UWutM8

In general, the combat is not exactly much to write about, like the first game's. It is more streamlined and somewhat better balanced, but they also didn't replace the mechanics that they removed with much else either (though most were kind of bloated and not that useful). but I'd say the story is very much a worthy follow-up to the first games, and is basically why one would be interested in this game in the first place. In some ways, the story isn't quite as good, such as there being too many slice of life scenes that slow the pacing down a bit too much at times (thankfully, the game gives you the option to skip them, though some are important like the one featuring Rotten and Mai at the start of chapter 5), but it also excels over it in ways I feel matter most, such as the ending stretch of the game (which is legitimately great instead of legitimately awful and falling apart like the firsts), and character development (I liked the first game's cast a lot, but they're also largely static and don't change much over the course of the game). The game's pacing isn't as brisk as the previous game's, partly because of the slice of life scenes, partly because the nature of the story is more mystery and character oriented rather than twist oriented like the first, but I feel this leads to a much better payoff in the end. Basically, I feel the first half of Death End Re;quest 1 is stronger then the first half in 2, but the second half of 2 is much, much stronger then the first game's. I know for sure the last few chapters and ending are going to stick with me for much longer then they did in the first game, where I feel the last few chapters and endings were a pretty big blemish in that game's story. The censorship of the costumes of the first game's characters costumes kind of ****, but if you're like me, there's a good chance you'll just stick to the main 3 characters over the course of the game. I wouldn't hold it against the game for this, blame Sony. I'd recommend the PC version since it's uncensored, but it has issues with bugs and glitches (heh) at the moment, so this is you're best option unless you're patient and don't mind the risk of being spoiled. Given the steam forums, it seems like they may be close to releasing a patch given how some users were given a beta branch that fixes the issues being complained about.

All I'm going to say, and quite frankly this is too much for something like this, is come the **** on Compile Heart and Idea Factory. You're better than this. If you can't make an ARPG yourself, then work with someone else like you did with Cyberdimension, because this attempt is abysmal.