Death Stranding ended up being a very mixed experience for me. An undeniably beautiful game with a really interesting take on traversal, I'm amazed a big-budget game like this even exists. Incredibly atmospheric with fantastic presentation; while the licensed music is great and all, the original soundtrack is really excellent too, and the sound design is equally strong. I've never been genuinely chilled to the bone like when you're required to traverse a BT-ridden ruined city, with the dark ambient sound of the music and clicking of the odradek.

Besides the closure on Clifford's story and the last run to the incinerator, the latter half of the game didn't do a lot for me (it really felt like they wanted Higgs to be your Ocelot, but without really earning it). The early story and exploration did a good job getting me onboard, but ultimately actually doing the deliveries just began to feel like busywork, and while I was a big fan of Metal Gear Solid as a teenager I think Kojima's style of story writing is starting to wear a bit thin for me (there are some pretty charming comic relief moments, though).

I can't deny how unique this game is though, and even if I didn't enjoy it entirely I'm just glad it exists - I hope more publishers take a punt on ridiculous, expensive projects like this.

I'm not gonna do a proper review for this so here's some bullet point thoughts:

+ I love the 'mini Souls-like' feel I get with this, very much akin to Death's Door too. Most of Tunic really feels like you're uncovering some forgotten mystery as it slowly reveals itself to you
+ Music is gorgeous, and this is personal preference but it's exactly the kind of electronic music I love to see in games. Low-key when it wants to be but memorable and melodic at the same time, extremely evocative.
+ The instruction manual and The Golden Path is in principle a very cool way to both teach you about the game's world, give hints about future parts of the game and later become a puzzle in itself.
+ Exploring the world feels genuinely rewarding as you naturally find shortcuts and exploits that make it feel less formidable. Even with the instruction manual there's little to no hand-holding, which is very refreshing.

- The art style feels a little 'over-cooked' sometimes. This is especially egregious when the fuzzy tilt-shift effect ruins some of the wider vistas the game obviously wants to show me (e.g. via the telescopes), and the amount of bright bloomy textures can become really distracting at times.
- The final quarter/third of the game sees the pace grind to a halt as it shifts from being primarily an action-adventure to purely secret-hunting. It feels like a completely different game at this point and felt more tedious than interesting, for me. I would've preferred to see these more cryptic puzzle elements peppered throughout the game rather than all becoming essential right at the end of the game. (I know you collect the instruction manual as you go, but as far as the Golden Path etc. goes it's really not apparent until the end)
- The ending itself feels a little rushed and anti-climactic if you only go for the Golden Path, which ends the game with little fanfare (especially if you didn't try to fight the Heir first)