Recent reviews by Batsfine

I'm 20 hours in so far. From what I can tell so far: you don't need to have played the first game to understand this one.

OT2 has vastly improved storytelling. In the first game, there were a couple of characters whose stories went nowhere or were boring the whole way through. I've played through (at least) all of the first chapters. Only one of the characters seems like they'll be obnoxious to follow. Anyway.

The day and night mechanics, along with the passives add a lot to combat and exploration. It's nice to see all of the characters with versatile actions -as opposed to the first game, which felt like (maybe) 3 of the path actions were unique to a single character, I loved Octo 1, but 2 blows it out of the water in every way other than OST.

The job license system is an interesting addition. I wasn't expecting to have the option to make all four party members the same class.

It's a challenging game. Being unable to save manually in a normal difficulty playthrough is kind of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ though. I appreciate that the cheats are only accessible in easy and free play mode.

KP is really good at misleading you if you're not paying attention. Even after collecting a lot of titles and saving for the best accessories, it's still a struggle to get through a normal playthrough. Don't let the game goad you into jumping headlong into normal or prisoner difficulty. Get your feet wet in easy mode.

Getting through ARR was a slog, but the rest of the game is worth it. Up until FFXIV, I couldn't find an MMO that I enjoyed. The community is great and the free companies are helpful!

This is the first shooter I've enjoyed and it's a fun co-op game. Highly recommended.

This game is Stardew, but so much better. I feel like I never run out of things to do and the skill trees are robust. There's so many NPCs that it feels like a legit town. I like being able to use a crossbow without running out of arrows. I like being able to do farming activities without losing stamina. But most of all, I love being able to play a lamia. If you felt like Stardew was lacking, this game makes up for it in spades.

I'm enjoying this so far. I love the combat system, even though they wait mode trips me up occasionally. I hope they implement something similar in a future game. Being able to warp to attack is so much fun. It's also great that your party feels like an actual team in every sense. Mechanically and historically. The skill tree is a lot of fun to play with. After watching a lot of review videos, I didn't think I'd like this at all. I'm glad that I gave it a chance. It's so much fun!

Update:
I'm 40 hours in and still hooked. I killed a turtle kaiju using a holy ring... 4 times. I'll probably kill it again. I'm at the very end of the game and I'm sure that I'm almost at the point of no return if I continue the story.

I've completed Episodes Gladio and Ignis. Gladio DLC was meh, but had good unlockables. Ignis' DLC is well-paced and so much fun to play. Though I see people saying that you should play the characters' DLCs when they leave the party- but please save Ignis' second route until after you beat the game. There's a big spoiler in there and it's easy to avoid if you can resist indulging your curiosity.

Lastly, FFXV has my new favorite villain in the franchise. I've been holding off on deep-diving story-beats because I like the way the game has unfolded reveals thus far. I have never felt so excited to engage with spin-off content.

I will likely update this after I've completed the main game and the other two DLCs.

Edit: I beat the main game. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ this was a ride. As soon as I'm done with the DLCs, I'm heading straight into New Game+

Please balance the audio properly. Jump scares shouldn't cause damage to my ears.

I've played for 4 and a half hours and have made only 30 mins worth of progress.

If you want to play a challenging management sim, you'll likely enjoy this.

This game is so much fun! It's like Stardew Valley, with business management, minus combat. At least, if there is combat, I haven't done it yet.

I like that I can adjust the difficulty of days that I choose to run the tavern. If you only feel like dealing with one table, just remove the others or the chairs.

Resources renew reliably, but you still need to be mindful. You can make this game as hectic as you want to.