Nice visuals and a few key, differentiating mechanics (e.g. combat cover) on top of solid fundamentals but with little invitation to continue beyond a couple of hours of playtime.

Played the demo. Evidently someone took Twitches Too and stretched it into a shifting foundation for an open world adventure game. Weird blend of Infamous and Monster Hunter when it comes to the gameplay design. Lush environments, and colorful costume designs - clearly derived from equally Disney-influenced concept artists. Bland, boring, dumb. Even the graphics are a let down - and this was a true disappointment, not nickpicky, as even on highest settings it felt like I was playing a game at a resolution two steps down from native. Even the cutscenes had pixelation!

Replay: Came back for the Christmas event, with cousins. Terrible holiday event this year.

Replay: Beat the Wild West DLC with cousins.

Completed a few quick playthroughs with a cousin. Basically fun for laughs, just like you might at bad TV.

Played through the campaign. Slick and fun with nice callbacks to the original franchise. The new generation of IW is knocking out of the park with updating these campaigns to match 2022 military and espionage maneuvers, while appropriately upgrading series pillars like intense cinematic moments and tight gunplay. The overarching story arc of the new TF141 is not as fun or even politically conscious (unintentionally?) as it its predecessor but it is good enough.

Pre-ordered (which got me the Day 1 edition, as if that mattered) for the heck of it and played it for a couple of hours today. Fantastic cinematography, graphics, and lighting if only it wouldn't have the dreaded microstuttering that plagues UE games. Surprisingly pedestrian compared to its Dead Space progenitors with many details copied over, right down to the costume and gun designs. The combat system is almost DOA - if it weren't so viscerally fun I would have stopped playing almost immediately because it only really works when you're fighting 1 or 2 enemies at the most or otherwise spamming gravity manipulation until it runs out.

Overall a mixed bag that did live up to the hype in some ways, but I already returned it. Perhaps I'll buy it again when it goes on sale (and has had a few more patches).