facility in Xion, I had to rush quick to escape the gas.
The introspective bot who needed my help to retrieve his older memories as a former human. Some kerfuffles, but he moved his operation to Xion with his assistant droid. Thanks to this guy, my firepower grew exponentially because he sold parts I needed.
Lots to find as its world is uncovered through epithets, obituaries, leftover journals, and well, bodies leftover in the past. Also, god forbid I take a break for a few days only to forget how to play the game. I still have no idea how to parry, and use the skills during Tachy mode. I could try practicing but, it's a lot for me to remember. It's also scary difficult.
But some point near the end of the game, Lucy asked me to explore Eidos 9 (not Eidos 7). To seek this shrine. I had to fill up her meter by exploring before getting to the last main mission.
Above screenshots and GIFs are from personal recordings only
Check out my Substack content