After all this time, I finally "cleared" the game.

Still so many cars to unlock, and so many championships to get gold on everything etc.

I just wanted to retire it post credits and move onto something less "simy". Maybe FH5.

Absolutely loved the game though, incredible driving feel and visuals. Soundtrack didn't hit as hard though - mostly played with my own Spotify through the PS app.

I also spend substantial amount of time in PSVR2 and I can say that it is the best VR experience I have ever had. So sweaty!

Those license tests really put my skills to the test and I swear got me more pissed than a DS boss.

Technical issues, a busted checkpoint system and an uninteresting combat/upgrade system.

The visuals were pretty cool, especially in the stutter segments, but that is ONLY when the game isn't breaking under it's own tech limitations due to lack of patching. Cutscenes and scripted in-game cinematic moments shifting from 120 to 30 fps were jarring. Tv episodes wouldn't load so had to watch on YT.

I commend the team at Remedy for continuously breaking boundaries with the medium of games and blending it with television and radio.

However, this did not hit for me.

Imagine MG1 being in your top 3 favorite games of all time.

Imagine never playing it's sequel.

That was me - until now.

This was one of the strangest feelings of my entire time playing video games. I can't put it into words, having played MG1 so many times and being so intimately familiar with every star. To being thrust directly back into that world with better designed levels and dare I say better music?

This was the axct thing my brain needed. Took me right back to streaming the 2006 E3 press conference and seeing MG1 being played for the first time.

So so special.

I have 120 stars, but have not done the green stars...I will one day.

Do you like your horror games with terribly cringy dialogue, infuriating and confusing chase sequences, and poorly handled subject matter?

Well do I have the game for you....

Am concerned for the future of this franchise.

(Positive aspect: Environment design was good at times).

Some dumb sci-fi fun.

Doubt I'll remember too fondly with the passing of time, but I enjoyed my time with it enough to get all of the collectibles/fill out the index.

Kicking those birds and shooting them mid-air was a really satisfying 1-2 combo.

Part of me had forgotten how haunting this tale is. The isolation if palpable. The soundtrack and audio design is moving. The atmosphere is finely tuned. The lack of "gameplay" typical of walking sims is noticeable compared to contemporary titles in the same genre - i.e no examining books/letters/items of significance (more passive dialogue triggered events depending on your location).

Apart from that, this was a title I was very glad I walked back through for a repeated play, if not just to stare across the cliffs with wind ruffling my hair.

Really amazing remake! It's an honest shame about the technical issues i.e. traversal stutter that plagues the entire experience.

Would have been such a high-calibre package if it wasn't for that, and really desperately needs to be patched. Unlikely though as EA property and their typical handling of games.

Regardless, the atmosphere through the audio-visual design was truly stellar and I was beyond impressed.

Sing me up for a DS2 remake for sure!