It is so fucking cool. Like every element just melts together to create such a consistent experience. As everyone has said before, the gunplay is fun and frenetic, and the enemy AI makes every encounter never feel the same. It is so sad and pathetic that the AI from this nearly 20-year-old game is running laps around AAA companies like EA and Ubisoft.

The tone and horror elements were a very pleasant surprise and enhanced the often lonely atmosphere the game sets. The NPC are cute and give the player moments of levity from the scary world that surrounds you. Also, the sound design is super crisp, from chair squeaks to bullets whizzing past your ears it's all sensational.

The pacing is also super good. Although the campaign is on the shorter side they still do a good job drawing out those lonely moments with sudden spooks and scares all of which lead to the fantastic gunfights. The level design is also super well done both aesthetically and mechanically. The only small gripes I had were the turret and flying drone enemies, they throw off the pacing and the only counter to them is super slow and boring compared to the much more thought-provoking AI of the replica soldiers.

Besides that though, there was a consistent flow of unique ideas in each level making every new encounter a puzzle you have to solve using as few resources as possible. In a way, this game kinda feels like a spiritual successor to the original half-life with amazing enemy AI, environmental storytelling, and an emphasis on player freedom with each firefight. Everything is just very concise with no fluff and it feels like Monolith set out to make a solid game and they did just that.

An all-time classic in the FPS genre that I'm glad I was finally able to complete.