13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

13 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 myst…

RPGSiteNathan Lee

10/10

Vanillaware 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. 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.

GamingTrendDavid Flynn

90/100

13 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.

WayTooManyGamesOliver Shellding

9/10

Have you ever petted a chinchilla? For the love of God, don’t walk away from this analogy and stick with me. So there’s a chinchilla, this fluffy looking mouse creature that apparently can live to be twenty or more. It’s a doofy looking thing, very cute, but hey, it’s a mouse. You hear that it’s soft, but so what? So many things are soft. Then you finally get a chance to sit down with one, have it docile on your lap, and you pet that chinchilla. Holy crap, it’s so soft. It transce...

GameSpewRichard Seagrave

9/10

The fact remains, though, that 13 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.

GameSpotHeidi Kemps

9/10

A tale of love and war machines.

Screen RantCody Gravelle

9/10

Now, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is coming to Nintendo Switch, where that platform's broader appeal and accessibility gives it a second chance to be discovered by those who might enjoy it. The game follows 13 different characters as they explore a broad array of timelines and sci-fi experiences, piloting mechs in an effort to save multiple worlds - while also being teenagers (sometimes). These interactions are portrayed through each character's eyes as the player inhabits their perspective across various stories that intertwine, and the result is a complex narrative that, while stumbling in spots,...

Nintendo WireRicky Berg

9/10

Let’s not waste time - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a testament to video games as both art and a storytelling medium.

Nintendo World ReportMelanie Zawodniak

8.5/10

I 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 al…

Worth PlayingChris "Atom" DeAngelus

8.5/10

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a 2D sci-fi video game that takes place in a modern setting punctuated with giant mechs.

GameTyrant Dean Clark

0/10

A fun, strategic game that puts too much emphasis on the story.

PolygonChris Plante

Unscored

There’s plenty more for me to tell you about this game, like how it stacks twists atop each other like a tower of turtles, without ever collapsing under all that narrative weight. Though reading more would spoil the fun – and trust me, you’ll be doing plenty of reading once you boot the game up anyway. I’ve written so much about why this game means the world to me. Now I leave y’all to decide whether or not to play it.