13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

On 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Vanillaware flexes some serious storytelling chops to go along with its visual flair.

13 Sentinels stumbles a bit when it comes to combat, but the story it tells is absolutely superb.

Enigmatic and unapologetic even in the face of its most absurd ideas, this is sometimes messy, sometimes boring, but always astounding.

There’s plenty more for me to tell you about this game, like how it stacks twists atop each other like a tower of turtles, without ever collapsing under all that narrative weight. Though reading more would spoil the fun – and trust me, you’ll be doing plenty of reading once you boot the game up anyway. I’ve written so much about why this game means the world to me. Now I leave y’all to decide whether or not to play it.

Even with lackluster battles, the constantly escalating stakes and evolving story pulled me in

Had Vanillaware crafted a title where the story and the action wove into one another flawlessly, we'd be looking at the greatest game the developer has ever made, without question. Unfortunately, that's not what this game is, and while what is here is great, it's crushing to see just how close 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim came to perfection.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a phenomenal visual novel - and a surprisingly great strategy game. In trying something different, Vanillaware has crafted one of its best games yet. It's got an engrossing story that's absolutely packed with mind-blowing twists and endearing characters, all wrapped up in a gorgeous visual style. Don't sleep on 13 Sentinels - it's one of 2020's finest.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a wonderful achievement for dynamic storytelling, as it puts forth a compelling and multifaceted narrative that'll keep you guessing right up until the very end. This excellent story, combined with enjoyable combat portions, a striking art style, and some top-notch voice acting make for an experience that you won't want to miss out on. It's the kind of game that'll have you wishing that you could play it again for the first time, just so all its best elements could be new again. We'd give 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim a strong recommendation, then, to anyone who has even a passing interest in visual novels. Even if that doesn't describe you, we'd still say to give it a shot; you might just be surprised at how well it grabs you.

Vanillaware has handled 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim's Switch port with the utmost care and, with some of the changes, may even be better than the PS4 version. If you love RPGs, have an affinity for excellent stories, are in the mood for some good brain exercise, or just looking for a nice 30-hour experience in gaming, look no further than 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

13 Sentinels is a refreshingly ambitious experiment that everyone should grab and far too few players are talking about.