This game is the reason why a guy [the legendary u/-YoRHa2B-] started working on dxvk, to make this game compatible on linux after it released. Valve hired him and made Proton out of it. The result is the Steam Deck, this remains one of the best games for the SD.
I get where you’re coming from, but I think it tried some really interesting stuff. The way it mixed genres, seamlessly transitioning from hack and slash to bullet hell during different scenes for one thing.
Other things that come to mind:
-The soundtrack with it’s strange, ancient sounding vocals
-Just generally how odd and mysterious everything is - it felt like it tried something different during a time when a lot of games were becoming quite samey.
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Making the player question their choices on subsequent playthroughs. How ‘meta’ it was (obviously I have to mention the credits)
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The way the story doesn’t pull its punches. And the general nihilism of everything - the machine children dying comes to mind, and the two girls programmed to feel endless guilt
The whole package just stuck in my mind more so than any other game of that time.
Oh yeah, I forgot to bring up the music. Absolutely love it. I picked up N:A because of the FFXIV raid, mostly because I was enthralled by the music.