I started playing this game and when I came up for air five hours later I found myself in the burning ruins of a rival daimyou's castle, my katana soaked in blood.

I did not have a katana or feudal lord when I started, but I can't complain.

Playing with mouse and keyboard makes you feel like you're just watching your character and occasionally get to do a QT event to determine what you do for the next three seconds. I'm not going to go out and get a controller just for this one game just to see if it feels better that way, so...

4/24/24: There is currently a bug or set of bugs that makes a subset of the player base, including myself, unable to connect to any multiplayer lobby. Until it is fixed, I have to review this as a big DO NOT BUY YET. I got this as a gift from a friend who was impatient about me being on the fence, and unfortunately I was correct to be hesitant.

The few solo missions I went on reminded me a lot of Helldivers 1 in a good way, so I think this review will eventually change to a yes once they get their matchmaking and lobby bugs ironed out. Check back later.

Edit 2/28/24:
They released a patch today that now makes me get stuck on an indefinite loading screen while trying to get into a match such that I can't even play the game solo anymore. Definitely a big DO NOT BUY. [This was fixed on the following patch and I forgot to edit the review.]

Edit 5/4/24:
Might as well mention the scummery of Sony's PSN putsch. If Sony course corrects I'll edit to recommended (even though my original Windows install still can't play multiplayer and I have to dual boot a clean copy two and a half months later!)

Edit 5/5/24:
https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/1787331667616829929?t=NhwAEm4fGpVJj-UyI1lrXA
Sony broke before the corps did.