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LTTP 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Update: DONE)

(Late to the party)
big lantern ghost

big lantern ghost

cantstandya
Moderator
Pronouns
he/him

🚨No spoilers, please! Conversely, this post openly covers my first few hours with the game. So reader discretion is advised!🚨​

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I love it when a story zigs when you thought it would zag. So the effusive praise for 13 Sentinels — along with the insistence from its adherents that you shouldn’t know a thing about it going in — started to catch my interest, to say the least! While looking through the eShop a few weeks ago, I saw the game and it hit me like a bolt of lightning: it was time. I downloaded it and have been playing in the early mornings, when I’m the only one up at my house. It’s been awesome so far.

The further I get the more I realize there is no way I am remotely correct about any of my suppositions, but here goes my best explanation of what’s happening so far. It would appear that the cast — high school students each living in the same area of Japan but at different points in time — are all being somehow transported to the same far-flung future. There, humanity is fighting — and losing — a war against invading kaiju with their large mechs, called Sentinels.

This game has so far surprised me about once every ten minutes, though. Already it has complicated well beyond even all that. A character across several timelines seems to be drugging at least some of the protagonists to an unknown end. Others appear to be hunted by Men in Black. There is also a talking cat who claims to be the key to stopping the kaiju once and for all…

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13 Sentinels’ unwavering confidence in unpacking its strange world has sucked me in completely, to the point where I feel assured that even the more bizarre details will eventually slide into focus. For example: for some reason, everyone pilots their Sentinel in the nude. In the prologue battle that teaches you about repairing them, a pilot is ejected and their portrait is immediately clothed! Once it repairs and they hop back in, bam. Naked. I’m not being droll either; after spending a couple of hours with 13 Sentinels, I am positive there will be some explanation why this is.

It will be a very interesting trip to that revelation and beyond, at the very least. It’s a testament to Vanillaware that they designed a complex narrative structure that doesn’t feel daunting. There is also a great codex, if you need to bone up on some things. Terrific VO and gorgeous painterly visuals seal the deal. There is no room to be anything but compelled by this game. And I haven’t even mentioned the combat! Let’s save that for next time.

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If you haven’t played 13 Sentinels and this all sounds a bit wild, check this shit out: I’m like 3-4 hours into this thing. How Long To Beat says it’s ~30-35 hours to finish. The only thing I do know is that I am absolutely ready to have my mind freaked for the remaining 90% of this game.

I’ll check in again when I’m about halfway.
 
It has some issues for sure with pacing in parts, but I played it three times so far and love it a lot!

Hope you stick with it and enjoy. I don't want to say more because the less you know of this the better when playing.
 
I normally have no interest in either visual novels/point and click type stuff or RTS games, but 13 Sentinels was one of the best gaming experiences I had last year.
From its labyrinthine sci-fi love letter of a story, to its lovely art, to its accessible tactical combat, to its phenomenal soundtrack, it's an unique and unforgettable gem.
 
I only wish I could play it again fresh, you're in for quite the ride OP. One bit of advice is to mix up doing the battle segments with the story segments - at times I got so hooked on the story I had to do a bunch of battles in a row to progress.
 
This is definitely on top of my to-buy list. I'm a huge fan of sci-fi and anime and this is apparently one of the cream of the crop. I've just been waiting for a good sale to get it.
 
This game was something else. Have fun and enjoy the ride OP cause games like this don't come often.
 
Super fun to see you liking it so far! Indeed a masterwork in narrative execution. I can only say three words at this point:

Enjoy. The. Ride.
 
This is an incredible game, and I encourage anybody on the fence to give it a chance.

Every time I thought I had figured something out the game surprised me, all the way through to the end.

I also ended up loving the battle sections, which I assumed I would have to slog through. Instead there were times when I ran out of battles even though I wanted to keep playing those.
 
I really want to return to this, but I am afraid I will be lost and have no clue on what's going on since I havnt played it for like 10 months..
Should probably just restart it, because I enjoyed it but wasnt in the mood for this kind of game at the time.
 
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Such an engrossing game, great characters and even the combat is at least interesting and decent even if it’s not the main draw.

I don’t know if there’s a record for “plot twists per minute” in a video game but this game has to be way up there.
 
SammyJ9 said:
Such an engrossing game, great characters and even the combat is at least interesting and decent even if it’s not the main draw.

I don’t know if there’s a record for “plot twists per minute” in a video game but this game has to be way up there.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, if you figure out one of the bigger twists early like I did, the whole thing becomes kind of a slog because they spend hundreds of millions of years building up to the twist I already figured out.
 
MSnap said:
Unfortunately, if you figure out one of the bigger twists early like I did, the whole thing becomes kind of a slog because they spend hundreds of millions of years building up to the twist I already figured out.
Click to expand...
Which one? I can think of a few but I’m curious, if you want to spoiler tag it.
 
SammyJ9 said:
Which one? I can think of a few but I’m curious, if you want to spoiler tag it.
Click to expand...
I figured out how the time travel worked as soon as they started referring to the periods as sectors. Sector refers to a location rather than a time period, so all the revelations about how they were crossing over, and the timeline itself were wasted. The whole thing ended up being pretty predictable after that.

I apologize if this isn’t the proper way to tag it. I don’t really know how to do the other way.
 
MSnap said:
I figured out how the time travel worked as soon as they started referring to the periods as sectors. Sector refers to a location rather than a time period, so all the revelations about how they were crossing over, and the timeline itself were wasted. The whole thing ended up being pretty predictable after that.

I apologize if this isn’t the proper way to tag it. I don’t really know how to do the other way.
Click to expand...
I figured this out too, but that just made me more interested because as you keep playing, it becomes apparent there is more than one form of time and chronology fuckery involved and I was trying to figure out how it would all come together.

Once it does, it's amazing.
 
I'd go so far as to say this has one of the best stories of any game I've played.

It's not Citizen Kane or anything, but the sheer number of moving parts, the way they all come together as the narrative unfolds like an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine, the endearing characters, and the way it fits a twist worthy of the climax of most plots into almost every chapter makes it insanely entertaining, to the point where every time I finished a chapter all I wanted was to dive headfirst into the next one.

As a big science fiction fan, I also adored how it paid loving homage to everything from Star Trek to Godzilla to War of the Worlds, yet never in a way that felt tacky or derivative.
 
SammyJ9 said:
Which one? I can think of a few but I’m curious, if you want to spoiler tag it.
Click to expand...
For me, the main twist (
VR/Matrix/dream
) was beyond trite and an automatic prediction in any sort of mystery box scenario. IMO, any piece of fiction that relies on it as a reveal has to do something outstanding and novel to fall flat on its face, but 13 Sentinels just uses it to write off all the earlier unresolved/poorly resolved threads.
That all the over sexualization female characters turn into happy baby-making machines is the dog turd on top.
 
em said:
For me, the main twist (
VR/Matrix/dream
) was beyond trite and an automatic prediction in any sort of mystery box scenario. IMO, any piece of fiction that relies on it as a reveal has to do something outstanding and novel to fall flat on its face, but 13 Sentinels just uses it to write off all the earlier unresolved/poorly resolved threads.
That all the over sexualization female characters turn into happy baby-making machines is the dog turd on top.
Click to expand...
Eh, big disagree there. I admit I was slightly disappointed at first by that reveal, but it certainly didn't kill the game for me at all. Everything in the game works so well and is still consistent, really it's all about the journey, and that it 100% nails. And really the more I thought about it and once I got to the actual ending I think it might be my favorite use of the matrix/VR type twist as well, it's really well done IMO.

I also love that it actually finds a way to explain why everyone is naked in their mech right at the very end of the game, lol.
 
em said:
Tfemale characters turn into happy baby-making machines is the dog turd on top.
Click to expand...
Besides reproduction being hardwired into our DNA through billions of years of evolution, the characters are, as far as they know, the last survivors of the human race. Under the circumstances of course they're going to have children.

Admittedly my memory may be off, I don't remember anything about the ending implying the female characters give up on doing anything else with their lives just because they have children.
Countless parents continue to pursue other endeavors. My mother had a successful career and furthered her tertiary education after I was born.
 
🚨No spoilers, please! Conversely, this post openly covers my first dozen or so hours with the game. So reader discretion is advised!🚨
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52% / 42% / 25%​

Is there a word for that sensation when you feel like you understand something well internally, but trying to communicate it to others feels impossible? Like you took an Intro to Philosophy class and had a great time, but then somebody asked you to teach a philosophy class. You get it in your own mind, but you can’t do it justice just yet.

Ahem. Pondering this for no particular reason.

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I’m 14 hours into the game now. A few things are starting to coalesce…although every revelation brings two new questions with it! The notes I’m keeping in my phone while I play 13 Sentinels look like the ramblings of a madman, lists of contradictory crackpot theories I am formulating from scene to scene before eventually clearing 90% of it out and building up again.

In the last few hours it’s been implied that maybe everyone is stuck in a time loop, trying to prevent the Deimos from invading and starting over in a new timeline when they fail. Several characters seem like older versions of the pilots (it really seems like Amaguchi is Ida, for example). Maybe the adult versions are trying to help their younger selves? Or stop them?

Butttttt maybe everyone is an android, too. Are the pills to disconnect a person’s conscious to be transferred into an android ? Or maybe we’re talking loops a la The Matrix, redos of a simulation. But if that’s true why simulate…all this? To what end? The dialogue at the ends of battles is starting to get fishy. Is the last city even real? Are there even any humans left?! Who am I shouting at!

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I love the decision to have the order of progression be largely up to the player. It adds a whole new depth to the mystery of it all, knowing each way forward is littered with profound truths and tantalizing missing pieces. It must be said again, with more and more gusto the further I get in this game: it is seriously astounding that Vanillaware was able to not only assemble this story and have a large number of variables in how you take it in, but to have it make so much sense moment to moment. It’s hard for me to imagine things being unveiled in a different order to how my run has shook out so far.

Again, it’s hard to really say too much about the story because whatever tip I’m on now will assuredly be wrong a couple of scenes from now. Everyone has something exciting going on and because everyone is becoming increasingly interconnected, it’s hard to choose a favourite character!

Let’s talk about combat, which I have now done quite a bit more of. It was without a doubt my main reason for putting off playing 13 Sentinels for so long. I played a lot of RTS games growing up but fell out with them; they straight up give me the brain scramblies now.

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It really plays more like tower defence than the games that may come to mind when you think RTS, with a dash of ATBs. For moments a battle will play out in real time, but any time one of your characters is ready to act — which is often! — the action is completely halted while you choose what to do.

With frequent pauses to thoughtfully choose what to do next — while still leaning into the importance of positioning to both deal and avoid damage — combat feels tactical with a pleasantly hectic undercurrent. The game also does a great job of unpacking what you need to know without it ever feeling like you’re slogging through a tutorial. I really was expecting to have to scrape by in the Destruction segments, but I kind of love them!

Alright. Next time I’m back, I’ll have finished 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. My mind is already thoroughly freaked and has many more freakings to come, I’m certain. Until then…

…
..
.








HEMBORGER
 
Wrapped up my playthrough. Still extremely positive on it overall, but the lapses in the story at the end are hard to ignore. The broad strokes all click brilliantly well, which is really impressive considering how much is going on, but the story rushes so quickly to its conclusion that it gets a bit disorienting at the end. Certain plot threads are dropped completely, while others are resolved offscreen. A bit of a disappointment, given how comprehensive the story is through the first 75% or so.

Combat clicked with me quite a bit more this time around though, which I very much enjoyed.
 
I'm most impressed that for how convoluted the story seems at the time, you basically understand everything perfectly by the end.
 
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