I knew that I liked 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim as soon as I started playing it. I assumed that I’d eventually have moments when I liked it less, but that never happened. In fact, the longer I played the game, the more I liked it. By the time I got to the end, I was wondering if this could be one of my favorite video games of all time.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is the 268th
Vanillaware is a game development studio well known for having absolutely incredible art direction, questionable character design choices in Dragon’s Crown notwithstanding. I’ve always admired their work from a distance, so I was very excited to actually play one of their games. 13 Sentinels is a visual treat with it’s charming, hand painted characters and detailed backgrounds. It makes a strong first impression, assuming you don’t have an aversion to anime.
However, the highlight of 13 Sentinels is the story mode, called remembrance. In this mode, the player moves between the 13 main characters in a sprawling, yet personal, science fiction story. In classic anime fashion, the story revolves around a group of Japanese high school students, each of whom are experience a different strange scenario. Their stories feature giant robots nightmares, time travel, android assassins, clones, an apocalypse, and all other manor of science fiction elements. Because the story is such a pastiche of anime and sci-fi tropes, the early hours were almost overwhelmingly mysterious. I knew that these disparate character stories had to be connected, but I wasn’t sure how. As I played through short chapters of each characters story, the narrative gave a steady drip of new discoveries about the characters and their relationships as well as the events that were happening. Each little hint or small revelation about the larger plot raised as many questions as it answered… right up until the final fight was fought and the game offered a resolution. 13 Sentinels rose above its tropes and developed into one of the best pieces of science fiction that I’ve ever experienced. The structure of the interactivity—the game-ness—is what makes the story so special.
And that is only one of the modes in 13 Sentinels. The destruction mode of the game is somewhere between real-time strategy and tower defense. It may not be as striking as the game’s story, but it offers a necessary balance to the pace of the game. Plus, it is genuinely fun.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is an extraordinary game, possibly a perfect one. I can’t imagine a way for the game to be better than it already is, with its stunning presentation, strong ensemble cast, and exceptionally paced non-linear story. I have no notes.
So how do I place this game on my ranked list of every video game that I’ve ever completed?
When I look at the top 20 games on my list, what are the unifying characteristics that make me feel so strongly about my experiences with each of them? They are games that feel compelled I revisit because they continue to offer delight or continue to inspire consideration. I still think about these games. Some of them so strongly evoke the feelings of a particular season of my life that it’s hardly fair for me to compare them with other games. These are the video games that stand the test of (my) time.
But does 13 Sentinels stand the test of time?
Only the years will tell. In the meantime, I’ve tentatively ranked it 21 out of 268. I strongly recommend you play this game.
Medium Quality 