Tyler Smith

This is one of the best games that i have played in a while. It's rare that a game keeps me truly engaged for the entirety of it's run time. The combat is impactful and new enemy types improve upon the complexity of how you will deal with getting though an enemy infested area. The settings are very interesting and traversal around them is even better, which i feel was a major strength of the 1st game. But that isn't what most people are looking at the review section for. Spoilers beyond this point I understand that there are many out there that quote "hate" this game and feel that it is a horrible title because of it's story. This is a sentiment that i cannot share. Quite early on, the tragic event that kicks off the story is the fact that Joel is murdered. From there you play as Ellie as she travels to Washington to take revenge against Joel's killers. And this is the point where i see multiple people saying that this is a bad story. It is a heartbreaking moment and one that you hate to see happen to a beloved character. However, a tragic moment doesn't make it a bad story, rather, it makes the story a tragedy. I truly think that most people that played the game and gave it a 1 star review, were just upset that one of their favorite characters died and that the game overall does not tell a happy story. It tells a story that reinforces the idea that actions have consequences and this is a theme that is explored throughout the game from both of the main characters sides. You come to understand that when Joel saved Ellie in the 1st game, he did more than kill some random NPCs. He killed people's family members and destroyed the world's one chance at putting an end to the apocalypse. Every tragic event comes full circle and you are left with phenomenal, but sad story. And despite what people say, a sad story is not a bad story. At the end of the day, i would suggest that you not listen to either side. Rather you should go into the game with a neutral head on your shoulders and see how you feel about the story for yourself. I know i was extremely pleased with this game and I'm glad i didn't listen to all of the multi paragraph long rants about how they hate that Joel died or that they hate the Ellie is a lesbian. (Btw, She was in the 1st game too) and at the same time, I'm glad i didn't listen to the people who praised it solely because they're living off the glory of the 1st game. Because with no bias, i found that i truly enjoyed this game, even more so than the 1st.

I came into this game without playing any of the other newer fire emblem games. The last ones i played were from the GBA era. Figured i should say that to state that i have a bias. This game is largely a daily life simulator and a large portion of your time will be spent doing daily activities that are meant to help you bond with other characters. (Having tea, eating meals with them, choir practice, etc.) These daily life mechanics are not very well fleshed out and are more of a time waster than anything. Unfortunately, it is hard to improve your units unless you partake in these activities; as the game was designed for you to participate in them. As a person who bought this thinking it would be a tile based tactical game, i was largely disappointed that these mechanics were implemented. Additionally, there are a large number of fetch quest in the game. There isn't much to say about this. It's the classic go here and talk to this person type of quest, so take that as you will. The premise of the game is that you are a mercenary that was unceremoniously made a professor in the continent's most prestigious school after you saved 3 student's lives. Your students are your battle units. There is a large ammount of customizability to your battle units. It can be overwelming and hard to know how to spec your students, but overall it works well. When the combat occurs, it is very fun. However, there are many mechanics that are complicated or not very well explained. As such, i found that when the game introduced me to new mechanics, i would have no idea how they worked. Without spoilers, i found the story to be lackluster and didn't quite enjoy the characters. Overall, do not buy this if you are looking for a tactical game akin to the classical fire emblem games. Instead i would look towards X Com for a challenging alien based tactical game, or Valkyria Chronicles 4 for a more militaristic tactical game. However, if you enjoy daily life sims with intermittent fights; then this game might be up your alley.