Recent reviews by MrSidez

Game works just fine. Controller unfortunately needed.

Failure to successfully launch the game and also crash the game results in your sentence being extended.

I still like it as a Creeper World game. There was time put into consideration as a slower paced, more methodical game. Limiting units made every unit worth MORE as rebuilding would be costly. I do agree with some that it almost limits strategy, as after getting that first foothold you can start to push back.
The pixel physics are fantastic, and the zero-gravity/asteroids-with-gravity was pulled off very well. I don't think it as a step back for Creeper World, it's more of a lateral movement. Creeper World 4 may have spoiled the players jumping in with that entry too much and set off expectations. I still recommend this, as the audio is fantastic, I very much enjoyed the story, and am looking forward to what KnuckleCracker has ready for us next time.

Peg

Game is good, story is interesting so far (few missions in), feels like a semi-fresh start for the game series. Runs well, polished (no bugs or connection issues out of the gate), and combat is that of a third-person character action game, with soft-roles you would see in any other MMO-like game. Menus are a tad on the heavy side, and Campaign has two difficulties.

For people interested; look up Havian on YouTube and look at his impressions video. If you bought into the game for the Advanced Access, either you were impressed by the Open Beta to buy in or you were already a fan.

For cosmetics, the co-op quests and boss raids have a chance to drop one of several cosmetics (as in, theres a handful per specific quest/raid) upon completion. There are also cosmetics in campaign missions (they look like the exact same ones in the cash shop so maybe reskins?) that give a bit more replay-ability. You can permanently upgrade characters the more you use them or by spending in-game earned currency on memories. There IS a lot here on display and with a roadmap planned for the next bit, for people invested it will be worth it. My wife says the only gripe in the first few missions is "we don't know whats going on" but believes more story beats will hit when we clear more.

Yes there is a cash slop shop, and it looks like every 30 days, if you run the course of the single-track battle pass, you get enough tickets to get a single set of cosmetics. There is NO gatcha to this. I would even say play the campaign and get all of the cosmetics to show off.
I am a slut for SAO so shelling out enough for me and my wife to get all the cosmetics out of the gate is par for the course, but I ABSOLUTELY understand that those more conscious with their funds will get more value spending elsewhere on a game they enjoy.

TL;DR
If you are a SAO fan, it will be fun.

Jank, but good. Has potential, but currently you are buying into this potential.

Played the demo and got hooked. Bought it outright, got 53/77 achievements on my first run, taking 15.1 hours to complete.
Enjoyed every minute.

Everything on point. First playthrough just shy of 8 hours, getting 80%~ of the achievements along the way. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Worth the asking price. If you are thinking about getting it, go in blind 100%.



== Slight Spoiler ==
The wife and I were discussing about this being in the same universe as SOMA. This being a prequel, with the hole entropy, and this happening decades/centuries prior to SOMA, changing the course of humanity after this game ends and with everything taken into account, wanting to GTFO into space.

compiling shaders
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good but short

Participated in the CBT for NGS. Enjoyed all the content when it dropped in 2021. Waited almost 10 months to jump back in, migrate to Steam, and things are much better. Easier to follow story, side quests, etc.
I will say the story in the normal PSO2 instance is better, but that has all concluded. I suggest getting the monthly sub for a few months and going through the normal PSO2 story, then jumping into PSO2 NGS.