Code Geass: Lost Stories || Yet another tower-defense gacha with a nostalgic skin

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Code Geass: Lost Stories is a tower-defense gacha game developed by Komoe Technology Limited. Originally releasing just a little over three months ago, this game is based on a well-known franchise dating back from the late 2000's.

For someone who grew up watching the anime, having a game based in Lelouch and C.C.'s universe is practically god-sent since we barely have games centered around them. Unfortunately, as I've come to realize while playing this, the game offers almost nothing aside from nostalgia.

Gameplay

As previously stated, this is a tower-defense game. Your main objective here is to prevent enemies from getting past you.

Gameplay consists of collecting Knightmares (the bots) and pilots through a (somewhat badly rated) gacha system and matching their capabilities. Unlike some TD games where a character is limited in what they could do for the team, you can actually swap out pilots and put them in mechs depending on what the situation needs but only before you deploy. This sorta adds a degree of customizability and a layer of strategy due to the mixing and matching of abilities but the mechanic kinda falls flat once you notice that almost all mechs are similar save for a select few.

Some levels also feature a boss battle where the POV is moved besides to fighting Knightmares. Still, gameplay here is limited to activating abilities.

While theoretically the mechanics seem sound, the gameplay feels overwhelmingly sluggish most of the time. I'm playing this on the fastest available speed and it still feels like its on a crawl. It just makes for an underwhelming gameplay loop in my opinion.

Graphics, Story, and Sound

For the sake of brevity, I'm just gonna lump these three aspects into one segment. It's mostly because they all gave of a certain vibe:

They all really feel like the anime.

Code Geass: Lost Stories is a retelling of the original story. This time, though, you are directly a part of it.

This is actually a leg up from other anime tie-in games where the story is just an abridged version of the show it's based off from with a bit of new content for events. Even if you've watched the anime and films, this game offers a different perspective that could still hook you in even if just for a bit.

Every cutscene is animated with Live2D and has complete voice acting from the original actors in the anime. Unfortunately, the gameplay loop really drags this game out so much that you sometimes forget these fine details.

Conclusion

In all, I kinda feel like this was a wrong step for the franchise. Code Geass is supposed to feel dramatic and action-packed. The slow and lackluster gameplay just makes this game feel like it's a cash grab trying yo cash in on the nostalgia of fans.

Play this game for the sake of the memories you have of the series. Aside from the nostalgia, this game is a bit hard to recommend to. others.