I've always had a soft spot for the .hack series of anime, especially .hack//SIGN and .hack//Roots. While I don't consider either of them to be amazing, they are conceptually original and it's interesting how they were delivered to complement their video game counterparts. And in the case of .hack//G.U. Last Recode, .hack//Roots is the anime counterpart - I'll refer to them as GU and Roots from here onwards for brevity.
It's hard for me to decide whether to recommend this title or not given my slight bias towards the anime series. So instead, I've decided not to recommend based on the fact that this game hasn't aged well (at all). The graphics and 3D models look very dated; and the action combat is clunky and not very engaging. This doesn't mean it's a bad game, it's just not good by modern standards for a video game - but it's definitely more than just playable as long as you can tolerate the gameplay of older console games.
You'll be playing as an unnamed main character who plays an MMO game, "The World", and whose in-game character name goes by "Haseo" - it's a "game-within-the-game" concept. You'll have access to in-game mail, forums, news site and the MMO, with which you'll often be switching to and fro as the story progresses - much like a simulation of real-world (but without multiple displays because you're gonna need to logout from the MMO just to read mails, etc!). When you logout of the MMO, you are presented with a desktop screen (a simulation of an operating system) which is used to access said features. The story revolves around mysterious incidents of players (of The World) falling into comatose (in the real life) which is somehow connected to the game.
Despite my not recommending it (I'm really on the fence here), I think there's something that can help you decide more easily. You will be thrown into time 8 months later shortly after you begin playing GU. The anime, Roots, is about what happens during this time gap (as a prologue) and you can watch it to see if you're invested in the storyline - youtube has some dubbed episodes (but might not be a complete collection). A word of caution, however, is that the anime is more philosophical than action-oriented. I've actually rewatched Roots just to recap the earlier story. While it's often said that .hack popularized the "Isekai" genre in animes, it isn't parallel/alternate worlds and is very similar to Sword Art Online but with a more extensive backstory (though I don't think either series had inspired each other).
If you liked the anime, I recommend getting the game for a continuation of the storyline as it is well-delivered in the game. The voice-acting (both Japanese and English dub) and pacing is pretty good although it can feel like a slow burn and text/cutscene heavy. The game consists of 4 volumes and is down to 90% discount when on sale. I should also mention that the game includes video summaries of the quadrilogy before GU (referred to as "IMOQ"), to provide some context relating to The World up to this point.
If what you care about in a JRPG is primarily story and immersion (i.e. everything else is secondary, or can be overlooked), I think GU is an above-the-average JRPG title. The story is good and still holds up well, with a balanced focus on both plot and characters. If you liked the type of stories in Persona series, I find the story in this game to be pretty similar. If you're acquainted with the .hack series, you'll also find characters in the game that connect back to earlier games/animes, which I found to be a nice touch. There's also humour every now and then which can be easily appreciated by any self-respecting weeb (disclaimer: I play on Japanese dub). The music is good too where immersion is concerned, though not at the level of its earlier anime counterparts, which without a doubt, had contributed greatly to the popularity of the series - like "Key of the Twilight" by Yuki Kajiura, or "Dwindled Bible" by ALI Project, as examples. My favorite song in GU is "Gentle Hands" and a couple of other BGMs that stood out to me are "Eternal City Mac Anu" and "Celestial City Dol Dona" which are played when in town. As a side note, if you found "Gentle Hands" pleasing to your ears, you should definitely also check out "You smiled kindly" and "Carl's theme" - I rotate between these 3 as BGMs played when in the desktop screen.
Now, if you didn't like the anime (or don't like anime at all), then I suggest skipping it because the main attraction here is the story and world-building, the rest are pretty mediocre. It's also filled with anime tropes which most people either love or hate.
Regardless, I am having fun with GU because I've watched the anime long time ago (and liked it) but have never played the game. But I feel that both GU and IMOQ deserves modern remakes; especially IMOQ, which I feel is far superior (story-wise) but is even clunkier in terms of the gameplay. So here's hoping that Bandai Namco would one day decide to remake the 2, so that I no longer need to hesitate about recommending them. Ironically, for a game that I didn't recommend due to its aged graphics and gameplay, it's a new entry in my favorites list.
P.S. There's something about Haseo that is neither explained in the game nor in the anime. However, he does have a relationship to past series (as with many characters you meet in the game) which I'll leave to you to find out on your own. ;)
