I was really looking forward to an engaging narrative and I don't think this really delivers on that front (the main story, anyways). The first three-quarters or so of the game are structured in a way similar to open world games, where you're running errands and doing favours for different people. The decision to do this is all the more puzzling as the game feels as if it struggles to fit the story it wanted to tell in its last leg, as it crams so much in the last hour or two of the game, making what should have been important plot points feel rushed and underbaked, whilst the rest of the games feels largely empty.

Admittedly, I skipped reading many of the notes scattered about the game, and I really wish I hadn't. After seeing reviews which recommended reading through these and playing through the side missions, I spent some time doing just that and came to appreciate the game much more by the end of it.

While the story is quite bland, the real meat of the narrative in this game is the world building present in the collectables. Learning about the history and inner workings of the FBC was endlessly fascinating, and I really wish this aspect of the game had a much more central role. I swear, some of Trench's inner monologues, available in the collectables menu, were not even shown in the game. I also wish this was implemented in a way which didn't kill any momentum the game had, which is why I largely skipped these. And while some of the side missions are just glorified fetch quests, some do expand on the FBC in meaningful ways, and have some great optional bosses.

The actual gameplay, however, is brilliant, and I feel as though I would love this game a lot more on a second playthrough! Although I don't want to commit to that just yet, I am very excited to check out the DLC.