It wears its Aperture Science influences on its sleeve, but this is absolutely a worthy entry in the Portal-like subgenre of puzzle games. The fact that this was developed by a single person is mind-boggling!

My main critique of it is that the core to every puzzle's solution feels very same-y. Once you identify the final step in a certain level's sequence of required actions, everything falls into place easily, for the most part. I still had fun figuring it all out, though; and a few levels rose to the challenge that I would have preferred seeing across more of the game. (I never had to use a walkthrough or look up answers, for the record.)

I went through a weird phase of loving this game for a short while but then getting really frustrated with several aspects, namely not being properly equipped to deal with heavier enemies and dealing with teammates who make crucial mistakes and ruin a mission's chances of success.

After a few rebalances to enemy design, such as making chargers capable of being one-shot by an EAT or RR shot to the face, and after learning the actual gameplay strategies to deal with more difficult enemies and hordes, I've been having far less frustrating moments with the gameplay itself. I finally feel like I've figured out how to engage with the game in the way the devs intend.

Paradoxically, I've been consistently having a much better time when playing at higher difficulties for random teammates; I now almost always stick to difficulty 7 so I can still get super samples. I guess it's because these players have more experience and knowledge with the game, and are therefore more likely to be better at it. Sure, that random guy who loves to shoot at every enemy patrol group will still join me occasionally, but the mission is still manageable.

One other major reason to love this game that doesn't get mentioned much: it does not demand ALL of your free time. It has daily challenges, sure, but only one per day. The game is so easy to pick up, play for 30-60 minutes, and put down while still feeling like you've gotten a satisfactory gaming session in. Or, if you're able and inclined to do so, you could play for several hours in a row. I'm starting to value this kind of time flexibility more and more as I grow older and my list of life responsibilities increases.

Going to rate this 4 stars for now. It would normally be a 3.5, but the fact that this one of the best live service games we've seen in a very long time, as well as the fact that this game seems to have an extremely bright future ripe with potential, makes me willing to bump that up. Hell, I can easily see this being a 4.5 in the future.