Of the games from this studio, this might be my favorite one. But that's not saying much as I have not been generally enjoyed any of David Cage's work. Most characters in this game are very one-dimensional and unconvincing. And as per the trend from Cage's writing, conflicts escalate very quickly from small, localized problems to massive, doomsday catastrophe. This as a trope is not necessarily inherently bad, but it I feel like the game slips out from under itself by the end. The quick time events take a lot away from the cutscenes - as a player I am so focused on anticipating the next button press that I cannot pay attention to any of the actual action on the screen. By the end of an important story beat I feel like I did not absorb anything that just happened - I was so dialed in on whether the game wants me to mash a button or dash the joystick. Unfortunately this takes so much away from what would be solid storytelling. A game this broad and colossal in scope unfortunately means the dialogue tends to be very boring, corny, or unrealistic. Though I thought some of the science fiction concepts were very interesting (as in, dealing with the questions around artificial intelligence), the story relies on very basic, dull allegories and I just don't feel impressed by any means. The holocaust allusion at the end of the game was seriously insulting and atrocious.

On the upside, the visuals are stunning and I have to give credit to the fact that a game with as many unique story branches as this one surely takes some talent. Not exactly a waste of time but I definitely would not go recommending this game to others.