this game has changed my life, broken me down on a molecular level, and then vacuumed up my remains and launched them into space. 10/10

EDIT: since playing the game for the third time i figured a proper review was in order. These are my (albiet still biased) thoughts about the game after 60+ hours.

GAMEPLAY:
The core gameplay is very unique and takes (in my opinion) the best parts from several combat systems from games like Valkrie Profile and FFXIII. Of course, YMMV here, I know many people who couldnt grasp the system and it really turned them off from the game, but I personally found it to be at the very least VERY enjoyable and satisfying. Once you really come to understand the system it makes it very fun to see how quickly you can beat a tough encounter. It leads to the perfect amount of unobtrusiveness for the system of switching between dialogue and combat.

The battle system is a bit unintuitive, with lots of intricacies that arent very well explained (even with the help menu added post-launch), but alot of the dynamics at play lead to an incredible amount of depth by the time you get to the endgame or postgame DLC. Elements feel like they add something by making it so you have to work around elements that heal the enemy which could potentially threaten your chain but this ends up kindof getting dropped by the endgame because the game gives you far too many options either through the nuclear element or the typeless abilities that it makes the system only really relevant for act 2 and MAYBE 3. The enemy variety ABSOLUTELY makes up for this though. Not only are their designs interesting and varied but their ABILITIES make for some really interesting dynamics in battle that are showed off best in the side quests which are pre-made battle scenarios often with unique rewards.

That being said, this system is FAR from perfect, especially if its played on Devil Clock.
The game has some serious balancing issues where once you find the winning strategy (usually a combination of abilities like rust, slow, and fix-point or the DLC ability guard-break) a fight that used to give you alot of trouble can be made into a cakewalk, wherein the enemy is stuck for half the fight not being able to do anything while you chip away at them, and even when they get the opportunity to strike, theyre doing reduced damage. Adding a limit to items used in battle was an improvement, but it feels more like a bandaid when multiple abilities clearly need a full rework. I should not be able to completely shut down the final boss of the dlc with minimal effort while doing multiplied damage to it just because i can keep a chain of 11+.

Speaking of Devil Clock (and Devil Cards, its DLC2 Equivalent) i feel that while it DOES add a bit more depth to certain battles (chain only, reflect, endless all being modifiers that require you to at least SOMEWHAT change up how you play), it fails in a few ways to make the game actually harder. And even more, in failing to properly add risk to what is posed as a risk/reward system, it has gives the player WAY too much money for hardly any more effort, leading to a complete excess of money and medals by the end of an act. If i wasnt going for all road stories on 2 of my playthroughs(both of which were on devil clock) then i would have been max rank for the act BEFORE I EVEN STARTED IT.


DLC2’s Devil Cards system tries (and in my opinion, doesnt really succeed) to add more complexity to the system by (by admission of the game’s developer) asking the question of, “what if... it was better to kill the WRONG enemy first?” and while I do appreciate the addition of SOMETHING to add more complexity to the system it kinda. Doesnt work???? There was never a time in DLC2 where i actually had to think about taking out enemies in a way that deviated from the order i did in the base game. I just ended up working around the modifiers bc they still never did anything past “just play the game better”

I think that adding more brutal modifiers and the ability to add more than 2 modifiers at a time would heavily help here. Aswell as nerfing the effectiveness of slow and rust (maybe through modifiers that disable them???). Also, offering the ability to toggle off the extra rewards from using it would be nice. I can respect the risk/reward system theyre trying here but when i want to do a harder run the option to make the game even slightly harder without self imposed restrictions would be much appreciated. Especially when i know im not doing everything i *could* be doing to break the game.

All things considered: while i certainly have my gripes with the system and ESPECIALLY with its difficulty, i still found it at least fun enough to keep playing the game multiple times over. There IS depth if you look for it its just. The game kinda loops back around to being dead simple once you know the ins and outs of how to make good setups. Except for the sidequests. Those were STELLAR. Shout out erox quest shout out healing circle jerk shout out evil militia.

WRITING/STORY:

GITCL’s story kindof has 2 halves. The actual plot of the game and the road stories.

The story’s main plot is INCREDIBLY well written, with both tons of REALLY impactful moments and alot of genuinely really funny dialogue. Alot of the joy of especially the first 2 acts comes in watching the banter between the main party. The game also has ALOT of very good social commentary on the state of modern politics and just. Existing as an lgbt person in the year of our lord. I personally found it VERY impactful for reasons that probably say a bit too much about myself but i genuinely think that no matter what the game IS worth playing just for its story alone.

As for the road stories, they encompass both really fun short stories and some INCREDIBLE world building. Finally going out of my way to get all of them on my most recent playthrough was DELIGHTFUL because they hold SO MUCH interesting detail(and foreshadowing!) about this world that ive grown to love. I highly recommend going through them if you get the chance. They shine just as brightly as the main story.

PRESENTATION:
Idk what to say here other than it rocks??? Just REALLY stylish all around. Genuinely on par with stuff like the Persona series and DanganronpaV3. All the animations are super clean and punchy, the menu’s (while clunky to control, esp on keyboard) are all really nice and clean, and every faucet of the game just OOZES charm.

The music is also AMAZING. Composed by Christa Lee (LOCALHOST, Celeste B-Sides, original work) and with vocals by Jami Lynne(OMORI, clover&sealife) almost every theme is just a jam and a HALF. its very good. I still loop Blood Sorrow and Bile from time to time.

WRAP-UP:

While pretty flawed in some parts, GITCL is still a STELLAR game, and one of my favorites of all time. I think its amazing story more than makes up for whatever issues it may have. You sincerely owe it to yourself to play it. Go on a lesbian roadtrip to punch nazi’s and kill the devil. Do it.

this game has changed my life, broken me down on a molecular level, and then vacuumed up my remains and launched them into space. 10/10 EDIT: since playing the game for the third time i figured a proper review was in order. These are my (albiet still biased) thoughts about the game after 60+ hours. GAMEPLAY: The core gameplay is very unique and takes (in my opinion) the best parts from several combat systems from games like Valkrie Profile and FFXIII. Of course, YMMV here, I know many people who couldnt grasp the system and it really turned them off from the game, but I personally found it to be at the very least VERY enjoyable and satisfying. Once you really come to understand the system it makes it very fun to see how quickly you can beat a tough encounter. It leads to the perfect amount of unobtrusiveness for the system of switching between dialogue and combat. The battle system is a bit unintuitive, with lots of intricacies that arent very well explained (even with the help menu added post-launch), but alot of the dynamics at play lead to an incredible amount of depth by the time you get to the endgame or postgame DLC. Elements feel like they add something by making it so you have to work around elements that heal the enemy which could potentially threaten your chain but this ends up kindof getting dropped by the endgame because the game gives you far too many options either through the nuclear element or the typeless abilities that it makes the system only really relevant for act 2 and MAYBE 3. The enemy variety ABSOLUTELY makes up for this though. Not only are their designs interesting and varied but their ABILITIES make for some really interesting dynamics in battle that are showed off best in the side quests which are pre-made battle scenarios often with unique rewards. That being said, this system is FAR from perfect, especially if its played on Devil Clock. The game has some serious balancing issues where once you find the winning strategy (usually a combination of abilities like rust, slow, and fix-point or the DLC ability guard-break) a fight that used to give you alot of trouble can be made into a cakewalk, wherein the enemy is stuck for half the fight not being able to do anything while you chip away at them, and even when they get the opportunity to strike, theyre doing reduced damage. Adding a limit to items used in battle was an improvement, but it feels more like a bandaid when multiple abilities clearly need a full rework. I should not be able to completely shut down the final boss of the dlc with minimal effort while doing multiplied damage to it just because i can keep a chain of 11+. Speaking of Devil Clock (and Devil Cards, its DLC2 Equivalent) i feel that while it DOES add a bit more depth to certain battles (chain only, reflect, endless all being modifiers that require you to at least SOMEWHAT change up how you play), it fails in a few ways to make the game actually harder. And even more, in failing to properly add risk to what is posed as a risk/reward system, it has gives the player WAY too much money for hardly any more effort, leading to a complete excess of money and medals by the end of an act. If i wasnt going for all road stories on 2 of my playthroughs(both of which were on devil clock) then i would have been max rank for the act BEFORE I EVEN STARTED IT. DLC2’s Devil Cards system tries (and in my opinion, doesnt really succeed) to add more complexity to the system by (by admission of the game’s developer) asking the question of, “what if... it was better to kill the WRONG enemy first?” and while I do appreciate the addition of SOMETHING to add more complexity to the system it kinda. Doesnt work???? There was never a time in DLC2 where i actually had to think about taking out enemies in a way that deviated from the order i did in the base game. I just ended up working around the modifiers bc they still never did anything past “just play the game better” I think that adding more brutal modifiers and the ability to add more than 2 modifiers at a time would heavily help here. Aswell as nerfing the effectiveness of slow and rust (maybe through modifiers that disable them???). Also, offering the ability to toggle off the extra rewards from using it would be nice. I can respect the risk/reward system theyre trying here but when i want to do a harder run the option to make the game even slightly harder without self imposed restrictions would be much appreciated. Especially when i know im not doing everything i *could* be doing to break the game. All things considered: while i certainly have my gripes with the system and ESPECIALLY with its difficulty, i still found it at least fun enough to keep playing the game multiple times over. There IS depth if you look for it its just. The game kinda loops back around to being dead simple once you know the ins and outs of how to make good setups. Except for the sidequests. Those were STELLAR. Shout out erox quest shout out healing circle jerk shout out evil militia. WRITING/STORY: GITCL’s story kindof has 2 halves. The actual plot of the game and the road stories. The story’s main plot is INCREDIBLY well written, with both tons of REALLY impactful moments and alot of genuinely really funny dialogue. Alot of the joy of especially the first 2 acts comes in watching the banter between the main party. The game also has ALOT of very good social commentary on the state of modern politics and just. Existing as an lgbt person in the year of our lord. I personally found it VERY impactful for reasons that probably say a bit too much about myself but i genuinely think that no matter what the game IS worth playing just for its story alone. As for the road stories, they encompass both really fun short stories and some INCREDIBLE world building. Finally going out of my way to get all of them on my most recent playthrough was DELIGHTFUL because they hold SO MUCH interesting detail(and foreshadowing!) about this world that ive grown to love. I highly recommend going through them if you get the chance. They shine just as brightly as the main story. PRESENTATION: Idk what to say here other than it rocks??? Just REALLY stylish all around. Genuinely on par with stuff like the Persona series and DanganronpaV3. All the animations are super clean and punchy, the menu’s (while clunky to control, esp on keyboard) are all really nice and clean, and every faucet of the game just OOZES charm. The music is also AMAZING. Composed by Christa Lee (LOCALHOST, Celeste B-Sides, original work) and with vocals by Jami Lynne(OMORI, clover&sealife) almost every theme is just a jam and a HALF. its very good. I still loop Blood Sorrow and Bile from time to time. WRAP-UP: While pretty flawed in some parts, GITCL is still a STELLAR game, and one of my favorites of all time. I think its amazing story more than makes up for whatever issues it may have. You sincerely owe it to yourself to play it. Go on a lesbian roadtrip to punch nazi’s and kill the devil. Do it.