Aleks Franiczek
It’s been over 6 years since Vanillaware released 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, and in that time the game has garnered a reputation as one of the great videogame narrative masterpieces of the modern era. Obviously, I had lofty expectations going in. Cue the first scene: a schoolgirl is erotically posed naked in a mech while screaming about her incompetence to a senpai. Was I being punk’d or something?
Fortunately, what unravels from there is often quite interesting and even cleverly subversive. The non-linear format of the 13 fragmented character stories leads to a constant sense of intrigue and I became easily invested. The plot itself is, frankly, a lot of soap opera-like melodrama among layers of convoluted sci-fi ideas. However, the journey through it was consistently compelling and fun despite its silliness.
And while the RTS-style combat portions are simultaneously too simple and complex in parts, they work very well as a second mode alongside the adventure game sections. It’s a shame the game’s creative structure and wild plotline couldn’t leave room for a more meaningful emotional core, but what 13 Sentinels does achieve through its ambition still deserves a lot of credit.
Ben Love
Despite being a huge fan of Vanillaware’s games, I put off playing 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim since release. I always knew I would eventually play it, but the more…unsavory aspects of the presentation put me off. While all of Vanillaware’s have some level of ostentatious sexualization, 13 Sentinels appeared to cross a line from eye-rolling but ignorable into truly embarrassing territory.
To some extent, those initial impressions are warranted. The game relies heavily on anime tropes, both the mundane and harmless and the less-than-savory. Yet, after a few hours with the game, those reservations mostly fell away. Instead, the intricate web of narrative threads, the cast of colorful characters, and the compelling mystery tying them all together had me guessing at where things went next.
13 Sentinels managed to surprise me with how the real time strategy segments layered on complexity and mechanics, evolving from perfunctory to truly engaging. The narrative twisted and turned in unexpected directions, delivering some surprisingly heartfelt depictions of queer romance, an examination of how much our identities are due to circumstances and environment rather than genetics, and the impact of trauma and war on those caught in the crossfire. It doesn’t fully stick the landing, but the journey to get there was worth it all the same.
Zach Wilkerson
For the first 25 hours or, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is fabulous—the way the story moves, how the characters and narratives interlock in fascinating ways, and best of all, the way the writers managed to make it all feel coherent and satisfying, regardless of which route you go, is one of the more impressive achievements in video games. I couldn’t wait to find out the next answer or to uncover the next character moment.
But that very narrative presentation which carries the majority of the 13 Sentinels is also what causes the finale to fail for me. The final hours abandon all that for boring exposition, a result that while clever in theory, doesn’t execute other story beats well enough to make it land for me emotionally.
That’s okay, though. I know what yakisoba pan is now, and while I might not like it as much as Hijiyama, it’s downright delicious. Worth the playthrough for that alone.
