Initial Review (~20h in):

Great game for fans of the original Utawarerumono trilogy. Shunya is an excellent addition to the rest of the cast returning from the Mask games, and there are plenty of great moments with the ensemble cast. Some areas leave things to be desired though, especially the comically bad NPC models. Definitely worth picking up for fans of the Utawarerumono series.

Revised Review (Story Completed):

What I said above still holds true and for the first 10 chapters this is on balance a great game. However, a combination of factors led to my opinion flipping. Without spoiling any plot points, the final (11th) chapter opens countless questions and answers none of them, resulting in a thoroughly unsatisfying conclusion to the story so far. 'So far' because this is the most transparent hook in to a sequel I have ever seen. If you're likely to get invested in the story I'd suggest holding out on this until the likely sequel releases.

My final impressions weren't helped by the complete lack of a new game+ mode. As a result if you're not careful you can effectively brick yourself from getting a complete set of achievements on a single save file quite easily, even if you're being careful to take care of new side-quests as they come up.

Initial Review (~20h in): Great game for fans of the original Utawarerumono trilogy. Shunya is an excellent addition to the rest of the cast returning from the Mask games, and there are plenty of great moments with the ensemble cast. Some areas leave things to be desired though, especially the comically bad NPC models. Definitely worth picking up for fans of the Utawarerumono series. Revised Review (Story Completed): What I said above still holds true and for the first 10 chapters this is on balance a great game. However, a combination of factors led to my opinion flipping. Without spoiling any plot points, the final (11th) chapter opens countless questions and answers none of them, resulting in a thoroughly unsatisfying conclusion to the story so far. 'So far' because this is the most transparent hook in to a sequel I have ever seen. If you're likely to get invested in the story I'd suggest holding out on this until the likely sequel releases. My final impressions weren't helped by the complete lack of a new game+ mode. As a result if you're not careful you can effectively brick yourself from getting a complete set of achievements on a single save file quite easily, even if you're being careful to take care of new side-quests as they come up.