It's a truly one-of-a-kind and unique experience. A lot more fun than you'd think it'd be as well.
However the major hindrance is the gameplay definitely becomes a bit tedious after 30 or so hours in, but that's pretty much the perfect timing because depending on how many extra side missions you do, you'll probably finish the game in about 40 hours (That's how long it took me) and everything from chapter 9 and onwards is pure story missions, so there isn't a lot of repetitive delivery.
The story and characters were pretty bland at first because the game starts out really slow, but if you stay with it, it builds and by the end you'll most likely love the story and characters and I am a very big fan of how each chapter primarily focuses on one character which gives a lot of time for backstory exposition and development, plus Sam himself gets tons of development throughout the entire game. The ending sequence in itself was mind-blowing and 11/10. Overall I liked the characters and story a lot once we got past the initial build-up
Gameplay was a lot of fun at first and up to about 75% of the game, but eventually it gets tiring and tedious and I just wanted to get to the next part of the story, I see how some reviewers were calling it 'not a fun game' so I'd say the gameplay is the weakest element of the game (Though it started out as honestly my fave thing about the game, it just overstayed its welcome)
The music was great, I don't typically listen to that kind of indie folk rock but it fit the depressing and isolating atmosphere of the game really well and the other more ambient tracks worked too, definitely a solid OST. Also the credits song is by Chvrches and that alone gets it bonus points.
The level design, surprisingly for being pretty empty, never got that boring to go through because of how gorgeous the landscapes were and how each area had a good amount of variety, but not all of the variety was good because even though they looked pretty, the snow areas were an absolute pain in the ass to go through and the super rocky cliffs got annoying trying to drive around them or climb up caring a bunch of cargo.
Basically everything about the game was pretty great aside from the gameplay which started out great, but became a chore closer to the end of the game. Despite how much of a Kojima fanboy I am and how much I wish I could say it's a 10/10 PERFECT MASTERPIECE, but it just simply is not.
I'd even say it's slightly disappointing because my expectations were probably a bit too high. Due to all the hype Kojima put around it. Even the story started really slow and wasn't until halfway in when I really got invested in it, but the ending more than made up for that though. That being said, it isn't bad by any means and really is still a fantastic game, a true one-of-a-kind experience, very artsy and innovative in some aspects. It just didn't leave as huge of an emotional impact on me as much as I thought it would.
It's certainly still a highly recommended title from me just for the unique experience it gives you while playing though and I don't regret taking the journey through it!
However the major hindrance is the gameplay definitely becomes a bit tedious after 30 or so hours in, but that's pretty much the perfect timing because depending on how many extra side missions you do, you'll probably finish the game in about 40 hours (That's how long it took me) and everything from chapter 9 and onwards is pure story missions, so there isn't a lot of repetitive delivery.
The story and characters were pretty bland at first because the game starts out really slow, but if you stay with it, it builds and by the end you'll most likely love the story and characters and I am a very big fan of how each chapter primarily focuses on one character which gives a lot of time for backstory exposition and development, plus Sam himself gets tons of development throughout the entire game. The ending sequence in itself was mind-blowing and 11/10. Overall I liked the characters and story a lot once we got past the initial build-up
Gameplay was a lot of fun at first and up to about 75% of the game, but eventually it gets tiring and tedious and I just wanted to get to the next part of the story, I see how some reviewers were calling it 'not a fun game' so I'd say the gameplay is the weakest element of the game (Though it started out as honestly my fave thing about the game, it just overstayed its welcome)
The music was great, I don't typically listen to that kind of indie folk rock but it fit the depressing and isolating atmosphere of the game really well and the other more ambient tracks worked too, definitely a solid OST. Also the credits song is by Chvrches and that alone gets it bonus points.
The level design, surprisingly for being pretty empty, never got that boring to go through because of how gorgeous the landscapes were and how each area had a good amount of variety, but not all of the variety was good because even though they looked pretty, the snow areas were an absolute pain in the ass to go through and the super rocky cliffs got annoying trying to drive around them or climb up caring a bunch of cargo.
Basically everything about the game was pretty great aside from the gameplay which started out great, but became a chore closer to the end of the game. Despite how much of a Kojima fanboy I am and how much I wish I could say it's a 10/10 PERFECT MASTERPIECE, but it just simply is not.
I'd even say it's slightly disappointing because my expectations were probably a bit too high. Due to all the hype Kojima put around it. Even the story started really slow and wasn't until halfway in when I really got invested in it, but the ending more than made up for that though. That being said, it isn't bad by any means and really is still a fantastic game, a true one-of-a-kind experience, very artsy and innovative in some aspects. It just didn't leave as huge of an emotional impact on me as much as I thought it would.
It's certainly still a highly recommended title from me just for the unique experience it gives you while playing though and I don't regret taking the journey through it!