While not a game I can widely recommend or safely consider "conventionally good", I can say with certainty that it has won a part of my heart on a second playthrough and sticks out to me as one of the most unique AAA titles of the last decade.
Starting with the half-show-half-game design, regardless of criticism, I can definitely feel that they tried their best. Does it make the game better? Questionable. Should this design be repeated? Maybe? But, is it an enjoyable little experiment? Absolutely. While it's a pretty B tier experience, it does expand the world by avoiding following the main character as much as possible and focusing on completely different, simultaneous events. Production value doesn't feel too low either, with acceptable camera work and sets, while being presented through believable enough acting. Overall I wouldn't call it a selling point of the game but I can't say I hated it. It's very rarely that we see big developers use their ample budgets for off the wall stuff like this.
Beyond this aspect there's plenty of more nerdier details that I can't help but notice and appreciate. There's the stunning visuals featuring a constant use of advanced technology for the time (like global illumination, volumetric lighting and resolution upscaling), the use of real life brands and events (other than the amusing Nissan and Microsoft sponsorships), use of video streaming for the show element before the big streaming boom, the extensive use of corporate aesthetics, ties with the rest of Remedy's creative universe... Just a wide showcase of quirky elements that really make it feel more special, even when a lot of it's presentation can feel like extremely run-of-the-mill AAA slop.
Coming back to the visuals, I really cannot overstate how much of a visual treat this game is. The new for the time Northlight engine truly brought people into a new generation of visuals in 2016 and still creates jaw-dropping playable sequences, with excellent realistic lighting and materials. The heavy use of post-processing and screen space effects can be a bit overwhelming at times but still really adds to the experience. It genuinely still holds up even with the newest releases in 2023, perhaps with the exception of some low res shadows or iffy volumetrics at times.
Combat is also extremely satisfying, which is what Remedy always does best. It's not particularly deep or highly challenging, but provides good difficulty with excellent showmanship through it's visual effects and sound design. AI also feels a bit more engaging than most other games, with them constantly trying to push, flank or flush out your position, forcing you to remain mobile and aggressive.
So why doesn't this game get a better rating? Because I can see how it can just bore or annoy people. Combat is sparse throughout the game and is frequently interrupted by walking/platforming and talking segments, PC performance is lackluster unless you turn on the blurry upscaling (where even then you'll experience uneven frametimes) and the story is full of overly cheesy or empty characters, like the protagonist. It just has too many elements that can push people away unless they can appreciate stuff like the visuals while they get through the more boring parts, some might just hate the show aspect too.
Overall I'm left feeling quite happy this game exists at all. It's one of the few, brave AAA experiments of modern gaming and has a fair amount of character if you take your time to look around. A cautious recommendation :)
Starting with the half-show-half-game design, regardless of criticism, I can definitely feel that they tried their best. Does it make the game better? Questionable. Should this design be repeated? Maybe? But, is it an enjoyable little experiment? Absolutely. While it's a pretty B tier experience, it does expand the world by avoiding following the main character as much as possible and focusing on completely different, simultaneous events. Production value doesn't feel too low either, with acceptable camera work and sets, while being presented through believable enough acting. Overall I wouldn't call it a selling point of the game but I can't say I hated it. It's very rarely that we see big developers use their ample budgets for off the wall stuff like this.
Beyond this aspect there's plenty of more nerdier details that I can't help but notice and appreciate. There's the stunning visuals featuring a constant use of advanced technology for the time (like global illumination, volumetric lighting and resolution upscaling), the use of real life brands and events (other than the amusing Nissan and Microsoft sponsorships), use of video streaming for the show element before the big streaming boom, the extensive use of corporate aesthetics, ties with the rest of Remedy's creative universe... Just a wide showcase of quirky elements that really make it feel more special, even when a lot of it's presentation can feel like extremely run-of-the-mill AAA slop.
Coming back to the visuals, I really cannot overstate how much of a visual treat this game is. The new for the time Northlight engine truly brought people into a new generation of visuals in 2016 and still creates jaw-dropping playable sequences, with excellent realistic lighting and materials. The heavy use of post-processing and screen space effects can be a bit overwhelming at times but still really adds to the experience. It genuinely still holds up even with the newest releases in 2023, perhaps with the exception of some low res shadows or iffy volumetrics at times.
Combat is also extremely satisfying, which is what Remedy always does best. It's not particularly deep or highly challenging, but provides good difficulty with excellent showmanship through it's visual effects and sound design. AI also feels a bit more engaging than most other games, with them constantly trying to push, flank or flush out your position, forcing you to remain mobile and aggressive.
So why doesn't this game get a better rating? Because I can see how it can just bore or annoy people. Combat is sparse throughout the game and is frequently interrupted by walking/platforming and talking segments, PC performance is lackluster unless you turn on the blurry upscaling (where even then you'll experience uneven frametimes) and the story is full of overly cheesy or empty characters, like the protagonist. It just has too many elements that can push people away unless they can appreciate stuff like the visuals while they get through the more boring parts, some might just hate the show aspect too.
Overall I'm left feeling quite happy this game exists at all. It's one of the few, brave AAA experiments of modern gaming and has a fair amount of character if you take your time to look around. A cautious recommendation :)