I mainly play this game for the gameplay and the well-thought-out USA and Japan vs China geopolitics, not so much the mind corruption this game is known for. Overall, this is a BORDERLINE thumbs up game, and I stress the borderline part. I’ll back this up using a quick summary highlighting the good and bad parts of the game.

And considering this is a free-to-play gacha game, I’ll briefly review the F2P system. It’s pretty good, but if you use cash it becomes predatory:

- Seasons fly by slightly quicker than usual, forcing you to make the decision between non-stop grinding, pay the high price that you will regret in the long term or just focus on something else.
- Gems, the in-game currency, are relatively easy to collect, but it’s best to use them to unlock characters and AP potions than using it on a limited-time gacha that you’ll eventually need to pay in cash if you run out.
- Grinding for XP and materials isn’t efficient, even when you increase the rewards to the max. The game will make every opportunity to let you know you can pay to get through the game quicker.
- And because of the above, the crafting facility and even the XP and skill facility is your friend for the long-term! Fortunately, you can use the characters that have been assigned to these later facilities!
- Your characters can be equipped with three skill slots, which gets the job done! However, if you like the additional 4th skill you need to pay a monthly fee which will add up if you’re not careful (as of this post, it’s $30 per month.).
- There is also one of the most awkwardly implemented auto-battle mode in the form of Arena battles. Not recommended unless you like grinding for PvP stuff.
- Speaking of which, there’s a Tower mode for the endgame-seekers out there.

With as much as I can say about the F2P system, here is my quick rundown!

THE GOOD:
- Does a great job replicating the classic, arcade-y 3D hack-and-slash games from the 5th generation console era.
- Good variety of weapons, supporters and upgrades to choose from.
- You can try out the characters and their skills to see if they fit your playstyle before you unlock them.
- Even when you assigned your character to a training facility, you can use said character for your missions!
- Admittedly, the character models are very well done, albeit most character models are not proportioned correctly.
- The free to play system is pretty good…

THE BAD:
- …until you decide to use cash, from which it jumps to predatory (see above for some details!).
- Grinding for materials and XP is not efficient, even when you increase the rewards to 500%.
- Similar to above, you need to significantly level up your characters in order for them to be good, especially for characters like Emily, Murasaki and Kurenai. Otherwise, expect yourself to mash the attack button for 1 - 5 minutes on one enemy ad nauseam until you have the materials you need.
- Another hallmark of 3D games from the 5th generation console era is the awkward camera that may or may not move depending on where your character is positioned. You can’t even switch targets, which is annoying in the long-term.

THE MIXED:
- Story mode dialogue is immersive, albeit too much so to the point where it’s 5 or so lines too many. Fortunately, it is skippable, but some parts of the dialogue seriously need to be streamlined!
- The crafting facility and even the XP and skill facility is your friend for the long-term!
- PvP seekers can experience tower mode, as well as the awkwardly-implemented auto-battle mode next to it!


TL;DR - If you don’t like any form of mind corrupting visuals and predatory cash systems, avoid this gacha game like a plague! If you can resist the temptations and enjoy the simplistic, yet arcade-y gameplay, well-thought-out geopolitics and the fact you can use your characters after assigning them to a training facility, this can be on your “Maybe” list. Expect yourself to grind the living daylights just to get characters to be good fighters.

The “other” TL;DR - “I think Murasaki is a pretty cool gal. Seh cats dimoons and dosn’t afiad of anyting!”

I mainly play this game for the gameplay and the well-thought-out USA and Japan vs China geopolitics, not so much the mind corruption this game is known for. Overall, this is a [b]BORDERLINE[/b] thumbs up game, and I stress the borderline part. I’ll back this up using a quick summary highlighting the good and bad parts of the game. And considering this is a free-to-play gacha game, I’ll briefly review the F2P system. It’s pretty good, but if you use cash it becomes predatory: - Seasons fly by slightly quicker than usual, forcing you to make the decision between non-stop grinding, pay the high price that you will regret in the long term or just focus on something else. - Gems, the in-game currency, are relatively easy to collect, but it’s best to use them to unlock characters and AP potions than using it on a limited-time gacha that you’ll eventually need to pay in cash if you run out. - Grinding for XP and materials isn’t efficient, even when you increase the rewards to the max. The game will make every opportunity to let you know you can pay to get through the game quicker. - And because of the above, the crafting facility and even the XP and skill facility is your friend for the long-term! Fortunately, you can use the characters that have been assigned to these later facilities! - Your characters can be equipped with three skill slots, which gets the job done! However, if you like the additional 4th skill you need to pay a monthly fee which will add up if you’re not careful (as of this post, it’s $30 per month.). - There is also one of the most awkwardly implemented auto-battle mode in the form of Arena battles. Not recommended unless you like grinding for PvP stuff. - Speaking of which, there’s a Tower mode for the endgame-seekers out there. With as much as I can say about the F2P system, here is my quick rundown! [u]THE GOOD[/u]: - Does a great job replicating the classic, arcade-y 3D hack-and-slash games from the 5th generation console era. - Good variety of weapons, supporters and upgrades to choose from. - You can try out the characters and their skills to see if they fit your playstyle before you unlock them. - Even when you assigned your character to a training facility, you can use said character for your missions! - Admittedly, the character models are very well done, albeit most character models are not proportioned correctly. - The free to play system is pretty good… [u]THE BAD[/u]: - …until you decide to use cash, from which it jumps to predatory (see above for some details!). - Grinding for materials and XP is not efficient, even when you increase the rewards to 500%. - Similar to above, you need to significantly level up your characters in order for them to be good, especially for characters like Emily, Murasaki and Kurenai. Otherwise, expect yourself to mash the attack button for 1 - 5 minutes on one enemy ad nauseam until you have the materials you need. - Another hallmark of 3D games from the 5th generation console era is the awkward camera that may or may not move depending on where your character is positioned. You can’t even switch targets, which is annoying in the long-term. [u]THE MIXED[/u]: - Story mode dialogue is immersive, albeit too much so to the point where it’s 5 or so lines too many. Fortunately, it is skippable, but some parts of the dialogue seriously need to be streamlined! - The crafting facility and even the XP and skill facility is your friend for the long-term! - PvP seekers can experience tower mode, as well as the awkwardly-implemented auto-battle mode next to it! [b]TL;DR[/b] - If you don’t like any form of mind corrupting visuals and predatory cash systems, avoid this gacha game like a plague! If you can resist the temptations and enjoy the simplistic, yet arcade-y gameplay, well-thought-out geopolitics and the fact you can use your characters after assigning them to a training facility, this can be on your “Maybe” list. Expect yourself to grind the living daylights just to get characters to be good fighters. [b]The “other” TL;DR[/b] - “I think Murasaki is a pretty cool gal. Seh cats dimoons and dosn’t afiad of anyting!”