Walaweeee, I think this game is one of the best JRPG's games I have ever played.
At first I thought that this game would be very boring.
It turns out I was wrong, after several hours playing this game I finally realized this game almost perfect for a JRPG's game (I have played this game for 20 hours in steam offline mode).

I regret, I regret that I didn't buy this game at the launching date.

If you want to ask something to me about this game, you can DM me on IG (@wildanreska).
Feel free to ask, I will give my opinion about this game in detail.

Definitely one of those times I feel like Steam should have a middle ground between "recommended" and "not recommended."

On the one hand, everything about this game at first glance looks awesome, the music, the combat system, the visuals, but it's once you actually get to playing the game itself that the issues come into play. There's several characters where I don't even know what their part in the story really is because it's not properly explained, and a lot of the world building falls apart after you think about it for more than 5 seconds.

A big issue for me is that the game is based around this sort of Devil May Cry-esque combat system, but the system is so shallow that once you hit the halfway point, it just feels too damn repetitive, you'll just be spamming the same 2 or 3 combos over and over, only occasionally broken up by skill usage.

Also the side-quests are probably some of the worst I've ever seen in an RPG, they hardly qualify as side-quests and are basically just combat challenges.

The worst thing for me though is that it really feels like the game doesn't earn the whole 2 campaign system it's based around, they are all based around the same locations (with the exception of Yuito having one unique dungeon that Kasane doesn't have,) They could've easily just merged the 2 campaigns and had you swapping between Kasane and Yuito. At most, the only thing that would change is that the shock of certain revelations from playing as Yuito and hearing things from Kasane might be lessened, but honestly, I feel that'd be worth it to halve the runtime in a game that is already a little too repetitive for my liking.

Overall, it's an alright game, a 6.5/10, I got all the achievements and would gladly play a sequel if one were to launch, but not worth full retail price, definitely buy on sale if you are still interested.

10/10 Get on sale.

best game ever

Me: Mom, can we buy Astral Chain?
Mom: We already have Astral Chain at home.
Astral Chain at home:

This game is hot trash. The half decent combat gets marred into this dumb animé-fication that BAMCO is so obsessed about in all their games. VA is annoying, character design is atrocious, all lazy tropes you can think of are here.

Quite the game right here, at the time of typing this i only finished one of the main campaigns, and i loved it, the combat is crisp and refreshing, the characters are well developed and lovable, the enemies are cool and spooky, the boss fights are surreal and the game runs very well, i would call it a masterpiece.

Great story, polished combat (although sometimes makes no sense what happens but I loved those parts the most). Both protags has a different and distinguishable style that could be loved. Powers were okay, and you could make sick combos and counters/saves with the various and unique ones (lets be honest, telekinesis and pyromance are not that rare. :D).

Nice that you can play the story from the perspective of both protagonists and they are slightly different depending who are you playing with. Sidequests can be boring and repetitive, especially the ones where you have to farm X item from Y monster, and the droprates are lower than I can count on one hand. Also, if you want the full experience and play both stories, it can be boring towards the end of your second playthrough.

Zones and Enemies are various, but since it is mostly a poist apocalyptic setting, they are quite similar as well, which adds to the atmosphere of the game.

Overall I did enjoy it, and most likely will play it again, or would play a sequel of it. Kinda sad that it won't happen, since one of a great thing about Scarlet Nexus is that the game has a starting, a middle, and an ending withouth cliffhangers or questions. At least most of my story realted questions were answered. :D

Fun, kawaii and sometimes weird but that's ok

A masterpiece
I don't even know where to begin with this game. It's been almost 3 years now since it was released and I've genuinely not gone a single week of my life since without thinking about it. The story, the characters, the gameplay, every single one of them are all incredibly enjoyable and have managed to keep my attention throughout these 3 years. Not to mention the incredibly underrated soundtrack and visuals, both of which helped me in my initial decision to purchase the game. I'll be completely honest, it's not perfect by any means(not by a long shot). In fact, I feel as though I have more complaints than the biggest hater of this game. The voice acting for some characters is below average at best(specifically a lack of enthusiasm from english VAs), the predictability and almost forced nature of some gameplay(it seems like they want to tell an amazing story, but sometimes abruptly remember its supposed to be an interactive game), and even the lack of extra cosmetics(there are quite a few but only if the dlc is purchased, and even then its less than 8 outfits each with no sort of customizability), all contribute to the list of issuesI have. I only have so many complaints though, simply because I know exactly what this game has to offer, and I want nothing more for it to be shown in its absolute purest form.
The story of this game. is. without exaggeration. one of the greatest pieces of fiction i've ever experienced. I will admit that when I first played through it, I felt as though the story was poorly paced and too complex to be anything special. That isn't to say I disliked it at all, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, but it kind of felt like “Just another jrpg '' that I was almost forcing myself to like. However, when I finished my first playthrough and moved onto the second route(which was Kasane's story for me) I felt as though everything fell into place. Some may argue that having to play through a story multiple times for it to resonate is poor game design, but I disagree. Without spoiling too much of the game, Knowing the ending and the choices it took to get there is absolutely essential to understanding how unique this game really is. Not to mention, as I said before, I really did not give the game the attention it deserved in respect to the story. Missing out on any element of this story will cause the entire experience to dwindle. Everything, EVERYTHING is important in this game. Too many times in my first playthrough I found myself going “Is this…..supposed to make me feel something?” all because I hadn't been actively understanding the elements that were supposed to be forming connections for me. There's so so much I want to explain about this story but I can’t in good conscience simply because I’d end up spoiling everything. All I can say Is that as you play through this game, never once should you feel as though you can judge a character. The amount of layers and layers and layers each character has, especially HIM(you know who I’m talking about if you've played the game) is astounding, and something I hope is being watched by other game developers.
I was heading into my junior year of high school when this game came out, now I’m heading into my sophomore year of college. I’ve had a lot of time to change and mature as a person, and knowing that I decided I wanted to play through this game again. Everything about it was just as perfect as I had remembered. The character’s routes and bond episodes were wonderfully constructed; the story is the most elaborate and heart-wrenching spectre I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing, and most importantly the gameplay itself was still incredibly fun. The ending made me cry, and while I wish the dlc wasn't hidden behind a paywall, It's absolutely essential to experiencing all the story has to offer.
It's important to note that this game did not have a high budget, not by a long shot, and yet it still sold remarkably well. That low budget definitely contributed to why a few of the game’s most riveting and important moments were reserved to DLC instead of being put out initially. I’m sure if it was even given half the budget a game like nier or FF7 had, it would have been a top seller(especially considering it nearly outsold Tales of arise, the game for which its leftover budget was taken from). I can't really fault it for leaving certain parts out due to budget constraints because of this, but again this story NEEDS the dlc to feel absolutely complete.
I know this has been a long review(the only review I’ve ever written in fact) but it really exhibits just how passionate I am about this game. Just give it a chance, it's regularly on sale and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Also Hanabi best girl— I called dibs 3 years ago.