Review: .hack//G.U. Last Recode (PS4, also on PC)

A big four-games-in-one experience like .hack//G.U. Last Recode has the potential to fall down at some point in its long journey. As a package of three games that were released separately when they first came out with a brand new experience on top, I initially wondered if they’d work well played back-to-back, as well as how a much newer addition to the series would feel beside the older ones. Luckily for Last Recode, each volume contained plenty of new things and variation to keep things interesting, with each feeling like a new chapter for the characters and story growing in each one, building to a big story journey that felt very complete. With engaging reactive combat on top and a story with plenty of character growth, Last Recode’s smoothness makes .Hack//G.U. pass the test of time well and is an old story I’m glad I could experience in its upgraded form.

.Hack//G.U. Last Recode’s Convenient Area Word Dungeons

Have you ever been stuck at a point in the story of a JRPG and needed somewhere you can level up quickly but all the random battles are giving either too little EXP or are frustratingly difficult? I know it’s happened to me too many times. In .Hack//G.U. Last Recode though, this is an issue I haven’t experienced once, thanks to its convenient and forgiving dungeon creation system through Area Words that create custom dungeons tailored to the parameters of the words you used. Whether I’ve been under leveled or wanted to be safe before going into battle, .Hack//G.U. Last Recode’s innovative way to unlock dungeons both in and out of the story have been incredibly useful for leveling between story moments and I’m appreciative of how they’ve kept Last Recode both challenging, yet frustration-free.