PGR is without a doubt a good game to play, but it still has a few flaws I hope they can change or revisit in the future.
Starting off with the pros:
+ Gameplay is fun
+ Story DOES get really engaging after a few chapters, honestly feels like I'm actually reading a light novel sometimes.
+ The game is fully f2p. You get around 1200 premium curreny for weeklies and around 4800 after a month. A 10 pull is 2500 premium currency with a 100% chance after 60 pulls to get the banner character during their debut. 70% chance if it's a rerun. A lower tier character (A rank) will be guaranteed after a 10 pull in the regular banner. (You get regular banner pulls for doing weekly "operation guardian" so I highly recommend you DO NOT spend premium currency.)
+ 5 star weapons (Second best rarity) are dropped in Co-op
+ Easy to level up main account level through the teacher system. Also gives some nice rewards for doing so.
+ Music. Oh my god the music. I almost forgot even though it is a staple to the game. Vanguard Sound Studio is the producer of most, if not all, the music in PGR and they do an amazing job at making soundtracks. Need an example? "Last Resort" by Vanguard Sound Studio on youtube. BEST ost in my opinion, only competed by "Revelations."
+ Unique combat system. Although it might be complicated it's really fun. The whole "orb ping" mechanic is a lot like "Connect 4" or "Candy Crush." In which you tap these circle things (called "orbs") to activate one of 3 skills. Each skill has it's own respective color. Tapping an orb (and here's where the whole candy crush thing comes into play) while it is next to another orb of the same color, will increase the damage of your skill based on the amount orbs that are the same color.
Example:
1 red orb alone will do X amount of damage.
2 red orbs together will do 2X amount of damage
3 red orbs together will do 3X amount of damage (Doing 3 orbs of any color is called a "3-ping." Keep that in mind because it is a concept that is used A LOT LOT. This is also the maximum it will increase)
Doing a perfect dodge during an enemy's attack will trigger "matrix" for 3 (I think) seconds. The next orb you tap/click will automatically act as if it were 3 orbs together. Doing another 3-ping while "matrix" is in effect will not make your orbs do 6X damage, so it is highly advised you use the "matrix" effect to clear out any single orbs that are preventing another 3-ping. (I'll see if I can post a picture as an example later.)
Video Example:
Video analysis:
As you can see I activated matrix to get rid of the blue orb instead of tapping it alone. This way the orb counts as a 3-ping and it also sets me up with a second 3-ping by putting the last yellow orb together with the two other yellow orbs. It will be useful since a lot of characters use 3-ping to activate their extra "core passives." They each have their own requirements when it comes to order or timing so make sure to check in the pause menu or the skill menu.
Now for the Cons:
- The game doesn't stick at first. What I mean by this is that the game for most new players is probably going to be boring. You won't have many characters to play as at first, and it will prove to be very unappealing. A gamemode allows you to play as different characters but I found that gamemode to be slightly boring.
- Story. I do have to admit that, while the game has a great story, the first 5 to 9 chapters are UNBELIEVABLY boring. You won't miss out on too much if you skip them.
- Gamemodes. There are a few gamemodes but some of them may be rather unappealing to players. There's weekly boss battles, Weekly War Zone (you basically just fight waves of enemies), Recito De Fatansia (Rogue-like. Allows you to play different characters without having them.), Border pact (High difficulty stages), and Strongholds (extra levels, thats it). You can also replay some bosses which I admit is really fun. Just don't fight "Riot."
- Level by level system. The game plays by stages, which, might be a big deal breaker to a lot of people. I hope you can all look past that and give the game a fair shot.
That's about as much as I can think up of. The game is fun and you should try it out. It's also completely free to try out, so if it's not your style you can just quit. Just please give this game a fair shot, I know people compare it to Honkai A LOT but there's also a lot of unique aspects to the game that really makes it stand out, especially when it comes to combat.
TL;DR Play the game.