- Publisher: Sega , Atlus
- Release Date: Apr 12, 2022
- Also On: PlayStation 4
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- Critic score
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Apr 26, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is lengthy and complex, particularly if you really want to understand every little nuance of the story. The story might not feature player agency, as it has no branching choices or bad endings (and I’d argue that this is a strength of the game, that it’s determined to tell one story and tell it well) but even then the narrative alone will take at least fifteen hours to see to the end. Add on a few hours of the strategy RPG and you’ve got a hefty title on your hands. Ultimately though, I stuck through with 13 Sentinels because it’s paced immaculately – the mystery of the narrative gets its hooks into you and rushes you through an intricate web of conspiracy, discovery, and self-reflection. It got me to laugh, to gasp, and to view the world differently. We talk a lot about the potential of interactive storytelling to deliver experiences beyond film or print, and yet not many games do – but here is Vanillaware making it look effortless. Here’s hoping that 13 Sentinels is remembered long afterwards for all it has achieved.
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Apr 5, 2022Vanillaware has handled 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim's Switch port with the utmost care and, with some of the changes, may even be better than the PS4 version. While I was hoping that Vanillaware would go back and add in a couple of new scenes that they had previously cut out of the game, I will also happily take the changes to Destruction mode. Now that a Switch version is available, I am hoping more people will get to experience this masterpiece of modern gaming. 13 Sentinels flew under the radar on PS4, so now I'm hoping the spotlight will be on this excellent game after word of mouth has spread. If you love RPGs, have an affinity for excellent stories, are in the mood for some good brain exercise, or just looking for a nice 30-hour experience in gaming, look no further than 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.
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Apr 5, 2022There was so much room for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim to just not work. So many threads are weaved together in a way where, by far, the most likely outcome of the whole thing should have been an interesting failure. That it instead sticks the landing, weaving together a plot that has no business being this moving and satisfying, is astonishing. If you’re at all interested in visual novels, or adventure games, or science fiction, and you don’t play 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, you must be suffering from brain overload.
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Apr 5, 2022The unforgettable 13 Sentinels arrives now on Switch with the same fantastic experience, and the addition of portability.
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Apr 5, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is easily one of the best games in a decade and an absolute must play on Nintendo Switch despite the technical issues in some battle situations. I was skeptical of how it would run in parts given the performance issues on PS4, but the port is very well done and it looks fantastic on the Nintendo Switfch OLED screen. If you skipped this on PS4, you absolute have to buy it on Switch.
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Apr 5, 2022Vanillaware takes many risks with 13 Sentinels, and nearly all of them pay off — few titles can boast a story as strong, a cast as memorable, or a world as stylish as this one. My time with 13 Sentinels was nothing short of magnificent, even though its combat felt undercooked and its narrative was daunting to follow. Its refreshing handling of queer issues alone ensures its mark in genre history. 13 Sentinels is a love letter to storytelling no one should miss, and it’s one I’m anxiously hoping Vanillaware follows up on sooner rather than later.
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Apr 19, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is an unmissable game in the Nintendo Switch games lineup. Although it does not introduce new content in this version, the game is worth just for the fact of being able to be played on handheld mode. An unrepeatable gem that you have to try if you like science fiction stories or the adventure genre.
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Apr 19, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim on Switch receives a small downgrade in resolution and effects, but is largely the same as its PS4 counterpart. The story is still incredible, and well worth experiencing multiple times.
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Apr 15, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a gem with fully justified award wins in 2020, and the Nintendo Switch port is a very welcome opportunity for more players to dive into its fantastic sci-fi story. While it’s light on the action, it’s a wholehearted recommendation for those who enjoy narrative adventures and RPGs in general.
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Apr 12, 2022After more than 40 hours spent with 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, I have witnessed a consistently impressive story with a fitting ending. I have met a wonderful cast of loveable and unique characters. I have enjoyed endlessly addicting combat between Sentinel against Deimos, and read every intriguing mystery file. This is a game like no other. In confidently sticking to its unconventional ideas, it may alienate some. However, those who connect with it are in for a wonderful time. Even after fully completing 13 Sentinels, its story, characters and fighting sequences continue to stay on my mind. I already miss it to the point that I want to start playing it all over again.
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Apr 11, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is an absolute triumph for Vanillaware. Not many games have stories as ambitious as this. Even fewer manage to bring things together without resulting in disappointment. And while the real-time battles may be the weakest element, they’re still very much engaging, and offer a nice change of pace when required. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim might just be remembered as one of the greatest games of all time, and so whether you’re into sci-fi or not, you should certainly add it to your collection.
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Apr 8, 2022The Nintendo Switch version of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim has little to envy to the PS4 edition.
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Apr 5, 202213 Sentinels barely puts a foot wrong throughout its story. It has lofty ambitions that can become a mess of strange terms, but it never forgets its characters and themes. It loudly reminds you of the violence and destruction to come with the RTS mech combat one moment, then lets you see a character quietly consider the ramifications of everything they learn the next. It has such breadth, not just of ideas, but also of emotion.
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Apr 5, 2022The RTS battles aren’t perfectly stable, but the rebalancing is appreciated and they’re still more than good enough for how large in scale they can get. Maybe talking about good ports isn’t the most interesting, but the best part about them is that they can speak for themselves.
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Apr 5, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is an excellent adventure that masterfully combines interactive visual novel and battles, with a beautiful audiovisual section and a story that is a real wonder. A great experience for lovers of science fiction.
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Apr 5, 2022Ultimately, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim remains largely unchanged on Nintendo Switch minus the platform's strengths and weaknesses that exist independent of title. That's for the best, as 13 Sentinels remains one of the most intriguing releases in recent years and a game that's been slept on by a large number of people turned off by its anime or mecha-inspired origins. Underneath that coat is a resonant tale spanning generations and dealing with some interesting, innovative subject matter - and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim comes highly recommended to anyone as a result.
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Apr 5, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim on Switch is just as great of an instant classic as it was on PS4. While the new content (extra weapons) is essentially insignificant, if you haven’t played the game yet, this new version is a great chance to fall in love with this one-of-a-kind work from Vanillaware and Atlus.
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Apr 5, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a wonderful achievement for dynamic storytelling, as it puts forth a compelling and multifaceted narrative that’ll keep you guessing right up until the very end. This excellent story, combined with enjoyable combat portions, a striking art style, and some top-notch voice acting make for an experience that you won’t want to miss out on. It’s the kind of game that’ll have you wishing that you could play it again for the first time, just so all its best elements could be new again. We’d give 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim a strong recommendation, then, to anyone who has even a passing interest in visual novels. Even if that doesn’t describe you, we’d still say to give it a shot; you might just be surprised at how well it grabs you.
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Apr 5, 2022Thanks to a great story and characters, this port of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim for Nintendo Switch is a great one that will surely boost sales of this Japanese jewel.
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Apr 5, 2022All in all, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim’s Switch release is a strong success. This game is an incredible experience that doesn’t require you to be a brilliant RTS player–but will reward you for being one. If you enjoy complex storytelling and retro anime, you’ll have a great time. If you prefer games that don’t have required reading, maybe play something else.
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Apr 28, 2022As a whole, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is an incredibly engaging game. It is equal parts entertaining and compelling whilst remaining fun and light. It’s super easy to pick up and pass the time, and is something that I constantly find myself thinking about. The story is thick enough to really sink your teeth into. There’s enough depth to keep you coming back to it time and time again. If you’re a fan of previously published titles from Atlus and Vanillaware, then I cannot recommend this enough.
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Apr 14, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is an experience that will take us through many eras in an intelligent way without making us lose the plot. It is a game well adapted to the Nintendo Switch, while Vanillaware always delights us with its well-crafted hand-drawn style.
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Apr 11, 2022I first played 13 Sentinels on PS5 after the Switch version was announced because I feared that the Switch would be the inferior way to play it, and my time with this port has left me feeling like I made the wrong decision. 13 Sentinels fits on Switch so well that it feels like it was made for handheld systems—which, in fairness, it kind of was. A Vita version was originally planned before the game was delayed so much that the idea of releasing a new game on Sony’s dying handheld was laughable. Because of that, this version feels like 13 Sentinels is finally where it was meant to be all along. This game is wild and weird in all the best ways, and there has never been a better time to play it than right now.
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Apr 7, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a perfect game for the Switch. The visual novel adventure gameplay translates almost perfectly to a handheld format, and I found it to be more fun to pick up and play in short spurts versus needing to park myself in front of a TV. Even the more obscured mecha combat work well in a handheld format. The gameplay and story still feel fresh and engaging, and those who've already finished it once might find something to enjoy here. It's easy to recommend to anyone who has a taste for mind-bending 999-style games, and it's likely to please a few newcomers as well.
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Apr 5, 2022Despite the battles being a bit of a letdown, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a must have for those who love plot driven games. Up until the very last moment you're still not sure of what's going on, but that's not annoying. Far from it: every single plot twist just makes it harder to put your console away.
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Apr 5, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a finely woven story with strategic elements that is a satisfying addition to the Vanillaware lineup, but fans not into anime or Sci-Fi may feel isolated in this futuristic world.
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Apr 20, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim weaves a complex, intriguing tale that spans many characters and time periods, and manages to pull it all together in the end. This narrative 2D adventure offers little traditional gameplay - though the battle sections provide a satisfying enough distraction.
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Apr 14, 2022Thanks to careful porting, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim on Switch is a great way to (re)discover this Japanese sci-fi nugget, whether in TV mode or on the go. With its amazing proposal halfway between the visual novel and the tactical role-playing game, Vanillaware manages to tell an exciting story through its many branches and its original progression system. Beyond its narration, the game does not forget to stage strategically rich and relaxing battles despite austere graphics, far from the beauty of the hand-drawn visuals of the adventure mode. A title not to be missed therefore for all lovers of Japanese games and SF, both on PS4 and on Nintendo's hybrid console.
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Apr 5, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim has found its perfect home on the Nintendo Switch with its mash-up of two genres that work best when on handheld — visual novel and RTS. I ended up carrying my Switch with me for days on end as 13 Sentinels was like a good book that I couldn’t put down. The gorgeous hand-drawn graphics and intricately layered storyline pair beautifully together to create a love letter to classic sci-fi.
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Apr 5, 202213 Sentinels is still one of the most unique gaming experiences of recent years, and the way the game’s disparate stories come together is truly something stunning. There are few games that manage to pay homage to so many other sci-fi series, while also doing something unique all its own, but 13 Sentinels manages it. The Nintendo Switch version is a stunning port that doesn’t make any compromises, and it’s the perfect sci-fi story for the handheld console.
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Oct 5, 202213 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is an easy recommendation to do, but with a public that is hard to define. Players that are used to the VN niche or sci fi stories will probably love the game. Other players, however, must give a chance to the title, eventually, due to how unique each of its characteristics are. It’s not a title that will please all players, but it’s certainly a title that deserves the attention of the general public.
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Jun 6, 2022Despite its subpar Destruction mode, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a delight. The story will captivate the minds of those interested in pulpy sci-fi adventures, and the gorgeous art style and compelling script are enough to warrant putting up with some tedious RTS battle sequences. On the whole, this is a title easy to recommend for those who enjoy sci-fi and visual novels, as the strengths of 13 Sentinels more than makeup for its weaknesses.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Apr 11, 202213 Sentinels is great. Its has one of the most impressive and surprising storylines in video games, with great strategic battles and a beautiful art style. [Recommended]
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Apr 5, 2022The smoothness of the 13 Sentinels Switch port extends to the handheld mode as well, which is how I spent most of my time with the game. That’s something of a rarity for me, but in this case, I wanted to spend every waking minute I could with the game, so that meant trucking it around with me wherever I went. While handheld mode does appear to run at a lower resolution than when playing with your Switch docked, it’s not really that much of a downgrade (if it even is one). I’m about 55% of the way through the game on Switch, and it’s truly impressive to see how well Vanillaware and Atlus optimized this game for the hardware.
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Apr 13, 2022Saying that a game is perfect for Switch is a tired phrase, I know, but this game is perfect for Switch in a different way than usual. It’s nice that I can play this text-heavy game on the go, but what makes Switch the perfect home for 13 Sentinels is the option to alternate between portable and TV modes. When I’m grinding through mech battles or revisiting character sequences for clues, the portability is perfect. However, when I start a new story, I prefer the TV mode, projecting the game’s gorgeous hand-drawn art on a larger screen. I don’t recommend playing the entire game on a TV — as I did with the PS4 version. But I encourage you to take breaks from portable mode now and then to really appreciate just how beautiful this game can be. [Polygon Recommends]
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Apr 12, 202213 Sentinels crams so many high-level concepts into one experience — including, among many others, Groundhog Day-like repetition, time-traveling robots, and a talking cat with a magical gun — but somehow in a way that, eventually, makes sense. And now you can solve the mystery from pretty much anywhere.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 139 out of 159
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Mixed: 6 out of 159
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Negative: 14 out of 159
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Apr 14, 2022
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Apr 23, 2022Beautiful visuals and Gameplay, Part Visual novel, Part mech strategy, AMAZING STORY, don't sleep on this game, give it a try you will not regret it.
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Apr 21, 2022