I started the game on GamePass a while ago, I played through Act 1, but I wasn't able to continue, because the game got pulled from GamePass. It eventually became available again, so I picked up where I left off and finished it in two days.
First of all, the game overall exceeded my expectations, which were based on the general discourse around this game from back when it came out.
I found the TV show sections quite entertaining. I was unable to stream them though and didn't have space to download the 75GB video package, so I had to resort to YouTube. I enjoyed the story, which kept me interested to see what happens next. I just wish that the branching sections were shown from the perspective of the protagonist, not the villain and I wish we got a live-action conclusion at the end.
The gameplay didn't grab me at first, but once I got the time manipulation powers, all the enemy encounters became much more fun and the gunplay felt more satisfying! Unfortunately, there is no progression and the upgrades seem like an afterthought.
In my opinion, the game looks and sounds great, although I had some framerate issues on the Series S and even a crash that took me completely out of the game.
Ok, now for the big negative that took this game from a solid 4/5 to more of a 3:
This game has some of the worst checkpoints I have ever seen in a video game... ever! There were two instances where I nearly threw my controller at the screen and I'm not usually one to lose his cool while playing games.
There's no excuse for having the player fight through multiple rooms full of enemies, watch cutscenes, interact with objects in the environment, and then send him back 10 minutes when he dies. No excuse! And it was also not consistent, cause at some point I was able to get a slightly better checkpoint. Not ideal, but slightly better. How something like this got past QA is beyond my understanding. Especially at Remedy!?!
And yeah, I know, I know... I would probably hate Souls games, sure. But at least there I know what I'm signing up for. This is not that type of game.
But weirdly enough... as much as this part soured my experience, I could totally see myself replaying this game in a couple of years to see how the other choices play out.
So yeah, very conflicted!
Phew... that was a long one.
First of all, the game overall exceeded my expectations, which were based on the general discourse around this game from back when it came out.
I found the TV show sections quite entertaining. I was unable to stream them though and didn't have space to download the 75GB video package, so I had to resort to YouTube. I enjoyed the story, which kept me interested to see what happens next. I just wish that the branching sections were shown from the perspective of the protagonist, not the villain and I wish we got a live-action conclusion at the end.
The gameplay didn't grab me at first, but once I got the time manipulation powers, all the enemy encounters became much more fun and the gunplay felt more satisfying! Unfortunately, there is no progression and the upgrades seem like an afterthought.
In my opinion, the game looks and sounds great, although I had some framerate issues on the Series S and even a crash that took me completely out of the game.
Ok, now for the big negative that took this game from a solid 4/5 to more of a 3:
This game has some of the worst checkpoints I have ever seen in a video game... ever! There were two instances where I nearly threw my controller at the screen and I'm not usually one to lose his cool while playing games.
There's no excuse for having the player fight through multiple rooms full of enemies, watch cutscenes, interact with objects in the environment, and then send him back 10 minutes when he dies. No excuse! And it was also not consistent, cause at some point I was able to get a slightly better checkpoint. Not ideal, but slightly better. How something like this got past QA is beyond my understanding. Especially at Remedy!?!
And yeah, I know, I know... I would probably hate Souls games, sure. But at least there I know what I'm signing up for. This is not that type of game.
But weirdly enough... as much as this part soured my experience, I could totally see myself replaying this game in a couple of years to see how the other choices play out.
So yeah, very conflicted!
Phew... that was a long one.