Redoing my initial review after 50 hours of playtime.

It's been a while since I've played such a refreshing game. Its premise is simple, but its execution is incredible. This brings me back to the days of Killing Floor 2 when it first came out. Some call the game "repetitive" but it grants you a well oiled sandbox where every match feels fresh and different.

One of the biggest things about this game is it has consistent battle passes being added with new weapons, armor and other items but they don't go away. You can unlock any of the passes at any rate at any time. In addition, you can unlock the passes with premium currency just by finding the currency in the world. This motivates exploring the map and elicits a proper moment of excitement because exploration is rewarded with ACTUAL in-game value. Other live service games could truly learn a lesson from Arrowhead here. It's quite ironic that Sony bought Bungie to "learn" from them how to make a true live service game only for Arrowhead to come out of nowhere and drop the arguably BEST live service game in the modern era. Get gud, Bungie and stop treating your players like products only.

All the weapons and combat feel amazing as well. Guns have active reloads where if you interrupt the animation by diving, your character picks up where they left off upon resuming reload. Rounds in chambers are accounted for, for example if you pull the trigger in the middle of a partial reload you fire ONE round, which is realistic. You lose ammo by reloading a partial mag as well, though it saves a little time. There is also a team reload option for heavier weapons where allies can reload FOR you speeding up fire times. Overall the gameplay is very smooth and crisp, and honestly the first person gun animations are nearly on par with COD in terms of smoothness and quality. I'd play in a first person mode exclusively if the game had it.

And don't get me started on all the additional stuff like dropping gigantic bombs onto bugs, using incendiary grenades, gatling sentry turrets, jump packs...there's so much here to experiment with. Nearly every gameplay aspect is very well thought out and balanced.

And don't get me started on the scenery either, there are some truly beautiful alien worlds you visit and they EXUDE mystery. It makes me want to explore and learn more about what happened.

Lastly their way of updating the game is BRILLIANT and makes you WANT to join in. Stealth updates where new enemies are silently released to begin harassing unaware players, new toys like mechs being unlocked by liberating key locations in game, all lead to a community driven experience. Every player actively contributes to driving the narrative and in game experience. Frankly I'm in for the long haul if Arrowhead continues like this. Love, love, love it!

Redoing my initial review after 50 hours of playtime. It's been a while since I've played such a refreshing game. Its premise is simple, but its execution is incredible. This brings me back to the days of Killing Floor 2 when it first came out. Some call the game "repetitive" but it grants you a well oiled sandbox where every match feels fresh and different. One of the biggest things about this game is it has consistent battle passes being added with new weapons, armor and other items but they don't go away. You can unlock any of the passes at any rate at any time. In addition, you can unlock the passes with premium currency just by finding the currency in the world. This motivates exploring the map and elicits a proper moment of excitement because exploration is rewarded with ACTUAL in-game value. Other live service games could truly learn a lesson from Arrowhead here. It's quite ironic that Sony bought Bungie to "learn" from them how to make a true live service game only for Arrowhead to come out of nowhere and drop the arguably BEST live service game in the modern era. Get gud, Bungie and stop treating your players like products only. All the weapons and combat feel amazing as well. Guns have active reloads where if you interrupt the animation by diving, your character picks up where they left off upon resuming reload. Rounds in chambers are accounted for, for example if you pull the trigger in the middle of a partial reload you fire ONE round, which is realistic. You lose ammo by reloading a partial mag as well, though it saves a little time. There is also a team reload option for heavier weapons where allies can reload FOR you speeding up fire times. Overall the gameplay is very smooth and crisp, and honestly the first person gun animations are nearly on par with COD in terms of smoothness and quality. I'd play in a first person mode exclusively if the game had it. And don't get me started on all the additional stuff like dropping gigantic bombs onto bugs, using incendiary grenades, gatling sentry turrets, jump packs...there's so much here to experiment with. Nearly every gameplay aspect is very well thought out and balanced. And don't get me started on the scenery either, there are some truly beautiful alien worlds you visit and they EXUDE mystery. It makes me want to explore and learn more about what happened. Lastly their way of updating the game is BRILLIANT and makes you WANT to join in. Stealth updates where new enemies are silently released to begin harassing unaware players, new toys like mechs being unlocked by liberating key locations in game, all lead to a community driven experience. Every player actively contributes to driving the narrative and in game experience. Frankly I'm in for the long haul if Arrowhead continues like this. Love, love, love it!