I'm quite late to the party so my review probably means little. Still...

Undeniably, yes! Go, get it, now!

Excellent, original, moving. There are some excellent, timeless themes here and this game will be just as gripping in 10 or 20 years as it is today. It's about grief. It's about loss. It's about family (and how complicated family can be). All of that told with an excellent, gripping and unique script, with a fantastical premise.

Oh, and just in case you've heard from some clowns that the game is "woke" - no, it's not.

For a AA game the visuals are just fantastic.

The main characters are detailed and well animated. The locations are unique and just... gorgeous. And there's plenty of environmental storytelling as well, with little details sprinkled here or there. There's an aura of surrealism surrounding every location or character, quite deliberate in tone and style, and it all fits so perfectly together. Almost... like a painting (which is a recurring theme).

Most of the cutscenes are in-engine (there are but a handful of pre-rendered videos), so your character customizations will likely make it into the main story beats (which, depending on the chosen customizations, can make things look a bit goofy but that's your own fault then).

And it all runs very smooth too on the Unreal Engine! If there's one minor nitpick it would be the slight overuse of FoV effects. Thankfully this can be modded out on the PC. Actually, because this is a UE game mods are bound to be quite common, so there's a good chance that anything particularly irksome will get modded.

I can't say it "slaps" or "rocks" because those words wouldn't "fit". But the music is absolutely phenomenal. The songs feel as unique as the game itself. The OST is well worth a listen.

It's also worth noting that all of the main characters are fully voiced, and the voice actors delivered FANTASIC performances. If there's anything here to pick it's that side characters aren't "voiced", at least not in the traditional sense. They'll make sounds when they talk but reading captions is required to understand them.

It's a old-school inspired Final Fantasy-like turn-based RPG, with an additional action-timed component for attacks (optionally can be turned off if you like) and a dodge/parry/other system for defence (this system cannot be turned off, but is adjusted according to the selected difficulty). There's also a hefty dose of exploration (which is pretty typical for this kind of RPG game), meaning extra items can be found hidden behind nooks and corners.

Finally there's a dash of Souls-like, with enemy designs, opening shortcuts to already explored areas and flags serving a similar function to bonfires (i.e. resting refills all consumables but also respawns most enemies).

These are very "nitpicky" things, that didn't deter from my enjoyment of the game. YMMV so if something sounds like it'll be very irksome then maybe take a longer ponder about getting the game, otherwise ignore this section entirely.

- While I can certainly see the appeal behind the dodge/parry system, which breaks up the monotony of just clicking the same things over and over, it really feels oddly implemented at times. For one, I can't really tell if the game is well balanced or not, because successful parries and dodges effectively nullify all damage taken. On the other hand the enemy attack animations are sometimes a bit over the top in terms of wind-up and delivery, clearly made to throw the player off and as a means to increase difficulty
- The UI is a bit clunky, especially later in the game. That's when the player will have a lot of items and scrolling the various lists becomes a bit tedious and somewhat annoying
- The game doesn't really show enemy levels; it's possible to wander into a fight for which the player is completely not prepared, which will likely send them back to the last save point (some areas are appropriately marked, but not all)
- There are a few mini-games and those felt a bit tacked on. On the one hand it was a nice break from the typical pacing of the game, but some of the games felt a bit more frustrating than others (the "volleyball" minigame in particular)
- There's a wee bit of "jankiness" to the environments; while they're always beautiful to look at, characters can get stuck on geometry. I never got "permastuck"; at worst I'd be held back by a slight curve I'd need to jump over.
- Outside of the "overworld" the game has no mini-map of any sort when exploring specific locations, and the level of detail of those locations means it's sometimes difficult to tell what is a valid route and what is just a set of decorative rocks. The levels are also rarely straightforward, meaning it's possible to get lost in them. It's by no means a showstopper, but I did get turned around on a few occasions.
- The lip-syncing is... meh. It's not tragic but could be better.

In a world where 70 and 80 USD/EUR games are becoming normalized (and then come with extra monetization and other BS to boot) this game is a stellar, shining beacon of what games should be. It's smart, it's unique, it's pretty, it's engaging, it's got plenty of content, and it's very well priced.

I sincerely hope we get more games like this one, and less overpriced "quadruple A" slop.

EDIT: Yes, this game deserves all the awards it's been getting.

I'm quite late to the party so my review probably means little. Still... [h1]Is this a good game?[/h1] Undeniably, yes! Go, get it, now! [h1]Story[/h1] Excellent, original, moving. There are some excellent, timeless themes here and this game will be just as gripping in 10 or 20 years as it is today. It's about grief. It's about loss. It's about family (and how complicated family can be). All of that told with an excellent, gripping and unique script, with a fantastical premise. Oh, and just in case you've heard from some clowns that the game is "woke" - no, it's not. [h1]Visuals[/h1] For a AA game the visuals are just fantastic. The main characters are detailed and well animated. The locations are unique and just... gorgeous. And there's plenty of environmental storytelling as well, with little details sprinkled here or there. There's an aura of surrealism surrounding every location or character, quite deliberate in tone and style, and it all fits so perfectly together. Almost... like a painting (which is a recurring theme). Most of the cutscenes are in-engine (there are but a handful of pre-rendered videos), so your character customizations will likely make it into the main story beats (which, depending on the chosen customizations, can make things look a bit goofy but that's your own fault then). And it all runs very smooth too on the Unreal Engine! If there's one minor nitpick it would be the slight overuse of FoV effects. Thankfully this can be modded out on the PC. Actually, because this is a UE game mods are bound to be quite common, so there's a good chance that anything particularly irksome will get modded. [h1]Music and sound[/h1] I can't say it "slaps" or "rocks" because those words wouldn't "fit". But the music is absolutely phenomenal. The songs feel as unique as the game itself. The OST is well worth a listen. It's also worth noting that all of the main characters are fully voiced, and the voice actors delivered FANTASIC performances. If there's anything here to pick it's that side characters aren't "voiced", at least not in the traditional sense. They'll make sounds when they talk but reading captions is required to understand them. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] It's a old-school inspired Final Fantasy-like turn-based RPG, with an additional action-timed component for attacks (optionally can be turned off if you like) and a dodge/parry/other system for defence (this system cannot be turned off, but is adjusted according to the selected difficulty). There's also a hefty dose of exploration (which is pretty typical for this kind of RPG game), meaning extra items can be found hidden behind nooks and corners. Finally there's a dash of Souls-like, with enemy designs, opening shortcuts to already explored areas and flags serving a similar function to bonfires (i.e. resting refills all consumables but also respawns most enemies). [h1]Generic nitpicking[/h1] These are very "nitpicky" things, that didn't deter from my enjoyment of the game. YMMV so if something sounds like it'll be very irksome then maybe take a longer ponder about getting the game, otherwise ignore this section entirely. - While I can certainly see the appeal behind the dodge/parry system, which breaks up the monotony of just clicking the same things over and over, it really feels oddly implemented at times. For one, I can't really tell if the game is well balanced or not, because successful parries and dodges effectively nullify all damage taken. On the other hand the enemy attack animations are sometimes a bit over the top in terms of wind-up and delivery, clearly made to throw the player off and as a means to increase difficulty - The UI is a bit clunky, especially later in the game. That's when the player will have a lot of items and scrolling the various lists becomes a bit tedious and somewhat annoying - The game doesn't really show enemy levels; it's possible to wander into a fight for which the player is completely not prepared, which will likely send them back to the last save point (some areas are appropriately marked, but not all) - There are a few mini-games and those felt a bit tacked on. On the one hand it was a nice break from the typical pacing of the game, but some of the games felt a bit more frustrating than others (the "volleyball" minigame in particular) - There's a wee bit of "jankiness" to the environments; while they're always beautiful to look at, characters can get stuck on geometry. I never got "permastuck"; at worst I'd be held back by a slight curve I'd need to jump over. - Outside of the "overworld" the game has no mini-map of any sort when exploring specific locations, and the level of detail of those locations means it's sometimes difficult to tell what is a valid route and what is just a set of decorative rocks. The levels are also rarely straightforward, meaning it's possible to get lost in them. It's by no means a showstopper, but I did get turned around on a few occasions. - The lip-syncing is... meh. It's not tragic but could be better. [h1]Closing thoughts[/h1] In a world where 70 and 80 USD/EUR games are becoming normalized (and then come with extra monetization and other BS to boot) this game is a stellar, shining beacon of what games should be. It's smart, it's unique, it's pretty, it's engaging, it's got plenty of content, and it's very well priced. I sincerely hope we get more games like this one, and less overpriced "quadruple A" slop. EDIT: Yes, this game deserves all the awards it's been getting.