I am one of those irritating people who has to guess what is going to happen in a book, film, or game while the story is still unfolding. I annoy my friends and family to no-end by loudly declaring my predictions non-stop and I’m not even sorry. While I love being able to brag about correctly guessing a plot, nothing beats the feeling of being surprised by a good twist that you didn’t see coming.

Despite my best guesses, I found it impossible to predict where things were going in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. The game follows 13 teenagers across different time periods who all share a common thread — they discover they can pilot large Sentinel mechs to defend the world from invading kaiju known as Deimos. As the story progresses you begin to peel back the layers of the game’s many events and characters, coming to realise that this isn’t just another straightforward mech vs alien storyline.

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The narrative is non-linear and jumps back and forth between various timelines and between the 13 protagonists. Events often overlap from different points of view, so after you play a certain scene as one character, you can switch to another that appeared in the same instance and see what happened from their perspective. The storytelling is already complex in the shuffled way in which it’s being delivered, but on top of that, the central mystery is a complicated web of different elements that is only truly unravelled once you’ve fully completed the game.

13 Sentinels natsuno with BJ

13 Sentinels is crammed full of references and nods to classic sci-fi films, manga, and anime, some of which are openly discussed or alluded to by the characters, while others are mirrored in events that take place throughout the game. Even if you’re not the biggest sci-fi fan, there will undoubtedly be a few that you recognise and it’s interesting to see how they’re used to further the plot and provide a few compelling red herrings through each individual character arc.

One of 13 Sentinels’ most distinguishing features is its beautiful hand drawn art that Vanillaware has become renowned for with the likes of Odin Sphere and Dragon’s Crown. Though the game utilises side-scrolling 2D environments, it creates a feeling of depth by using different layers and the impressive lighting effects create unforgettable scenes ranging from sprawling 80’s cityscapes to burning villages in the midst of World War 2. The visual aesthetic is ripe with surprises that I’d be a fool to spoil it here, but this game goes places.

The game is split into three different modes: the Remembrance side-scrolling visual novel sections, the Destruction RTS combat sequences, and finally, Analysis mode, which lets you relive past events and dig further into the world’s lore. To begin with, you switch between the visual novel sections and combat at regular intervals, but once you’ve completed the prologue, you can choose which mode you want to play, as well as which character route you wish to explore depending on who might be your favourite.

13 Sentinels characters hiding from Deimos

Some protagonist paths are more interesting than others, but the less exciting ones still gave further insight to characters I was more invested in while advancing the overall plot. They weren’t a chore to complete, but I definitely left the duller characters until the last possible moment. I usually found myself following whoever intrigued me the most until they crossed paths with a more interesting character/event that caught my eye, which would then make me pivot to following another route where I would rinse and repeat.

Though events are fairly linear and you can’t affect the outcome of the story, there are slight detours you can take for additional scenes. For example, choosing the “incorrect” choice might see you having to repeat a certain section in order to reach the desired outcome, but you’ll see extra character dialogue or events in the process. There were certain parts where I was a bit stumped and it took me a little while to realise how to progress, which largely meant figuring out who to talk to and in which order to complete the memory properly, otherwise I’d get stuck in a time loop.

At certain intervals, you’ll be blocked from progressing any further in certain Remembrance routes and Destruction battles, and will be prompted to reach a certain milestone before continuing. This can be completing a set battle, seeing a certain Remembrance event, or unlocking a specific number of Mystery Files — additional lore you can purchase in the menu with points you earned in Destruction skirmishes.

13 Sentinels Destruction gameplay

I didn’t mind these barriers to progress as they served as a reminder to not to get too carried away in the Remembrance sections. Switching between the two main modes breaks up the gameplay so you don’t get too bored of doing the same thing constantly. Destruction battles were a welcome distraction at times, even if it’s unfortunately the weakest part of the game when all is said and done.

Destruction is essentially a tower defense game where you have to defend a central terminal while defeating waves upon waves of Deimos. You control your pilots on a 3D map of the city, employing different strategies to defend and attack as needed. You pick and choose which pilots to send out into the field, all of whom have different roles, such as melee, long-range, all-rounder, etc. Each character and their Sentinel can be upgraded with new abilities to further mix up the way you play too. Yet it’s so easy that such enhancements often feel like an afterthought.

While the combat isn’t inherently bad, it just isn’t very exciting and is easily overshadowed by the far more interesting Remembrance mode. It was nice to drop in and out of battles to break up the story segments, but combat really isn’t the main attraction here and would be better described as a palette cleanser between meals, or in this case, story segments.

13 Sentinels Iori and Fluffy

I’m a big fan of Vanillaware games, but I’ve always preferred to play them handheld. Whether it’s an RPG or a beat ‘em up, its library has always felt better in the palm of my hand. When 13 Sentinels originally launched in 2019 for the PS4, I sorely missed having a PSVita version to play on the move, but with the port to Switch it finally feels as though balance is restored.

You can play it docked if you prefer, and either way the game looks stunning, but you can’t beat the feeling of having an exciting new world at your fingertips regardless of where you are. Vanillaware has handled the port perfectly; there were no stuttering framerate drops and the graphics look as gorgeous as ever, which is really all you can ask for when moving to inferior hardware.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim has found its perfect home on the Nintendo Switch with its mash-up of two genres that work best when on handheld — visual novel and RTS. I ended up carrying my Switch with me for days on end as 13 Sentinels was like a good book that I couldn’t put down. The gorgeous hand-drawn graphics and intricately layered storyline pair beautifully together to create a love letter to classic sci-fi.

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13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim blends several genres together, from adventure and visual novel to tower defense and RTS, in a story which sees a party of students drawn into a war between giant mechs and kaiju monsters.

13 Sentinels Review Card

Score: 4/5. A review code for Nintendo Switch was provided by the publisher. Next: Moss: Book 2 Review - An Unmissable Tale