https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3463679574
There will be a TL;DR at the end.

~

I usually write very detailed and verbose things to express my digest of a game when I review it like this. I sit down and lay out my thoughts on the matter ranging from the music to the visuals, from the macro-gaming to the core mechanics, from the politics surrounding it to the distilled experience, etc.
I don’t think I can do it for this one - not in the same way.

Mostly because this game, unlike any other, is something I’m not allowed to tell you about,

Outer Wilds is a unique and purely creative feat in which the vision is absolute. There is nothing to compare it to - nothing to draw correlation - and the execution within is flawless.

But I can’t tell you more. All I can tell you is that it’s a secret.

The message delivered at the end of the story is strong - and most importantly, the journey to get there is organic.

I can’t recommend this game enough, and I’m not allowed to tell you why.
Because, in this game, knowledge is the game - it is the adventure - it is is the story.

The music, the sound, the spaces, they are all perfect. The experience may take you 16 or so hours to go through, even less if you are actually smart (I was not) - and yet I prize this experience in a special place within my heart.

And again, I can’t tell you why.

Try your hardest not to look anything up, not to hear others talk about the game - avoid it like poison.

You’re about to be in on it.

~

9.5/10
Outer Wilds is an Incredible game.
Get it. Play it. You will love it - but I can’t tell you why.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3451034970
There will be a TL;DR at the end.

~

Everything about this game sucks.

The story sucks.
The worldbuilding sucks.
The combat sucks.
The RPG mechanics suck.
The dialogue options suck.
The acting sucks.
The cutscenes suck.
The drama sucks.

Absolutely everything in this game sucks; and there is a secret ingredient gluing these stupid things together.

Back before my time, Robocop hit theaters and made some big waves.It struck a lighting-in-a-bottle mixture of grit and comedy, satire and commentary, drama and fun, absurdity and humanity. It managed to tick a lot of boxes and hold its own even to this day. Critics the world around laud the film for creating this iconic character and managing to provide a profound foray into what it is to be human - while also crafting one of the best action flicks ever made. The movie had a direct sequel follow it up with a maligned release of the much hated Robocop 2. The property quickly lost its way with a hapless direct-to-trashcan Robocop 3 and even a TV series - with a 2014 remake that can and will burn in hell for all eternity.

The idea of turning that Robocop success into a game has been around since the arcade days. The cabinet I frequented at the local arcade before I even knew how to ride a bike - there was the NES game and many little bootleg attempts to bring that magic to fans in creative new ways. It’s not too strange of an idea. With Teyon suggesting a true-to-form incarnation of the hero in a direct way to place players in control of the unflappable icon, it’s easy to see where ideas can run wild. The ambition is apparent. Teyon, unlike past wielders of the property, were not content to merely have Robocop blow away bad guys or make quips at the expense of wallowing criminals - but to have Robocop engage in mundane police work, represent the city, be caught up in political scandal, manage newfound abilities, upgrade his service arm, attend therapy, face the demons of his own past, and even more - Oh my!

There’s no denying that initial expectations can be both skeptical and optimistic - hoping for the best but expecting the worst. If massive AAA studios with limitless money and more than half a billion in a product can’t pull off even a single core mechanic, what hope can this rustbucket dev team have to accomplish something so large?

Playing the game, I’m amazed that they pulled it off. They had to cut a lot of corners and manage their interests in order to spread the development around well enough - but they have accomplished what they set out to achieve. While I’m in the field, I’m looking for ways to arrest or blow away bad guys and confiscate evidence for maximum XP yield - then I’m excited to get back to base and allocate my points! - then I’m excited to upgrade my pistol - then I’m excited to see what weird set piece location they will have me in next!

I’m shocked that it feels as good as it does! It has no business being this good at all! How the hell did they pull it off? The tech they are using is put to work by the massively talented artists, the quests are simple but effective, the writing is a cornball, the pacing is all over the place - but it’s all just enough to hold the boat together and sail into the sunset. By all metrics, this game should be on fire and crumbling in on itself - yet here it is being a blast!

The story works.
The worldbuilding works.
The combat works.
The RPG mechanics work.
The dialogue options work.
The acting works.
The cutscenes work.
The drama works.

And the secret ingredient holding it together - something that the developers knew more than most of the folks that handled the property in the past - is charm.
Charm holds Robocop: Rogue City together. The plucky optimism and ambition of the creators seeps into absolutely everything in the game. It’s dumb fun, it’s a celebration, it’s silly but competent.

Most importantly: It’s fun!
I had an embarrassing amount of enjoyment playing this game - cackling with glee while I cut down waves and waves of helpless, mindless NPCs and running around doing right by the community. I was very invested in leveling my Robocop up and making my Auto-9 into a killing machine with a bottomless magazine.

That’s what makes this game a true example of ‘Gestalt’
Gestalt Psychology is the idea that the whole of something is greater than the sum of its parts, and that perception is organized into meaningful wholes rather than individual elements. Generally, this is granular look exalts the complete piece of something far and above its component parts.
If you look at each individual part of this game - they are of poor, inferior, misguided, or perhaps even bloated metrics; looking at things altogether, the picture is much more pleasing.

It will go down in history as a massive victory for the mid-range title.

~

8/10
Robocop: Rogue City is a Great game.
Nothing works on its own. Yet, when placed together very carefully and with a lot of love - Robocop: Rogue City becomes more than the sum of its parts.
It’s a charming passion project that put a smile on my face and had me playing through it a second time for a little more.
I’m getting old - but for a few hours I was that glittery-eyed kid in the arcade again.