God Eater 2: Rage Burst (PC) Review

I wonder what Gods taste like?

God Eater is not Monster Hunter.

Ok, with that common misconception out of the way, let me tell you what it actually is.

It’s an 3rd person action game where the player goes on missions, slaying monsters called “Aragami” and collect parts from fallen enemies to craft and equip themselves with better gear so they can fight even bigger Aragami.

“But Jae, that sounds exactly like Monster Hunter!”

LET ME FINISH.

Even though God Eater may sound similar in design, actually playing the game feels very different thanks to its fast paced combat and a strong emphasis on characterization and the overarching storyline.

Those who come to God Eater looking for a Monster Hunter experience would surely be left disappointed, but in turn they might come away with something they didn’t know they wanted in the first place.

You can run but you can’t hide, bitch!

You can run but you can’t hide, bitch!

MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: PC, PS4
Multiplayer: Allegedly (untested)
Played: 16~ Hours

After an apocalyptic series of events left humanity in the brink of annihilation, those who managed to survive band together to fight against the constant threat of Aragami in hopes that they take back their place in the world.

Amongst that group of survivors are elite warriors coined the “God Eaters” equipped with weapons that can combat the Aragami threat, and in God Eater 2 Rage Burst, the newly formed “Blood Unit” takes center stage.

The overarching storyline treads familiar territory but the cast of characters are a fun, charming bunch overall.

Gilbert’s a veteran with a chip on his shoulder and a heart of gold, and Ciel is an awkward but earnest girl who’s learning how to socialize with a group of people for the first time.

Characters from the first entry also make an appearance as well, and it’s mostly the personalities of these God Eaters that push the story forward.

Visually speaking, make no mistake that this is most certainly a higher resolution Vita game, and the environments along with the character models are a strong indicator of this.

Still, it’s not a bad looking game thanks to its art design, as many of the Aragami and weapons look quite striking, leaving a strong impression right off the bat.

I’m sure fans of the first game will be delighted to see Alisa “Underboob” Amiella back in action.

I’m sure fans of the first game will be delighted to see Alisa “Underboob” Amiella back in action.

As for the combat, it reminds me of Ragnarok Odyssey, as how quickly the player is able to mash on the buttons to swing their weapon of choice.

From a standard everyday long sword to a menacing scythe, there’s a decent variety of weapons to choose from, and every weapon can switch to a gun with a press of a button, and switching back and forth between melee/ranged is a staple to success.

Unlike Monster Hunter, there is a lock-on system that is quite useful when it’s actually working properly, as I found myself wrestling with the camera quite often. In tight corridors it would often get stuck in the wall or be so close to the enemy that I had no idea what I was attacking.

WHAT AM I HITTING RIGHT NOW!?

WHAT AM I HITTING RIGHT NOW!?

The big mechanic introduced for Rage Burst is called “Blood Arts”, where the player can choose from a series of different abilities to enhance certain aspects of their move set.

For example, the standard combo on the ground of pressing X repeatedly could be enhanced to have longer range and have multiple hits.

Or, if I were fighting enemies which loved to fly around, I could enhance my jump attacks and make them quicker and hit harder.

These Blood Arts leveled up over time unlocking new abilities, and choosing the right one for the mission at hand felt strategic and quite enjoyable, as I experimented not only with various different types of weapons but their associated Blood Arts.

There’s also the typical upgrading/crafting of equipment using parts from Aragami I’ve slain, but there’s nothing really new or exciting here to talk about since it’s just the standard grind of “kill stuff -> collect parts -> craft/upgrade item -> use it to kill bigger stuff ->collect more parts -> etc”.

Aside from the story and free missions, there were also character episodes which delved deeper into a particular ally and unlocked more powerful abilities for them to equip, which would in turn help me out when I brought them along on my missions.

It’s a good thing that my AI allies were up to the task of supporting me during my missions, since even though the game claims to support multiplayer, I never managed to get a single working multiplayer game throughout my entire play session.

I tried on multiple days to find a game that I could join and came away with nothing, and when I created my own room, I found myself sitting there alone waiting for anyone to join without success for upwards of 20 minutes.

Then, when I finally did join a game and we were about to start a mission, the game kicked me off and I was left at square one.

I fully understand that this is a franchise that’s much more popular on the PS4, but I was disappointed to say the least as I have the most fun playing with other players when it comes to games of this type.

Alllllll byyyyyy myyyyyseeeeeeeeeeelllffff~

Alllllll byyyyyy myyyyyseeeeeeeeeeelllffff~

Despite its flaws, God Eater 2 Rage Burst is a pretty fun game to play, with a fun cast of characters and a fast paced combat engine. If it had a larger player base on the PC for the multiplayer component to thrive, it would have been an easy game to recommend. However, as it stands now, I can only speak of this title as a single player experience and as such, its leaves much to be desired.

Fun Tidbit – You can play this game without having played the first one but you’ll want to read through the glossary for some information about key moments in history and some words you’ll hear quite often.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Fast paced combat
  • Fun characters and a bigger emphasis on story
Bad
  • Chaotic camera
  • Seemingly useless online multiplayer mode
6.5
Decent
Written by
Jae has been a gamer ever since he got a Nintendo when he was just a child. He has a passion for games and enjoys writing. While he worries about the direction gaming as a medium might be headed, he's too busy playing games to do anything about it.