13 Sentinels review: the PS4 masterpiece hits Nintendo Switch

We’ve published thousands of words about why you should play 13 Sentinels: Aegis RIMThe game is an innovative videogame that mixes science fiction tropes from a century into something completely new. Its story is universal by multiple definitions of the word, and its structure successfully blurs the line between a visual novel and a master’s thesis in genre fiction. That said, I understand why most readers skipped #15 on Polygon’s Top 50 Games of 2020 list.

Like the game’s teenage protagonists, always a step behind the kaiju hellbent on destroying the world, 13 SentinelsIt was a bad timing issue. The title was released on PlayStation 4 in the weeks before the PlayStation 5’s launch, a bad time for a 2D game that probably could have run on the PlayStation 3. The game is finally available on Nintendo Switch today. Although there will be a limited number of major releases, the game should finally gain the wide audience that it deserves.

Image: Vanillaware/Atlus

Okay, so it’s great, but why should anyone actually play this game with no connection to an established franchise, superhero, or general intellectual property? Because you’re unlikely to play anything that’s both this polished while being this batshit — in the best possible way.

The story takes place in 1984, along with a handful of points in the past and future, as early as 1945 and as late as … well, I won’t spoil that for you. In episodic pieces, you will follow the stories of thirteen characters. You can choose to play them in any order. Gradually, you’ll learn about their teenage lives, including their romances, rivals, motivations, and fantasies. And you’ll discover why they must pilot mechs to fight kaiju in some mysterious distant future.

The game doesn’t reference or borrow from sci-fi, so much as it rips loose entire ideas from the sci-fi canon, grafting them onto one monstrous mega-fiction. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you remixed E.T.Together with a dozen or so other classics, it makes sense. I’ve got you the game.

13 SentinelsThis game is just half. It plays like a point and click adventure, with multiple branching dialogue options. There is also a strategy game that can be played in real time and a wiki which provides additional information. They’re an entire can of worms that you can learn about from our original review, but one note for the Switch port: The strategy elements looked a little funky on a 4K TV, but fit perfectly on the smaller portable Switch screen.

It’s a cliché to claim that a particular game is ideal for Switch. But this game is unique in that it works perfectly for Switch. It’s nice that I can play this text-heavy game on the go, but what makes Switch the perfect home for 13 Sentinels is the option to alternate between portable and TV modes. When I’m grinding through mech battles or revisiting character sequences for clues, the portability is perfect. However, when I start a new story, I prefer the TV mode, projecting the game’s gorgeous hand-drawn art on a larger screen. I don’t recommend playing the entire game on a TV — as I did with the PS4 version. You should take time to appreciate how gorgeous this game is.

There’s plenty more for me to tell you about this game, like how it stacks twists atop each other like a tower of turtles, without ever collapsing under all that narrative weight. Though reading more would spoil the fun – and trust me, you’ll be doing plenty of reading once you boot the game up anyway. I’ve written so much about why this game means the world to me. Now I leave y’all to decide whether or not to play it.

13 Sentinels The game was launched on Nintendo Switch on April 12, and also on PlayStation 4 on April 4. Atlus provided a code to download the game. Vox Media is an affiliate partner. Although these partnerships do not impact editorial content, Vox Media could earn commissions for products sold via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.