The irony of the intentionally excessive profanity seems to be lost on the people leaving negative reviews.

Pokemon was overly childish and hand-holdy, and after years of being repetitively exposed to that, the polar opposite is cathartic. The developer went for the complete inverse of that dialogue, and it was brilliant and obviously intentional. There are even references to the self awareness within the game if you talk to certain NPCS.

If you started with Pokemon Yellow / Red / Blue or even Silver / Gold you will appreciate this love letter to that era of gaming. The similarities and references from the moment you're given the fishing rod at the beginning of the game makes it impossible to avoid smiling.

Gameplay mechanics and story are both S tier for a game like this. I'm not sure what people were expecting, but this has far exceeded what I've assumed the game would be like after watching the trailers.

For those considering the Digital Deluxe or pre-order bonus for the armor and weapon skins, they've locked them behind NG+. You don't even have access to the cosmetics until you've completed the entire game. They're just glorified dust collectors in your inventory.

Apparently changing the appearance of your armor and weapon in your initial adventure sounded like too much fun to the developers, so you must finish the entire 50+ hour game before unlocking the ability to change your character appearance.

Why?

Trying to wrap my head around their thought process almost causes vertigo. This might be the most indefensible and confusing design choice I've seen for any game of this genre.

Just let me use the cosmetics that I've paid for, and for pre-ordering the game. It's not complicated.

I bought this because people on Reddit told me not to.

I've never played a game like this, and neither have you.

Stop reading the reviews and just buy it.