The incredible sci-fi mystery 13 Sentinels is a perfect fit for the Switch
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Loading... - David Smith
- 13 Apr 2022
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To enjoy 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is to embrace confusion. The game, which originally launched in 2020 on the PS4, is hard to describe, with gameplay that spans multiple genres and a non-linear storyline that involves everything from time travel to android doppelgängers and only gets weirder from there. It demands a lot from players, but the result is one of my favorite science fiction stories in years — and, unsurprisingly, it’s a great fit for the Switch, with a new version for Nintendo’s tablet that launches today.
For a more detailed rundown, here’s my review from when 13 Sentinels first debuted. But the short version is: the game is a mix of a visual novel and a real-time strategy game, which follows more than a dozen characters across events that span multiple centuries. It’s a narrative that likes to trick you. At first, it seems like a simple classic mech vs. kaiju story, where the RTS portions of the game involve high school students piloting powerful mechs to fight off an invading alien force. These sequences are simple but satisfying as you move characters across a grid to destroy increasingly devious creatures, unlocking new abilities along the way.
Mostly, though, 13 Sentinels is a visual novel where you follow the stories of around a dozen Japanese high school students across a handful of different eras, starting in the 1980s. These play out as side-scrolling vignettes, where you can do a bit of exploration, but mostly, you’re reading / listening to dialogue. It definitely requires some patience. What’s most interesting about the story, though, is its structure. At almost any given moment, you can pick from a handful of different characters’ stories, allowing you to follow the path that seems most interesting to you. The non-linearity made me feel more invested in the story, as if I was investigating different leads to find out just what the heck was going on. 13 Sentinels also introduces a fascinating feature called a thought cloud, which is basically like a video game inventory, except for ideas, adding a dynamic feel to conversations.
13 Sentinels also does an incredible job of slowly revealing itself. While it initially seems like that kaiju invasion story, with a little bit of teen drama thrown in for good measure, eventually becomes a sprawling, complex narrative about, among other things, the future of the entire human race. I won’t spoil any of the big reveals, but it probably took me 10 hours before I had any idea what the game was really about. The way it lays out weird and interesting narrative breadcrumbs helped pull me through that early feeling of being completely lost.
This was all true before, of course, but that structure of bite-sized episodes also makes 13 Sentinels an ideal Switch game. I’ve replayed the first few hours so far, and most of that time has been spent in bed, squeezing in a few more episodes before going to sleep. Each episode lasts maybe 20 to 30 minutes, too, making it easy to play in short bursts. It’s a lot like reading a good book — only one where you have to pause every few chapters to play a quick game of chess. The game is identical on the Switch otherwise, but the portability is ideal for the game, making it easier to choose between savoring the story or binging it. Read More...
