Rebirth is worth your time, but I’m not sure if it’s worth as much of your time as it asks for. It’s a game that does many things right and does right by its weighty legacy — but it also makes it clear that for the future final installment, Square Enix should reconsider how necessary it is for these games to be so big.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor almost swept me off my feet
The version that exists now out on app stores of all kinds feels blessedly free of heavy-handed monetization, but apparently, this wasn't always the case during the game's beta period. The resulting change feels good, really; I've played a couple of Japanese mobile gachas for years and Marvel Snap is a (Tony?) stark contrast to what goes on in that particular corner of game design.
The “Should you buy this game?” part of this review is easy: If you enjoyed previous Saints Row games, you will probably like this one, and if you’ve never played one, this is a decent onboarding point.
However, I cannot help but think back to that giddy anticipation as I drove home with my copy of Dynasty Warriors 3 back in 2001. Asking myself if Three Hopes inspires the same feelings in me, I’d have to say no. It truly is fine, and all the proper elements are in place, but in many ways it’s also very expected and not particularly innovative. It makes me wonder, not for the first time, how much longer “it’s fine” will be enough in the world of Musou titles.
Perhaps the other somewhat related issue is that the game often drags things out unnecessarily, particularly in service of the main story. A number of main story quest chains in the back half of the game's plot seem as if they will never end; a constant series of either Wal-Mart runs to get soda and chips for some NPC, or worse, a string of "go here, right click to talk, 10 minutes of dialogue, repeat four times" situations that absolutely destroy the plot's momentum.
In the end, the most I can say is this: Yeah, over a week and change, I spent a lot of time in Warring States-era Japan making a series of emphatic Mermista “UUUUUUGH”s, but maybe that happened because when something shows occasional touches of craft and brilliance, your desire to sand off the last of its rough edges is all the stronger.