.Hack//G.U. Last Recode

.hack//G.U. Last Recode's intended audience is almost certainly established fans. It's a solid remaster that looks great and runs smoothly. But it's still a dated JRPG that dominates dozens of hours with sub-par combat and repetitive beats. If you have never experienced The World, it's unlikely that Last Recode will pull you in. For those that never wanted to log out, it's a decent way to reconnect.

Featuring improved graphics and more polished gameplay, .hack//G.U. Last Recode offers a fascinating look back at a classic JRPG series. While repetition can sometimes bog things down, the story and characters will keep you coming back to The World, determined to see Haseo's journey through to the end.

.hack//G.U. Last Recode isn't a bad game, it's just aggressively mediocre. These three games weren't fantastic when they were new and, surprise surprise, they still aren't great now. Repetitive dungeon design, extremely easy combat, and an often nonsensical narrative prove to be this release's greatest weaknesses, holding it back from fulfilling the interesting concept of its premise. Still, if you want the nostalgia trip or for some reason aren't satisfied with the near-bottomless list of more interesting RPGs on the Switch, it may be worth the punt. We'd give this one a light recommendation, then, but would say you're better off picking up the remasters of Final Fantasy XII or Shin Megami Tensei III if you're looking for a worthwhile sixth-generation RPG. If it's specifically the concept of a single player MMO that interests you, then either CrossCode or one of the Xenoblade releases will scratch that itch far better.

An excellent remastered collection that fixes many shortcomings of the original three PS2 RPGs.

You're getting a lot of game for your buck, and a great story to boot, but be prepared for some repetition.

The .hack//G.U. Last Recode remaster is a more than worthy way to experience the original PlayStation 2 releases, offering several enhancements which improve the experience considerably and a real closure with the new Reconnection volume. The enhancements, however, do little to improve the stiffness of the experience, the repetitive dungeon design, and the slow story pace, making .hack//G.U. Last Recode a must buy only for fans of the series. Newcomers, however, may still find something to like in the games, as the story, albeit slowly paced, is quite interesting, and the world well fleshed out.

At the end of the day, if you can put up with all of the baggage, and there's a lot of it, you'll find a world worth venturing.

.hack//G.U. Last Recode is a remaster of PlayStation 2 games... and it shows. The resolution is crisp and razor-sharp, but there is no hiding how basic these character models are. Lead characters fare best, but most NPCs are hopelessly devoid of detail or articulation - typically stuck with frozen expressions, too. On Nintendo Switch, .hack//G.U. Last Recode runs a perfectly stable 30 frames per second. The new bonus chapter is an epilogue where gamers can find out what has happened to all the characters that they have grown attached to. It is a welcome addition and lasts a few hours, but is ultimately unnecessary.

Packaged on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the brand and brought to the hybrid of the House of Kyoto to celebrate the twentieth, .hack//G.U. Last Recode for Nintendo Switch is a good opportunity to relive in portability the epic poem of Haseo and the other Epitaph Users, but also to approach the brand for the first time and rediscover one of the most precious works to bear the signature of the developer CyberConnect2.

.Hack//G.U. Last Recode is a huge walk down memory lane that offers tons of content and replayability. The game does suffer from some repetitive features and a lack of strategic enemies. But overall .Hack//G.U. Last Recode is a great JRPG that feels perfectly suited to the Nintendo Switch.