Unforunately I can't recommend Bloodlines 2.

Pros:
- Main story is interesting (but... see cons)
- Good performances by the main cast (Phyre, Ryong, Lou in particular)
- Visually it looks very nice

Cons:
- Split narrative with Fabien becomes tiresome as the game goes on. Particularly at a climactic moment near the end. Huge moment and then..... Fabien flashback when I just want to see what happens in current timeline.
- This is not an RPG in any way and I agree with many that they should have renamed the game to avoid some of the fallout. People would have taken it for what it was then, a linear story.
- Side quests are uninteresting and after doing them, I can say they added nothing
- Sever lack of music :( so much time exploring a quiet city.
- Clan is almost pointless. Outside of starting combat abilities there are virtually no moments where it comes into the dialogue, let alone matters.
- The Fabien sections should have just been cutscenes as interaction changes nothing

Unfortunately just a disappointing game that fails to live up to even modest expectations.

There's honestly no way to describe this other than disgraceful.

I received this free with bloodpoints from pre-release. But the thought of paying anything for such low effort content is honestly insulting. A euro or two, sure if people want it badly, but beyond that. No way.

I'm rarely so negative, but this is just insane pricing

This is pretty much X-Com lite. A fun side game for those looking for an X-Com hit without the length of a mainline game.
This is an easier game difficulty wise. The overworld section of the game is simplified, but to be honest I didn't miss it much.

The big new feature (aside from the Alien/Hybrid squad members) is the time line system.
In this, you can see the order of players turns for both members of your own squad and the enemy. This can be manipulated positively and negatively through various skills.
I thought this was pretty cool and definitely made the combat a bit more engaging.

Overall, a fun game for X-Com fans. Particularly if you're a more casual player like myself.

I'm not going to talk about the performance issues some people have been having here, just purely gameplay/story review.

IMPORTANT: If there is one thing that every person getting this game should know, it's KEEP PLAYING AFTER ENDING A!!! If you don't you are missing out on half the game. The story continues after endings A and B. If you've spent most of your first playthrough doing side quests then you will get through the additional endings at a good pace, so don't worry about it taking too long. But it is absolutely essential to getting the full experience from this game.

Gameplay: This game is an interesting mix when it comes to gameplay. The bulk of the game is hack and slash style gameplay, but there are segments that are twin stick shooter and scrolling shooter.
This might not be for everyone, but I found it a really refreshing change and it helped this game feel really unique.

The hack and slash combat is extremely satisfying and there is a decent range of weapons available, all though I found a small set that I used for the majority.

Story: The story is told in a simple but effective manner. The main arc revolves around an Android force which are trying to reclaim earth from an army of machines so that humans can return.
I won't go into any details or spoilers, but I found the main plot good, with a couple of nice twists.

However the strength of this games story is in how it represents the good and bad sides of humanity through the machines developing thought.
Some of the machines on earth have started to think for themselves and imitate humans in some way (as they learn a lot from human data on earth). This allows for some incredibly touching moments of tenderness and joy, as well as moments of true horror and sadness.
You might think that the fact the machines look like toy robots would take away from this, but I found the complete opposite.
Their innocence and naivite/lack of understanding makes it even more powerful. Truly incredible experience.

Visuals/Graphics: Graphically the game looks good. I like the art style and look. I can understand critisisms from some people that the world is a little bare, but I think it fits the theme, and its not something I noticed too much.
One of the strongest elements of the game is the character design and the ANIMATIONS.
I love the look of the characters, but they are truly, truly brought to life by the incredible animation work done by Platinum here. From combat, to movement, to idle animations: they are so smooth and just gorgous. A lot of games could learn from Platinum when it comes to that.

One of the best games I've played in a long time. There's just something special here that really hit met as I played on.

Highly recommended and please don't stop after ending A!