Got this cuz of Jacob Geller’s description from an older video about how it portrayed “true, uncompromising ugliness”. And while that is certainly true for the visual/audio style and some of the story beats, it doesn’t really change the fact that it’s most abrasive qualities are it’s only interesting ones.
This isn’t much more than a really mediocre 7th generation cover-shooter with a genuinely impressive presentation. And I wanna be clear that it is impressive as it’s a pre- The Last of Us / pre- Spec Ops: The Line video game that successfully adopts a cinematic visual styling that enhances both the cutscenes and moment-to-moment gameplay. The digital grain that gets more intense in darkness, the blinding lens flares, the fact that the camera shakes so much when running or when in a gunfight that it feels like the cameraman is always trying to catch-up with the player; all of it is top-notch. I just can’t help but think that if this aesthetic was applied to a different game that had a more engaging gameplay loop, or even if the writing could match that same artistry, then this could’ve been something really special.
This isn’t much more than a really mediocre 7th generation cover-shooter with a genuinely impressive presentation. And I wanna be clear that it is impressive as it’s a pre- The Last of Us / pre- Spec Ops: The Line video game that successfully adopts a cinematic visual styling that enhances both the cutscenes and moment-to-moment gameplay. The digital grain that gets more intense in darkness, the blinding lens flares, the fact that the camera shakes so much when running or when in a gunfight that it feels like the cameraman is always trying to catch-up with the player; all of it is top-notch. I just can’t help but think that if this aesthetic was applied to a different game that had a more engaging gameplay loop, or even if the writing could match that same artistry, then this could’ve been something really special.