Shelved for now and rating withheld, which is sad considering it was one of my most anticipated sequels but as far as follow ups go this is particularly weak and uninspired. FAR: Changing Tides is a game content on just sticking with what worked the first time around, but what worked then was reinforced by it's nature as a singular experience and all the element of surprise still safely tucked away under the hood. All of that is gone.

Here it immediately feels like retreaded ground, at around halfway through I felt like I saw nothing new besides the flooded locales and deep sea diving portion of the game which, gameplay-wise, just feels like padding. Going scavenging underwater for fuel resources is such a timely, repetitive endeavour compared to just finding them on the road in the first game.

The aesthetic too, Im not sure why exactly but it just doesn't seem to be working in its favour at all. Looks less painterly, more bland and almost lends it an unfinished quality, like there should be more layers to it... At the end of the day, with a 4 year gap between FAR: Lone Sails and this what we got just wasn't enough. A very disappointing, safe, unadventurous, boring sequel affair.

Maybe I'll pick it back up one day and appreciate it a lot more now with my expectations thoroughly dwindled, here's hoping!