God Eater: Resurrection (PlayStation 4) Review

God Eater: Resurrection was originally God Eater Burst, released on the PSP all the way back in 2010. Taking a jump from PSP to PS4 would be pretty unfeasible, so developers Shift took a different approach. They took God Eater 2 Rage Burst and used it for a complete recreation from the ground up. This method of developing came with some added benefits, including adding in additional the features and mechanics to Resurrection.

There are few games actually developed in the hunting genre and any that are made are inevitably compared to the king of the hunting games, Monster Hunter. Bandai Namco aren't trying to clone Monster Hunter, making plenty of differences in the God Eater franchise to set it apart from Monster Hunter. Firstly, it attempts to tell a story, though, how well it does in this attempt is… questionable. The Monster Hunter games have never cared much about setting up a story, instead relying on the solid gameplay and mechanics along with the highly addictive method of replaying missions.

God Eater: Resurrection is heavily influenced by anime and the story feels very much like one found in an anime series. The problem with this anime-influenced story is that it doesn't really tell the whole tale. The game received an anime adaptation last year, which much further fleshed out the plot and is definitely worth watching to fully understand everything. Set in a dystopian future, the world has become overrun with artificial life-forms known as Aragami. The Aragami has destroyed everything in its path and humanity's only hope of stopping it is an organisation known as Fenrir. Fenrir is home to the God Eaters, specialist fighters who are trained in using weapons made from the very cells of the creatures they hunt, the God Arcs. This game sees the player character as a new type of God Eater, one that can transform its God Arc and take on the most powerful Aragami. Now with a team of elite God Eaters, they plan to try to take their world back.

That anime influence is most noticeable in the design here, and each of the original characters looks as if fresh out of the tie-in. The new character models look great, a world apart from the original PSP models. The Aragami, too, capture the anime aesthetic. While Monster Hunter focuses on more fantasy style designs, the God Eater games instead have more modern elements. The designs of the Aragami are great, including themes from Japanese mythology, yet also including sci-fi elements. Gargantuan lion-dog Aragami, known as Vajra, resemble temple dogs, long-necked and multi-headed monstrosities known as Orochi, not to mention humanoid Aragami who bleed the lines between human and monster. There are some truly superb and original enemies to cut down.

Regardless of this major graphical overhaul, the fact this was a PSP game is inescapable. The graphics and gameplay may be overhauled, but the fundamental design remains the same. Zones are tiny and there is plenty of revisiting the same area for slightly different missions, and it takes a while to recognise the flaws, but once noticed they can't be ignored. The same zones over and over - with what amounts to very much the same missions, too - can begin to feel awfully repetitive. It's a flaw common in hunting titles but one that isn't as noticeable on handheld as it is here on console.

Being in the hunting genre, it's easy to guess what the actual gameplay consists of. After picking up a mission of varying difficulty, it's out into the desolation of the world, usually with a set amount of enemies or a specific gargantuan Aragami to track down and take apart from the considerable catalogue of enemies. After slaughtering the Aragami, it's time to see what serviceable body parts are left scattered amongst the viscera. These can be used to craft new equipment in a very simple crafting system. This simplicity is, thankfully, something that translates throughout every aspect of the crafting, including the gathering of materials. Resurrection has something close to the Monster Hunter style of the required revisiting of missions and slaughtering of mass amounts of enemies but, fortunately, this is nowhere near the annoyance levels found within Monster Hunter, where considerable grinding is required for crafting even the most basic of equipment.

With this being built on the God Eater 2: Rage Burst engine, some new features have been added, including new combat styles and even four new weapon types to tear through the Aragami with. The ranged weapons get a new option with the Shotgun, and the close combat arsenal gets a devastating Scythe that swiftly slashes and cuts through armour, a huge Boost Hammer that uses rockets to deliver some severe blunt force trauma, and, finally, there is the Charge Spear, used to pierce and impale anything in its path. The addition of new weapons and styles are pleasing things to have but the most important addition is a brand new story set after the events of the original, which introduces a new Aragami that is resistant to the God Eaters. Not to mention this new release includes cross-play and cross-save, allowing budding God Eaters to battle together regardless of whether playing on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation Vita.