This was amazing! One of the most unique and engaging gaming experiences I’ve ever had. I loved how you just get thrown into the world and are asked to put the pieces together yourself. The interviews and emails give you so much more context about the world, the people in it and how they think and feel about everything going on. I honestly might consider this to be a must play game, even if the gameplay is divisive. The world, characters and performances are just on another level. Once the story got it’s hooks in me I was in for the ride. I’m so happy I gave this game another shot after dropping it twice previously.

The characters are what really made the game so special for me. At first I was worried that only Higgs, Fragile and Sam were gonna get proper attention because the early part of the game is so focused on them, but for the most part everyone ended up getting their time to shine.

Higgs - An awesome counter to Sam’s dry and reserved character. From the first time he speaks to the last he had a captivating presence. I was kinda confused during his boss battle though. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to use all the damaged cases are weapons or distractions, I ended up using them as weapons. The 2nd stage being a fighting game was pretty funny though. I know he’s in the 2nd game so I can’t wait to see even more of him

Fragile - Such a cool character. I loved all the details put into her character. Like her umbrella actually being a compass that she uses while jumping between beaches and the spikes on her jacket that pop up when there’s a literal spike chiralium. I really enjoyed getting to learn about her past, her father, the role Fragile Express plays in the world and how Higgs betrayed her. That episode that entirely focused on her was one of my favorites.

Sam - I actually really liked Norman Reedus’ dry performance. I can see why people might find it boring but I think it was a great contrast to the incredibly odd world he lives in. The twist of the memories he’s been seeing every time he plugs into BB actually being his memories, not BB’s was so good. I only put it together right before it was revealed. At first I thought Sam had died as a baby in an unrelated incident and that there was another reason why Amelie turned him into a repatriate. But then it’s revealed that Bridget accidentally killed him when she forced Die Hardman to pull the tigger and kill Clifford. That was insane.

Clifford - I think those final scenes of his would’ve hit a bit harder if we didn’t see a piece of one every time Sam rested and plugged into BB. Seeing how it all unfolded from a different perspective was cool, but at the same time it was just kinda rehashing what we had already seen quite a few times. His boss fights were cool from a cinematic perspective but it sucks that it was just the same loop every time. Definitely a really sympathetic character once everything was revealed

Mama/Lockne - Let Kojima cook. This was crazy. Their story was so f\*\*\*ed. I couldn’t believe the reason Mama couldn’t leave was because her baby had become a BT and she was still connected to it. I thought there was no way that she actually died but then her soul merges with Lockne’s and the formerly conjoined twins are now one again. Unbelievable.

Amelie/Bridget - I don’t even know what to say about them? Her? It? There was a ton revealed all at once and it was hard to digest it all. I felt like I was following along with everything story wise right up until her episode. The main thing I didn’t understand was why would she want to help Sam stop the Last Stranding? Her entire existence as the extinction element is for the purpose of causing it, and she even had Clifford and Higgs under her control to help her do it. She says that it can’t be stopped and that if it doesn’t happen today, it’ll happen one day. I’m sure it’d make sense if I looked up some explanations but honestly I might just leave it as vibes.

Heartman - This guy completely stole the show. His cutscene and reveal is now one of my all time favorites. I never expected him to have that much depth and creativity. He was kinda just a generic science guy and wasn’t given very much attention at all. But man, when it was his time to shine, they didn’t waste it. The backstory about his wife and daughter, the constant cardiac arrest and resuscitation, the way his heart is shaped like a cartoon heart, that being what he thinks is the reason for why he can go to other peoples beaches, the countdown timer to his cardiac arrest during the cutscene, the floor being a big air mattress in case he falls, god it was all so good. It was also hilarious how he kept giving Sam likes and dislikes for his responses.

Deadman and Die Hardman - Grouping these two together cause I don’t have a lot to say about either of them. Deadman was strange and weird in a way that someone called Deadman should be but I don’t think he really ever had a moment, other than showing some affection for BB. Die Hardman, eh I found his connection to the whole story to be unfulfilling. It felt like he was being built up to be a way larger player, maybe even the main villain and it just didn’t quite hit for me. Maybe if we had gotten to see more of his relationship with Clifford in the military or something that would’ve made his role in Clifford’s death more impactful.

From what I’ve seen the gameplay is the most divisive thing about this game but I really liked it. It’s simple and clunky but it has it’s charm. It was always really cool to sync an area up to the chiral network and then see all the structures other players built to solve their problems. The environments are also beautiful. There were plenty of times where I got to a spot and just stood still to look at the horizon. Once I got the level 3 truck it was pretty much all I used. I never had a problem trying to get anywhere until I had to navigate the mountain. Even with the truck it was hard to get around and on foot in the snow was almost impossible. That was probably my least favorite part of the game, it just felt tedious. Gunplay was decent but nothing special. It helps that there wasn’t very much of it though and that you could avoid it for the most part.

Eventually BT’s kinda just became a nuisance. You get so much anti BT weaponry that they don’t really pose any threat. If I was sneaking through an area and it was taking too long cause of all the BT’s I would just let myself get caught and then kill the big BT that showed up. That honestly felt faster than trying to sneak sometimes.

I think the game started suffer a bit from poor pacing towards the end. There were like 3 “final showdowns” back to back to back and 2 cross map deliveries. Obviously they weren’t bad enough to effect how I feel about the game overall but they did sorta feel like padding. Maybe they should’ve been spread out a bit more and it wouldn’t have felt so sluggish.

Overall just an incredible experience that I’ll never forget and worth every second. Can’t wait to play the sequel later

Started playing this on PC after I tried it on PS5 a few years ago. I didn't hate it back then but my interest definitely fell off around the halfway mark in Episode 2.

Decided to power through from the beginning to Episode 3 and I see the vision now. First game in a while that has me wanting to play it as soon as I get home from work.

It's crazy because all the cool s*** so far happens in cutscenes and I'm just delivering packages, but at the same time it has this intricate and polished quality that keeps me coming back.

Gave the first game an honest try last night and ended up uninstalling after a few hours. I’m good.

It’s a love or hate game tbh

Bout to make me reinstall. Got nothing else to play anyway

It really might just not be for you tbh, it’s quite a divisive game. But the game really does open up after those first few hours and becomes much more epic in scale, story, and combat

The game will go in directions that you won’t expect

But if you truly hate the gameplay at the moment, I’m not sure if you’ll want to stick with it. It’s a game that demands patience and care

the f***

LITERALLY! I remember blowing this game off (pause) after a few hours and revisiting it a few days later (cause I had nothing else to play) not knowing it would become one of my top 5 favourite games OAT