this isn’t a review, I’m just having fun talking about my experience playing the game :7) mostly spoiler free

really cute game, spent a lot of it thinking I was nearly finished the main story, so I was procrastinating in game by just messing around making and selling things in the different lives I had for my character- I had been hoarding everything I wasn’t using for crafting so that once the main quest was completed I could spend the rest of the game /retired/ and use the rest of the gameplay just being lazy, because I wanted to get as much done inside the story as I could- but admittedly did abandon completing quite a few side quests
Something thag did surprise me was how much running around there was to do after the credits, which made me cry. The credits made me cry- it’s a very worthwhile game to finish , it’s actually got a very dope concept , and since I took my time playing through it the first time, I feel confident in running through on a new account and speed running the main story, just to see how quickly it can be completed ( by myself, I’m sure anyone else could do this too )

It was a lot of fun looking at the map at the end and realising how many areas I’d disregarded as just being like,
Map fodder- was actually an unlockable area

CUTE GAME
LIKED IT A LOT
WOULD BE INTERESTED IN PLAYING OTHER FANTASY KIND OF RPGS SIMILAR BC I HAD A NICE TIME

I wish I had anything meaningfully original to say about this. It's daunting, in more ways than one. I could stumble through praise for its clockwork construction, the heartrending setpieces, and its admirable, probably unjustified confidence that you're going to figure this out—whoever you are, whatever "this" is. But that shit rings hollow, because there's nothing I can say that captures how important I think it is.

Outer Wilds is one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had. It's going to stay with me for the rest of my life.

this game makes me feel like the dumbest motherfucker alive.

and i love it. never has a strategy game so beautifully crafted a CONSTANTLY tense experience without making situations feel completely hopeless. every single turn in this game feels like the odds are completely against you, but never is there a situation that you cannot get out of. every randomly generated playthrough is refined to where you can perfectly beat it through your own cunning. this game makes me feel like the smartest motherfucker alive.

every situation, every element, every aspect of this game is equal parts smart and fuckin' cool. you can technically beat this game in 5 hours but due to the amount of things in it and the sheer joy playing it gives me, i can (and certainly will) put way more in. this game makes me the happiest motherfucker alive.

The most joyful game experience I had in 2019.

Not sure it has much replay value (I already wanted to leave the extra to do list stuff for further off in the future) but the main game content was nice.

Loved snatching things then running around honking wildly. <3

My favourite non-karting Mario sports title. And I don't even like football/soccer.

It's just so fast paced, chaotic and feels good to play.

It's full of personality too. Every single character you can choose to put on your team is different. You've got different stats obviously, something like 4 different categories, but each team captain has their own unique item, each sidekick has their own unique special shot, each character has different theme music that plays when they score a goal, and different dodge animations (which itself is different per character class, with some being more offensive, some being able to bypass the goalie with the right timing etc). It just really helps feel like every character you pick makes your team personalised to you, rather than just generic characters with a Mario skin.

My main issue is with the super strike mechanic. While this also plays into the idea of the game making each character unique, by giving them characteristic animations during the move, it is way too powerful and slows the game down every time it's used. I think it would have been fine if it was just limited to once per match, including the set-up screen, so that if you tried to use one at a bad time, you're out of luck. It'd add a lot more strategy and give it a huge risk-reward factor, while right now it's just no reward-reward.

Luckily you can turn Super Strikes off, along with many other things like stage gimmicks, via "cheats" you can unlock by doing challenges, or winning awards for things like most goals in a cup. These only work in standard vs mode however, so the regular single player "story" will have to be beaten without any help. Speaking of which...
The last cup in single player mode is pure BS. The AI so blatantly cheats to disgusting degrees. All 4 of the enemies team will act like fully controlled characters, esentially turning the game into a 1v4, this results in things like the opponent ALWAYS covering your characters, so that you'll never find the chance to use a super strike or power shot, or when a stage has a gimmick that can knock characters off, the AI team will be able to control all their players to dodge it while the characters on your team you're not in control of with just run into the hazard like a blind chicken. This cup also has extreme amounts of input reading.

Basically this game is a fantastic multiplayer game, and the single player is great for the first 2 cups, but the last cup is pure and utter shit. The challenge mode adds an extra bit of single player content for those looking to master the game and unlock more cheats/gameplay variables.

it cant be overstated how important kojima is to the game industry. like him or not, he's revolutionized the way we see game design more than once. with his newest game he may not change the way we look at games, but he still proves he knows how to make a new idea work perfectly well.

i went into this game expecting it to suck hard. i thought it would just be walking from point a to b with some face-level story on top. i was severely wrong.

the amount of nuance from just getting package x to point a is insane, with everything down to the terrain keeping your attention. hell will rise from the ground to keep you from delivering some packages. but deliver them you will god damn it, because youre Sam Porter Bridges.

there's so many things that keep gameplay from getting stale, down to the end of the game youre constantly unlocking new weapons and gadgets and modes of transport. on top of that youve got MULE camps which never stop being satisfying and the BT sections which never stop being tense. everything feeds into everything else and its impossible to look away from the screen once it starts, and i have never played anything like it.

but what truly elevates this game is the balls to the wall story. the horrifying symbolism of strands and hands and uterine glands makes for a visual experience unlike anything before it. it's a weird thing to say, but this might be the most well-shot game i've ever played. not to mention that every character is extremely well written and even more interesting than the last, the obvious highlight being Mads Mikkelsen.

death stranding's america is a world i wont forget and the tense package delivery along with it. theres truly nothing like this game and i applaud everyone involved for making such an interesting, dare i say bold game work so god damn well. just one more feather in kojima's cap.

I loved the first Unravel and was very excited about the second part. And while it improves on the gameplay mechanics while maintaining impressive visuals and beautiful music, the “story” doesn’t have that emotional impact and charm the first one had.

The ending also felt somewhat rushed to me.

Still, great fun, specially with the new challenge areas. Very rewarding overall.