.hack//G.U. Last Recode

The Good
I previously played the original .hack Quadrilogy back in the day when they were released for the Playstation 2. I really enjoyed those games. So when I heard that Bandai Namco was re-releasing the follow-up series G.U for PS4 and PC, I knew I had to pick it up.

There is a great deal to do in G.U. As an MMO simulation basically, if you've played any real-life MMO, you'll get the handle on this game quickly. There are quests, lots of monsters to fight, and plenty of people you'll befriend during the games that will help you along on your journey. The best part of this game quite frankly are all the goodies you'll unlock along the way. I won't spoil anything for you, but there's a lot of background items and music to unlock, along with some videos. There is also a parody mode video you can watch, but I recommend waiting until you finish each game in this set before watching that.

The Bad
Like a lot of real-life MMOs, this game can get heavy on the grinding. Leveling up your characters is essential to making sure you can finish the dungeons you'll go to in each of the four games that make up G.U. If you don't like lots of old-school grinding, you may want to stay away from this game.

The Bottom Line
As I mentioned above, the .hack series basically simulates an MMO experience without actually having to connect to the Internet. If you've played real-life MMOs such as World of Warcraft, Secret World Legends, or Path of Exile, you'll quickly grow familiar with the concepts presented in Last Recode.

For those who have never played an MMO before, you assume the role of a virtual character, usually known as an avatar or toon, that adventures in a completely virtual (non-real) world with other people who are also playing in this virtual world. Think of it as basically a standard RPG but played online instead of offline.