Its a shame because they are really fun games. Lots of nostaloc references as well as twists on the original story, which keep this game fresh. Fun characters, voice acting has high and lows, the new take on old key scenes is great.
Remake is quite linear but still allows for exploration and finding missable secrets. Rebirth has a more open world style mixed with some linear parts to keep the pacing up.
The main thing is it makes a lot of the scenes and story beats from the OG a lot more impactful and meaningful. The animation and acting are (mostly) really good, and I’ve really enjoyed it so far.
Its easy to think its bloated because they had an entire game for the first few hours of the OG, but its not telling the exact same story, and it really doesn’t feel loated when you actually play.
It feels like a whole new game with a great combat system, and it’s really worth a go, imho.