A quick one for the road: I'm honestly blown away by the attention to detail that's evident throughout FEAR. Craig Hubbard stated in an interview that he wanted "to make combat as intense as the tea house shootout at the beginning of John Woo's Hard Boiled" and it really shows; from the particle effects of the shrapnel to the visceral reactions of enemies upon being shot and the constant flash of gunfire that becomes even more pronounced upon the game's "Reflex Time" (slow motion distortion that lets you react in real time while the game's animations are slowed down), the devs definitely did their homework and I can't think of any other game that best captures the intensity of close quarters gun firefights than this.

It's also one of the most harrowing games I've ever played thanks to the moody lighting striking a contrast between your omnipresent shadow and the few eerie sources of light scattered in the darkness, not to mention the phenomenal sound design as you trudge your way through the urban landscape and its litter. Of course, the AI is definitely one of the big draws; it was such an unexpected shock when the enemies first shouted out "Flashlight spotted!" and the way the foes adapt to your different approaches, from trying to take cover if you rush them to trying to flush you out with grenades or plan flanks (even calling out your own flanks if you play evasive) absolutely kept me on the edge of my seat, terrified that they'd get the drop on me. There's no better shooter at making you feel like an absolute monster as you suddenly pounce upon them while the soldiers yell out "He's too fast!" or the classic "Oh shit!," yet carefully maneuvering your way through the shadows as enemies squads try to coordinate to pin you down is downright terrifying in its own way. It really speaks volumes that FEAR has no true bullet sponge bosses whatsoever; they kept the game focused on integrating fierce gunplay with unsettling atmospheric horror, and it's never been a more distilled and focused product. There are minor complaints, such as some environments/levels blurring together due to lack of distinctions (so I did get lost a few times) as well as a flurry of bugs & glitches that did force me to restart a couple of times (make sure you're not holding down your trigger as you fall through the level checkpoint triggers, I learned that the hard way!), and I do think the ending was a bit abrupt, perhaps to not give away too many details for future installments. Regardless, this was one of the biggest surprises, in more ways than one, from the last month or so, and I absolutely adore it.

By the way, I wouldn't recommend buying this on Steam, because for some reason you can't buy the original game separately and you have to spend $54.99 for a bundle valued at $34.98... what the actual fuck Monolith? Just buy the original on GOG, it works just as well there after some tweaks from PCGamingWiki.