GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst

If you are a fan of Monster Hunter style games, then the God Eater franchise is the only other game series that I have found that will reliably scratch the itch. This entry will get you both GER and GERB, so 1 and 2 in the series. Originally released on the PSP, these entries are showing their age a bit, but are still solid games in both graphics, controls, and gameplay, especially if you wait to buy the trilogy when it goes on sale.
I recommend you play GER in its entirety first before diving into GERB, even though RB has the better story, graphics, and gameplay. Both games have a linked story, and GERB picks up where GER leaves off, but from a different original vantage point. If you are absolutely flying, you can bare bones platinum GER in under 60 hours and then move onto GERB, which will give you the most "meat" of playtime of the trilogy for most people.
Gameplay is a lot faster then MH, but you are limited to either blocking or dodging all the way out of the way... no i-frames to be found here. Weapon choices will be familiar but more limited than anything MH has to offer. The difference lies in the guns, and the near infinite types of bullets you can create with the bullet editor. Both GER and GERB have some fun things you can do there, and you can spend hours playing around to find out what works. There are also guides to making absolutely bonkers bullets, but I recommend you stay away from them until you grasp the fundamentals of the game.. because you can absolutely cheese some stuff using them. The story is also decidedly anime trope, being the power of friendship can save the world, but it has it's charm and 1/2 I think have the better story compared to 3, which has better graphics and gameplay.
You can occasionally find people who are still playing through GER and GERB, but expect to complete most of the game and the content solo, using your favorite NPCs. If you get people to play with, make sure you exchange avatar cards, especially at endgame. Player avatars are always going to be stronger than maxed out NPC's, and will have better gear / live longer. I keep GERB on my system, so feel free to request to be my friend and you can add my card.
I highly recommend it if this is your genre of game, just be prepared for 161 story missions before you reach the end game. It is a bit longer of a slog than GE1, but definitely worth the journey.

God Eater Resurrection: 9/10
I was surprised to find that the Resurrection version has more depth and better gameplay than the original PSP version. I really enjoyed the Predator Style mechanics; it significantly improved the game's overall flow. However, the side missions feel far too grindy if you're a completionist.

God Eater 2 Rage Burst: 8/10
The addition of Blood Arts, Blood Bullets, and the Blood Rage system was an impressive shift from Predator Style. While I felt the story, characters, and progression in Resurrection were stronger, this is still a great game. That said, the post-game content is a bit absurd; the game tends to bombard you with multiple Aragamis at once, and the AI allies often can't keep up—only Nana can really tank while the others fall quickly. It often feels like a battle of who is more broken: you in Blood Rage, or the Aragamis with their massive damage and spam-heavy attacks.

It's Anime Monster Hunter.

Fewer weapon selection, still fun to play. Everyone has the same mobility, but the weapons have different animations and swing speeds.

It's very cinematic when your character finally talks during specific cutscenes.

Shame our original character from the first game is only talked about, never seen are called by the name you gave him. Even if you have a save file.

God Eater 1 & 2 - 100% Completion Review
Score: 7/10 - Based off 2010 to 2013 Standards
God Eater 1 & 2 are Monster Hunter like games that focuses on hunting down Godlike monsters called Aragami in a post apocalyptic world where the monsters have already won, after fully completing both these games together as they tie in to each other, i'll give some pro's, neutrals and cons
PRO'S:
-God Eater 2 Rage Burst comes bundled with God Eater Resurrection a improved version of the first game
-Great male and female character creation and customization with tons of different hairstyles, clothes, weapons and abilities to choose from
-Blood Abilities that make their debut in the second game were a good way to freshen up the combat a bit
-Good stories that are quite unique and different
-Aragami are quite a unique type of monsters in that they aren't just normal beasts but mythological godlike beings
-Great monster and character designs
-Good music
-Good voice acting
-Good amount of x-appeal, doesn't shy away from the spice
-Having weapons be a Aragami itself with both melee and ranged forms was a neat idea
-Great in game encyclopedia that gives info on all monsters, people, places, terms and abilities
-Alt version of characters that have different load outs to choose from
-General auto repeating radio chitchat can be turned off before missions
-Despite their bleak environments and stories God Eater games always end in a happy ending
-Good performance, didn't encounter any lag or crashes
NEUTRAL'S: "No Score Change From These"
-Too may recolored enemies and reused maps
-Fair warning, due to these games being quite old now they lack quality of life improvements such as solo scaling etc.
-Multiplayer is pretty much extinct at this point, obviously lol
-Protag doesn't talk much outside of combat dialogue
CON'S:
-Too much padding with many missions that serve as nothing but filler in-between the story elements
-Both games suffer a few bugs that require fan made patches to fix as the developers never bothered to fix them such as music randomly stopping, AI not using items etc.
-Some enemies have way too much health
-Games are overall just a bit too grindy and long if your trying to 100% them
-Alt versions of characters can't be used in some Story missions
Overall despite their age God Eater 1 & 2 are still solid Monster Hunter games but they are definitely starting to show their age at this point, so i only really recommend them on sale and if your someone who really likes Monster Hunter type of games or is a big God Eater fan, on sale though they are definitely worth it, but as always, It's.. Up.. To.. You and i'll leave it at that. (^_−).

(This is a review for Resurrection)
Where do i start...This game was honestly the most fun i have had in a long time, the gameplay was fun, enemy design is top notch, story is fascinating and its fun getting to know all the characters.
i started off brand new to this monster hunter genre and this was my first time playing something like that, so i was a bit confused in the beginning, but after a while i slowly learned this games mechanics and gameplay and became hooked, the action just feels so good, its fast, fluid and engaging, your AI companions aren't always perfect, but they do a good enough job of helping out.
Environments were actually pretty cool, yes there is not too much to look at it, and there is not a huge variety when it comes to the different stages and levels the game offers, but that never bothered me, every level felt immersive enough and always left me wondering what the hell could of possibly happened, i was always intrigued looking at all the destruction and barely standing buildings, it really did a good job at showing just how dangerous the Aragami threat really is.
Weapons/Outfits, there's a pretty good variety, options for all kinds of different playstyles, i do not have much else to say on this as i really only stuck to one build, so i will just leave it at that.
All in all, solid, well made game, if you love post apocalyptic anime games, i definitely think this is worth checking out, its a good 8/10 in my opinion and there is still a decent chunk of things to do even after finishing the game.

Tried both games on PSP long ago, didn't get very far. Bought all 3 GE games after playing through Code Vein and loving it.
I've played all these games on my Steam Deck OLED and while I've had some stuttering problems initally, they're fixed with a simple line "taskset -c 0,2 %command%" added to launch options (don't bother with the PROTON_NO_FSYNC one you might've found on the Internet, it doesn't work). Fixed both games for me, after that, almost zero problems, save for a single black screen during one of GERs ending cutscenes).
That being said, both God Eater Resurrection and God Eater 2 Rage Burst are very good, yet flawed games. I'm not sure if the series qualifies for the "hidden gem"/"cult classic" status, but I'd say it does.
The aesthetics (uniforms, weapons, character/monster designs) are just dripping with that edgy 2000s anime coolness, you just love to see it. The music is made by Go Shiina, if you know that name, then it should tell you everything you need to know about the games' soundtrack. It rocks. They just don't make them like this anymore.
I've played through these games when I craved some of that sweet, sweet anime cheesiness that's so sincere/earnest you can't help but find it endearing, and that's exactly what I got. While the stories aren't very deep (unless you're 14), don't try anything new nor seek to subvert your expectations, they're still very enjoyable for the most part and you should end up warming up to the majority of the cast.
Sadly, I can't say the same positive things about the gameplay. Both games very much show their age here. It's not terrible, but 50 hours deep into Resurrection, the grind really started to wear me down. Granted, you don't really HAVE to grind in order to progress the main story (save for material farming to keep up with the difficulty), but there are still some things locked behind optional missions like secret characters. The Predator Styles are a great addition to GER, they add some very nice customization to your moveset and their absence is very noticeable when starting GE2RB. I guess Blood Arts are cool, too, I just wish you could equip more than one.
Overall, I feel like if you're into both anime and monster hunting genre of games, the series is a must play, especially considering for how cheap you can get it these days. Like, what do you MEAN you buy one game and get the other one FOR FREE??
P.S: Ren is the best girl.

Bought it on a whim, not expecting much, but it turned out to be a pretty fun game.