this is an extremely frustrating game. it shines on so many levels, from direction, to performances, to story, to sidequests. but it's bogged down by playing it. that's not to say the gameplay isn't fun, it is! but it's filled with repetitive puzzles that backseat you, it's littered with walking and climbing sections that you are technically playing, so you can't skip them. imagine how annoying that will be on a replay. it's hard to deny how fantastic the opening couple hours are though.

this game has a lot of wonderful accessibility options, but I feel like the difficulty settings are not tuned very well. maybe Give Me No Mercy is the sweet spot. but I can understand feeling let down playing on Balance or God of War for entirely different reasons.