GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst

I previously had written about God Eater Resurrection in this review, mainly with the intent to add-on my experiences of God Eater 2: Rage Burst and how the two contrasted. It would be tempting to start with the sequel since much of God Eater 2’s assets are carried over from the first, with even the menus largely appearing the same between both releases. That said, they are collective experiences, part of one single entity. Make no mistake either, both God Eaters have unique campaigns that feed into one another, but there are gameplay quirks that differentiate them even so.
But, without getting ahead of myself, let’s start from the beginning: Most people will tell you God Eater is an anime inspired version of Monster Hunter, and structurally you would be right for thinking so. God Eater is a co-op orientated action RPG, emphasising smart item and equipment choices, a necessity when attempting to shift the balance of fights against boss like entities, known as the Aragami. Missions are picked from a quest dealer in a hub space, again similar to Monster Hunter, and there are different types of weapons and armours to peruse, each with their own play style, which you also have to consider when heading into battle. But that is where God Eater’s similarities to Monster Hunter end, and where God Eater earns it’s own identity stems from the beat ‘em up style of controls, which liken it more to a brawler such as Devil May Cry, or Bayonetta, as it flows effortlessly with the combat often encouraging combos, mixing up heavy and light attacks besides “devouring” foes in order to get bonuses through what is known as burst. God Eater’s main gimmick derives from this burst feature and certainly the addictive part of it’s fighting comes from keeping a burst chain going, between combining more, and more, attacks and getting devours in to extend that burst further. God Eater Resurrection does it’s own thing with Predator Styles, a facet of burst that changes what it does and how it animates between manoeuvres. This doesn’t sound like much but the bonuses and consistency of burst is drastically changed because of it and, inexplicably, this feature is entirely missing from God Eater 2 Rage Burst, which genuinely changes the seamlessness of chaining burst altogether.
Although, what hasn’t been mentioned yet is how that interacts with God Eater’s transitioning forms between sword and gunplay. Some enemies are more prone to gun damage, others will take further hitpoints from the type of melee weapon in action. Regardless of what you use, your playable character can swap dynamically between melee based attacks and projectile focused flurries, and the depth of this can be felt from the intricate bullet modification system, which allows you to tailor shots (before fights), allowing them to work as you see fit. It is incredibly thorough, with the very angle of shots, delays from impact, and explosion type, all being fully customisable.
The missions themselves are also very score orientated, and I do find it immensely gratifying pushing the finishing times of missions in order to obtain SSS grades from scoring tallies. I am not normally a fan of alphabetised grading in games, since it forces players to try-hard “metas” in order to win, but the grading does encourage the revisitation of older missions, such as those on lower ranks, and if you really want to push yourself you can even gun for SSS+ grades by going it alone. Which leads into my last point which is the way in which teams work in God Eater, including AI companions on missions. Monster Hunter will always receive praise for it’s handling of Palicoes, and later Palamutes, but what if I told you God Eater had entire team members played by the computer, with arguably more customisable skills and settings, besides an additional support character who rewards the player with their own bonuses upon mission completion. For a PSP game, it is incredibly ambitious of Shift to attempt such a thing, and while not half as impressive on PC or PS4, there is something to admire in attempting to replicate the multiplayer component of God Eater with computer orientated team mates. In-between Left 4 Dead and Bioshock Infinite, the sliding scale of either making your NPC companions too weak or too strong is a difficult balance to maintain. God Eater arguably has some artificial difficulty in attempting to make your AI friends weaker in various situations, with “old type” God Eaters not even able to share burst or switch gun/sword forms at will, but at the same time, you quickly pick out your favourites whether because of how they are presented in the narrative (Lindow) or because of how ridiculously helpful that character can be in those stressful combat situations (Alisa).
Both God Eater games have a harsh difficulty curve but much of that originates from neither truly explaining the mechanics as effectively as they should, heck. Having played both God Eater Resurrection and God Eater 2 Rage Burst with a partner in crime through co-op, over the internet, the effectiveness of link aid, combat buffs, and sharing of burst go a long, long, way in dialling back the challenge of some arenas. I would always advise finding someone to play, and learn, God Eater with. A lot can be earned from that previously discussed trial and error of having to push for SSS grades, but again, it can feel more gruelling if you haven’t made heads or tails of God Eater’s core framework. I do however have to applaud the focus on storytelling, and the chemistry between God Eater’s colourful cast of characters as it makes them instantly memorable. Some designs might be a little… Suspect… But you get a good feel for the universe’s vibes when those goofy personalities interact with you in the game world (especially with the likes of Dr. Sakaki). The lack of a Japanese dub is a bit of a letdown although this can be patched in with a little effort.
Given the number of hours I have put into it, besides completing the achievements to 100% (atleast on God Eater Resurrection anyway), I can safely say I feel rewarded for putting my time into this series. To go back to my earlier point in this review, it is highly recommended you start with God Eater Resurrection first. DON’T play God Eater 2 Rage Burst until you have comfortably finished every main story beat that the first game has to offer. There are actually two or three post-game scenarios in God Eater Resurrection, so you will see the credits being run through a bunch of times before you have done absolutely everything worthwhile. That said, the post-post-post game is insanely challenging and, unless you absolutely want more content, I’d suggest moving on to the sequel by that point. You may or may not prefer the changes but certainly the removal of Predator styles does make fighting function a tad different compared to the mad button mashing of Blood Arts. That said, I wouldn’t begrudge anyone preferring God Eater 2 Rage Burst’s approach to combat.
All in all, this package of God Eater Resurrection and God Eater 2 Rage Burst is well worth expereincing, a happy alternative to Monster Hunter (even more so if you have a reliable friend or two willing to join you). I can't recommend it enough.

GOD EATER RESURRECTION REVIEW
---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☑ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☑ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☑ 9
☐ 10
havent completed rage burst yet so ill post it after completing
---{ Author }---
☑ bitpro.

Monster Hunter-like with BIG ANIME aesthetic. At times the combat actually feels like Kingdom Hearts as well, in my opinion.
VERY grindy, kind of addicting. But if you aren't into the gameplay loop within 3 or 4 solid hours, this game isn't for you. Nothing wrong with not liking it either, it was originally a handheld (original PSP) exclusive and at times the limitation of both the graphics and gameplay emphasize this.
Story is... kind of "eh." But I think the world is interesting and one story element I did enjoy was the acknowledgement of events in the original game. Characters from God Eater 1 are acknowledged and some even make returns in this game.
The anime aesthetic is yes, kind of cringe. But it's stylish and even though the characters make me wince sometimes, I do find them kind of charming.
I've yet to play GE3 but one thing I REALLY dislike about this sequel is that there's not more to the customization. It feels very much like GE1 which isn't a bad thing, but also feels lacking in originality. So hopefully as the series grows in popularity (assuming it ever does) features like more elaborate customization, deeper character creation, and better articulation of stats (this is a big one: RPG leveling should be a thing in these games) should definitely be included in future installments.
GE2 is an enjoyable and addicting 7/10 that kills time like the plague.

Anime Monster Hunter on speed. Includes God Eater Resurrection which is very similar. This one starts really slow with many fights against the same monsters. The variety of monsters gets better later, but still many fights against the same monsters. So far it has been very easy, easier than the first one. But it is fun.
Wait for a sale, i bought all 3 for 7€ (-90% on bundle!), i would not buy this one for 50€.
Update: At difficulty 11 they switched from "too easy" to "insanley hard and annoying", stopping for now.

Those who liked Monster Hunter and Anime storytelling yall need to play this one

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

God Eater 2: Rage Burst is a fast-paced action RPG that blends high-stakes combat, anime storytelling, and deep customization into a monster-hunting experience that’s both stylistically bold and mechanically rich. Originally released as an enhanced version of God Eater 2, this iteration brings additional story content, weapons, and balance adjustments, helping it stand on firmer ground as a standalone title. Set in a dystopian world overrun by monstrous entities known as Aragami, the game tasks players with joining the Blood unit—an elite squad of God Eaters—to protect what’s left of humanity. While comparisons to the Monster Hunter series are inevitable, Rage Burst carves out its own identity through its speed, storytelling, and heavy focus on character relationships.
Combat is undoubtedly the heart of the game, and it delivers with intensity. The God Arc—the transforming weapon used by all God Eaters—serves as the core of the experience, allowing players to switch seamlessly between melee, ranged, and shield modes mid-battle. Each weapon type brings a distinct playstyle, and with multiple melee forms (such as Buster Blades, Short Blades, and Scythes) and several gun forms, the combat system is highly customizable. Fights against Aragami are frantic and often demanding, requiring quick reflexes, strategic positioning, and smart use of limited resources. The addition of the Blood Arts system—special techniques tied to weapon types—adds further complexity, encouraging experimentation and mastery over time. The sheer number of build possibilities ensures combat never feels repetitive, even if mission structures sometimes do.
The flow of gameplay revolves around accepting missions from the Fenrir branch, slaying specific Aragami, and collecting materials to craft better gear. While the mission format can become formulaic—especially in the early game—it’s the fast-paced action and satisfying progression that keep the loop engaging. The AI-controlled teammates are surprisingly competent and can hold their own in combat, making solo play viable and enjoyable, though the game really shines in multiplayer co-op. Being able to team up with friends to take down towering beasts enhances both the challenge and the thrill of the hunt. Enemy designs, particularly the Aragami, are another high point. These monsters are otherworldly and creative, combining futuristic technology, mythology, and horror elements into truly unique foes.
Narratively, God Eater 2: Rage Burst takes itself seriously, and while the storytelling isn’t always subtle, it’s deeply committed to building a cohesive and emotional world. The Blood unit’s members are given plenty of screen time, and their personalities are fleshed out through both main story scenes and side interactions. Themes of loss, survival, duty, and human connection are threaded throughout the campaign, and though the pacing occasionally drags, especially during dialogue-heavy segments, it’s hard not to feel invested in the fate of the team. The protagonist is a silent character, but their role is central and impactful, acting as a stabilizing force in a group frequently tested by grief, moral ambiguity, and overwhelming odds.
Graphically, the game reflects its origins as a handheld title. While Rage Burst received a visual upgrade for PC and console, it still carries over some simplistic textures and low-poly models. That said, the art direction is stylish and cohesive, with bold character designs, slick UI elements, and intense, cinematic effects during combat. The flashy animations and dramatic battle sequences make up for the dated visuals. The soundtrack, composed by Go Shiina, is excellent—delivering a blend of orchestral, electronic, and vocal tracks that elevate the tension and emotion in both battles and story scenes. The voice acting (available in Japanese with English subtitles) is generally strong and contributes to the game’s dramatic tone.
From a content standpoint, Rage Burst is generous. Beyond the main campaign, the game includes a large number of optional missions, high-difficulty challenges, and post-game content. There’s a deep crafting system with hundreds of weapons and armor pieces to build and upgrade, encouraging long-term engagement and experimentation with different builds. Additionally, the newly introduced “Blood Rage” mechanic adds another strategic layer during combat, allowing players to unleash powerful enhancements by fulfilling certain combat conditions. These additions help give endgame players more to chew on, though the grind can become noticeable in later stages as resource requirements grow steeper.
Despite its many strengths, the game isn’t without flaws. The mission structure can become repetitive, especially in the early to mid-game, and the difficulty curve is inconsistent. Some missions feel far too easy, while others spike suddenly, depending on your equipment or familiarity with enemy attack patterns. The UI, though stylish, can feel cluttered at times, especially when sorting through the extensive crafting menus. Additionally, while the story is ambitious, its delivery—through static dialogue scenes and occasional exposition dumps—may not appeal to players looking for more cinematic storytelling.
Still, God Eater 2: Rage Burst remains a compelling experience for fans of anime action RPGs and monster-hunting games. Its emphasis on speed, character-driven narrative, and deep combat customization sets it apart from others in the genre. Though it doesn’t entirely escape the limitations of its handheld roots, the improvements made in the Rage Burst edition are substantial enough to offer a rich, satisfying experience, particularly for those willing to engage with its systems and invest in its world. Whether you're drawn in by the thrill of battling monstrous Aragami or the bonds formed with your squadmates, God Eater 2: Rage Burst offers an emotionally charged, action-heavy journey well worth taking.
Rating: 8/10