For those of you unaware, Attack On Titan, also known as “Shingeki No Kyojin”, is a worldwide anime hit. I bet you should have already heard of it if you are into this type of animation. So far I’ve watched both first and second Season, giving me the chance to totally recommend it, even for anyone that is not into anime.

Now, the most important question here… Is it possible for an anime show to turn into a video game and be successful? Let’s find out.

---

---

Genre: Action RPG
Developed and Published by: Koei Tecmo
Reviewed on Xbox One S, also available on PC, Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4.

---

Story

As an introduction, Shingeki no Kyojin is the story of humanity against mysterious and hostile Titans hordes. Surrounded by extremely high walls, humans somehow feel safe, until peace is suddenly gone. The humiliation of living caged as well as the loss of family members will carry most characters to join military files and fight the Titans in order to achieve true freedom.

The main game story, based on Season 2 show and covering some of the Season 1 final events, is told via cutscenes and introduces a brand new customizable and playable character who joins 104th cadet corps. These cutscenes and his journal will guide you throughout the story. While this might not be a faithful move to the show, it doesn’t alter the original story, so it’s well implemented. Players will be also able to enjoy untold and original stories supervised by series creator Hajime Isayama.

Your character story will be pretty similar to Eren Jaeger’s; when the Titans attacked after a long peace period, he lost his parents and therefore his vengeance quest got started. This will be the end of the story in order to avoid spoilers.

Gameplay

Single Player

Attack On Titan 2 missions usually involve slaying Titans; that’s what you came here for in the first place. Although it may sound like a repetitive task, it’s definitely not, at least at the very beginning. To partially avoid this, things can get overwhelming sometimes, that’s how most missions work. Let’s say you have to protect some objective, for example, a building, and at the same time you could run out of gas or your blades could not be as sharpened as you wished due to the intense fighting. In addition to that, a limited time secondary mission pops up. What are you going to do?

The answer to that is given by the game itself; completing side missions will unlock rewards such as construction signals, giving the ability to build a base in key map spots for the player to supply or place a defensive tower instead. The base building mechanism offers more possibilities in battle and it’s more than welcome. It’s a pretty simple mechanic that could really help in some missions and just feel optional in others.

On each mission, freedom will be the top feeling you will experience; due to the amazing and improved Omni-directional mobility (ODM), the player will be constantly moving at high pace around cities and forests. The way ODM works is brilliant, both movement control and sensation feel great, and when combined with action, it’s unbeatable.

Attack On Titan 2 combat is second to none. Controls are somehow different from other games but it all makes sense. The air control is there for you to be amazed and slashing animations are great visually. The lack of variety of weapons is somehow forgivable thanks to other stuff like sneak attacks, the ability to eventually control a Titan and squad orders or combos.

You will be constantly flying around the map, whether it’s for Titan slaying purposes, to gather supplies, build bases or search for team members in order to get them assigned in your squad. The way squads work is easy to understand. You can target different Titan body parts and command your squad members to focus on legs, for example, reducing Titan mobility. Squad orders can help you clear some areas pretty fast and it might eventually save you from being killed by a Titan.

There are some RPG elements as well; you can level up your own character, establish and improve relationships with NPCs and unlock skills. Regiment funds currency will be earned with each victory on the field, giving the player the option to buy items, buy new gear and weapons or simply upgrade them.

The less exciting part of this game is the “mission lobby” known in-game as daily life. This routine is a good opportunity to improve relationships with NPCs but it will feel boring quickly. Luckily you can skip this by simply talking to the proper NPC in order to start the next mission.

Multiplayer

There are several game modes for players to try and an online lobby which works like Dragon Ball Xenoverse. This is the perfect mode to play with friends as finding any match seems more like a miracle or simply a lucky strike.

Graphics

The visual aspect really stands out. It really fits the show style with its art direction. Koei Tecmo presents an immersive world loyal to what any fan could expect. Having the chance to visit iconic places and travel to each via ODM just makes this game worth playing.

Both character and Titan models are extremely accurate if compared to the show ones and the game features good looking textures overall.

Sound

While the soundtrack is unfortunately not so memorable, especially during loading times, it does provide a decent vibe to the game. Another thing I missed was the music from the anime intros, that is a huge flaw. The best part of this section has to be the Japanese voice acting, which is a must for hardcore fans, and also it’s worth mentioning that most action related sounds are on spot.

Summary

Attack On Titan 2 is a solid title that will impress players with its ambitious high paced combat and stunning visuals. It has some minor flaws such as some poor game design choice regarding Daily Life gameplay, but overall it’s a pleasant experience for any AOT fan and, probably, a great discovery for any newcomer.