This review is strictly on the campaign as I'm not a multiplayer person. All I knew before getting into this game was that it's considered one of the best FPS campaigns out there and is quick to beat; naturally, I was sold. I did not expect to love this game as much as I did. I'm not a huge shooter gamer and suck at the ones I do play. I also had never played an FPS campaign before (Splatoon 2 & 3 being the closest). This game managed to grip me on its straightforward (in a great way) story with its detailed world and lovable characters. I did not expect to love a robot as much as I did. Did I mention the wallrunning? The platforming kept the game fresh from the monotony I hear of other not as good FPS campaigns, although I must clarify the game was never monotonous. Besides being a finely tuned masterpiece, my favorite part had to be: THE MECHS! Using the tracking missile gun was so satisfying and fun and keeping my health up made the final fights very tense. I played this game on regular as that was the recommended difficulty, and as a less experienced FPS player, I'm glad I went with the easier route to have fun instead of getting angry. After playing, I genuinely considered replaying the game, and I think eventually I absolutely will. Although I have heard of the “cinematic experience” in gaming, this was my first truly cinematic experience. I thought Marvel’s Spider-Man was my first cinematic experience in gaming, but Titanfall 2 manages to engross the player with so many delicious mechanics and colorful characters, I believe this to be first time I resonated and enjoyed a campaign so much. If you're not already sold, then I would sell this as the Portal 3 that never came out.

I went into this game expecting absolute perfection, which I think effected my overall experience. I also played on hard mode, which in my case I think also negatively impacted my experience. I'll begin with a positive, which was the sound design/music. The parts where you were underground and heard the machinery in the background felt so eerie and realistic. The sound design was perfect as it added another layer of dread while sneaking around the facility. All the music was great and fit the mood the entire time, with the end credits song being my favorite. The fact that this is videogame music from a 90's game also adds to the impressiveness. I really wanted to enjoy this game, but so much of it was either a drag or difficult to a broken degree. The third boss fight really made me reconsider my thoughts on this game for its unbalanced difficulty. Throughout the game, I felt that so many of the bosses were unnecessarily challenging, (specifically the eighth boss ((´д｀)) ). I assume I'm really at fault for this for choosing hard mode as my first time playing the MGS series. Even when looking past the gameplay, I felt that the cutscenes were a lot. I knew this before playing the game, but actually experiencing it was different. Although the writing has resonated with so many people, I think it is probably one of the weaker parts of the game. The writing is, objectively speaking, not the best. What at first I viewed as a charming feature of an older game, soon became some what of a nuisance. It was not until I beat the game that I realized the importance and meaning of the game. The ways that it attempts to tackle the themes of war, nuclear threat, destiny, and more is, although not perfect, greatly commendable. When I beat the game and listened to the music as the credits rolled by, I realized that this game was made with a genuine passion for videogames as a medium of expression. The emphasis on the importance of life by the end made the game a worthwhile experience. In a world where games are usually enjoyed to escape from reality, Hideo Kojima and the team behind the game used videogames as a form of spreading awareness about nuclear weapons and personal values. In an interview with Guillermo del Toro about his involvement in Death Stranding, he mentioned how he feels that the cheesiness in the writing of Death Stranding is not cheesy to Kojima, and that he's genuine about it. I felt that about this game too. Even with my critiques, I understand why this game has won the hearts of many, and respect the genuine passion put into a video game in a time when technology was still so limited.