[h1]EPIC EMOTIONAL FILM OF A GAME[/h1]
I wasn't expecting much but was decently chuffed with the game, considering that i got it as a secondary purchase, im not a fan of third person perspective, an overkill sci-fi conspiracies and slow-burn factor? Let me breakdown the fact points with:
[h3]Drawbacks[/h3]
There are just a few. First of all, for me sci-fi is being slightly over the top here.. I didn't find critical bugs to mention but was disappointed with rough transitions in certain cutscenes, and the slow-burn pace at the start could be unfit for some. Additionally to that, first person mode sucks, just consider that game being built initially for third person perspective and majority of moments locked to work in its way.
[h3]Upsides[/h3]
[olist]
[*] Story. If the game would be a film, that would be a very solid surreal psychological drama with a good portion of sci-fi action in between. It is emotional, grotesque and just very well done.
[*] Characters. Plot without good characters misses a lot, but that's not the case here. Those already met in prequel making nostalgic feels for the fans of the original game. And surely, new ones are unique in their own way too, not to mention my favorite which is upcoming in the review.
[*] Atmosphere. Other video game aspects do not matter to me as much as atmosphere. Here we feel psychological pressure in surreal locked spaces and wide hellish flaming abysses. Its all done with a very good sense of taste including soundtrack, sight and cinematic hooks.
[*] Open worlds. Significant change that made this game - is the Union's open areas. It reminiscent of zombie apocalypse vibe heavily and it got nicely settled sense of stealth with exploration within. It takes what it should in terms of interest and i was glad scavenging through it with relative freedom, nicely designed secrets and those mob clutches.
[*] Stefano. Yes, this character from the first half of the game makes it to me. His charisma, surrealistic [b]TWIN PEAKS[/b] inspired dimension, artistic presence, subtleness, and mad deadly ideas he interprets, just muah. Separately, i wanna mention his theme, which scrapped from the real Tchaikovsky classical composition. It fits perfectly to his persona and completes masterpiecefullness of his, his victims and creations scenes. Just brilliant.
[/olist]
[h2]–VERDICT–[/h2]
Well, the game blends many styles which i found to be not a bad thing, i could add to upsides the sebastian's office with comfort, nostalgia and unique sections for upgrading, then communicator mechanic and some interesting references to other media. From one side i accept it as a third person stealth/action video game with elements of survival-horror and relative open world, but in the other way i claim the film form of it, where it serves differently, more exactly as an epic psychological drama with passionate protagonists fatherhood and a surreal mixture of j-horror i guess. The setting of union was the best part of the game but even linear sections served me nicely. Unpredictably but pleasantly i'm declaring solid score of:
[h1]7/10[/h1]
