Its an incredible game but not for everyone. I’ve been saying for a while that a game for everyone is a game for no one. These guys picked a specific genre and set out to tell an interesting/artistic story with a very specific vision and IMO they hit a grand slam/it is executed very well. If you bounced off it thats completely fine, not everyone is looking for what this game has to offer. It just happened to really click with me.

It depends on how much you like QTE gameplay and turn based JRPGs. If neither appeals to you, then the refund was a great idea. If one or the other appeals to you, then I think it’s worth sitting through because both gameplay mechanics are executed well enough and the narrative is good. If both appeal to you then you’ve missed out in getting a refund.

I really enjoyed this game. The gameplay is intuitive, but challenging; the narrative is engaging; the soundtrack is incredible.

The gameplay itself is just “okay”. Turn based JRPG combat with some QTE not much different from Super Mario RPG on the SNES.

I think the attention it has received is based on how well they tie together the quality of storytelling, dialogue, art direction, music, and the universal theme that resonates with everyone:

It’s an interactive cinematic experience that had me in emotional shambles multiple times throughout the playthrough.

If you’re dead inside like me and desperate to feel anything, it’ll do it for you :>

I don’t blame you at all. It’s styled after the old final fantasy games, meaning very fiddly with a lot of different abilities, and with the added twist of having to dodge stuff fairly precisely which involves a lot of learning. There is a “story” difficulty which makes the game much less punishing, but I still didn’t feel like playing it.

I did watch my girlfriend play though, and soon I was the one telling her to play so I could watch because the story and soundtrack are that fucking amazing. Just watch a playthrough of at least all the major fights and cutscenes and you’ll understand.

Like you I could not get into it, but I gave it the old college try. Got about eight hours in and can’t get a refund now.

Nah, if it didnt hook you in the beginning nothing would happen later to change that. Good story, acting, visuals, but combat gets repetitive and needed something more to shake it up.

You didn’t really offer any insight as to why you moved on…

It’s a quite enjoyable game, though some elements grew old towards the end. The visual design and music is also amazing. Unfortunately they dropped the ball on the ending a little, and it is very likely that this is the result of a flubbed rewrite, as there are certain hints within the game that imply very strongly that at least at some point things were clearly meant to be more complicated. The version of the ending we got has a very clear message as to what the writers intended to be the right choice.

I had a similar experience. I’d honestly prefer boring turn based combat to the ridiculous QTEs in the game.

The story was extremely well-told. Great voice acting and production value. But the actual plot didn’t hook me. It just seemed so arbitrary. I don’t know if there’s some big reveal or anything that makes it make sense.

I only played it on Game Pass, so luckily I’m not out any money. I would have given it another chance eventually, but the Game Pass price hike made me cancel.