13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim released worldwide just yesterday, and for players who are just jumping into it, the story might seem confusing and intimidating. But fans should know that Vanillaware's newest game won't take nearly as long to beat as some other Atlus titles, such as Persona 5, although it may seem this way when first starting off.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim has already been out in Japan for nearly a year with staggering reception. Vanillaware took some major leaps with this action-adventure, departing from gameplay styles seen in past games such as Dragon's Crown, but many critics have said the developers hit a home run with 13 Sentinels. Though the game is set in Japan and players assume the roles of high school students in a striking story,  Aegis Rim is far from any traditional JRPG, and won't take nearly as long to beat, clocking in at around 25-30 hours.
Remembrance Mode
The bulk of 13 Sentinels is split between two main modes: Remembrance Mode and Destruction Mode. Remembrance is a 2D side-scrolling visual novel, and the player will experience the story through the eyes of thirteen different teenagers. Again, this may seem intimidating at first, especially because the story isn't told in a linear fashion. Paired with time-travel elements, players might expect the story to take quite some time to get through, but this isn't the case, and Vanillaware does an excellent job of easing the player into the convoluted plot bit by bit.
In the beginning, as the player comes across more characters, they will become playable and their perspectives will be introduced. After the tutorial that acts as an introduction in the first few hours of the game, the player will be more or less free to choose which character they'd like to play as. However, they will come to roadblocks by getting locked out of a certain highschooler and must switch to the perspective of other characters in order to progress. And before they know it, the player will be farther along in the story than they realize.
Destruction Mode
While Remembrance takes up about half of the gameplay, Destruction Mode, or the real-time strategy combat, is the other half. In the tutorial section, 13 Sentinels will give the player a feel for the balance they should strive for. Each time a chapter of a character is completed, it would be wise to complete a wave of kaiju in Destruction Mode. Again, the player can decide when and how often they want to play the RTS mode, but Aegis Rim will lock the player out of character story until at least some combat is completed.
While Some players might be attracted to the exciting RTS gameplay, the story is the main draw here, so others might be enticed to lower the difficulty to Easy and focus on the visual novel. Otherwise, after completing the many mecha fights, several more battles will be available after the final one is completed.
Though the plot of 13 Sentinels may seem insurmountable at first, it's not quite as long as would be expected for a bonkers plot like this one. Overall, it should take most players about 25-30 hours to beat, depending on how much time is spent in Destruction Mode and how intricately the player experiences each diverging path in Remembrance Mode.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is out now for Ps4.
