The Hack franchise (stylized as .hack) has been around since the PS2 era. It was the first game franchise that I know of to tackle the idea of an MMO that affects the real world. I originally played .Hack//G.U. Last Recode (henceforth referred to as Last Recode) back when it was released on PC in 2017. However, I had played the original set of games on the PS2 a decade before that. Now, Last Recode is available on Switch, bringing this franchise to a whole new audience.

Last Recode picks up where the original set of 4 .hack games left off, after the original version of popular MMO “The World” was destroyed. The World’s first version was a popular MMORPG that had begun to corrupt, putting some people into a comatose state. Now, version 2 of “The World” is available, and you play as Haseo, a character whose close friend Shino has gone into a coma under strange circumstances.

You follow Haseo’s journey through the first 3 Hack GU volumes that made up the original trilogy known as Rebirth, Reminisce, and Redemption. However, new to Last Recode is a 4^th volume called Reconnection. Each of these volumes is its own action RPG, so playing them in order allows you to import your save data as you finish each game, so you can start the next volume with information from the previous volume carrying over.

Gameplay alternates between time spent in “The World”, where you travel with various party members, and sections spent outside of “The World.” When you aren’t fighting in action RPG battles with your party members, you are checking out Haseo’s computer. This serves similarly to an Augmented Reality Game. You can read his emails, check out forum posts, and learn more about the outside world and the game within a game.

In battle, you fight in real-time. You can set your party member to various strategies, such as “free will” or “Life” which is meant to keep party members’ health up. The strategies are limited, but you control Haseo, while the other characters are mostly stuck to those strategies. Haseo can use regular attacks, skills, and an ability called Rengeki if enemies are in the right state.

Rengeki can buff your allies or cast a powerful magic attack. Also, your party members can awaken, which has several uses depending on your settings. Outside of battle, the game is straightforward, you can buy equipment for your characters, upgrade the equipment with materials, and buy items such as restoratives or things to heal status ailments.

As far as gameplay goes, Last Recode plays pretty well. I will say that the visuals haven’t aged well. The moody cel-shading looks decent enough, but the character models and various aspects of the game’s visuals definitely look like they were pulled from the PS2 era. At the same time, the combat is smooth, there aren’t any bugs or crashes, and there is a lot of content in this set.

Truth be told if you’re a fan of the .Hack franchise, you’d be crazy not to pick up Last Recode for the Switch. Being able to take it on the go is great, and you’ve got 4 action RPGs in one package here. At the same time, even new players will have something to enjoy, if they wanna dig into an immersive world where nothing is quite what it seems.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of .Hack//G.U. Last Recode was provided by Bandai Namco for this review.

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.Hack//G.U. Last Recode

$49.99 USD

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• 4 Great Action RPGs
• Smooth Combat
• Interesting Premise and Story
• Cool Character Designs
• Lots of Content

Cons

• Environments are Visually Dated
• Character Models Aren't Great