I'd like to start the review debunking the argument that "the game might not be for everyone", since this was used so many times during the launch period. It sounded so arrogant, as if people needed over 1000 IQ to appreciate "such a complex game" - or a Kojima game. The game is as much to everyone as any popular shooter, MOBA, RPGs, etc. You might like it or not, but that's not because you "lack sophistication" or anything like that. Also, since I mentioned Kojima, I must say that this is my first Kojima game. I have never ever played any other game so I don't share the love and appreciation that fans have for him. I won't also enter in any story spoiler during this review.

After that lengthy disclaimer, I can proceed to say that this game is very good in so many ways. I'll start with the game story, which is very focused on details. The game is somewhat story heavy during the start and nearing it's end, but I think during the "mid-game", it insert conversations and cinematics in small doses that are good enough to keep you interested instead of boring you. The fact that the characters are all actors and the lip sync is very good makes you appreciate a lot of details during cutscenes. The story, as you might have read in other reviews, tries to be full of twists, but if you are paying attention, most twists won't come to you as a big surprise. There is a good amount of foreshadowing for some revelations that you get during the game. Getting a better understanding to some aspects of the game requires you to read mails and interviews, which are mostly text walls and you receive them all the time. I can understand people stopping reading those after some time, since many of those contain no useful information at all. Since most of the time you are wandering by yourself, I feel like the game lost the opportunity to give you more audio lore that could be audible during gameplay. The fact that every conversation or audio is done while the game is paused is something I don't really like. A delivery briefing could be done while I'm organizing my cargo and getting my Trike ready. I can understand the love some fans have for Kojima's writting, he certainly tries to be unique, even if the main starting plot is basically "we have to save America". Like I said, I won't discuss spoilers here. The story is good, but I was expecting much more from the end. The end is long, very long, and it didn't need to be that long, that's for sure. It is not bad, I liked it, but I just expected much more.

Now, about the gameplay, it is very good and unique. You are what the game call a Porter. You make deliveries, as you may have heard before. But you have to remember that you make those in a very particular post-apocalyptic world, where you have to take into account several challenges along the way, those being mostly: rough terrain, rivers, chasms, hills, timefall rain, MULEs, BTs and many others. You'll also have to keep in mind your cargo, weight, balance, stamina, etc, etc. The game gives you so many tools to handle all that, and you get a lot of new and upgraded tools along the game, which is so, sooo nice. You can close gaps between deliveries in so many different ways. Use a ladder for a small bridge, use vehicles, create structures - your call. Also, I remember Kojima mentioning that this is a "strand type of game", which lead me to think: what the heck is that supposed to mean? Well, once you are playing for an hour or so, you will connect regions to the UCA network. These regions are online enable in a manner of speaking, which means that part of the world can be shared with other players. Some other player structures and tools will appear on your world, and vice-versa. Let's say you escalated a big hill with lots of slippery slopes? Well, you might just put an anchored rope on the top to make your life easier on the return trip, and also if you need to go this way again, you can use that rope. This rope can also be shown for other players that are connected, and it shows on their world with your name. They can even like the help and you will receive that notification. You might even find other players lost cargo and return it, and they will receive it! The game is all about connecting with other people (you will hear this a lot) and that is a small way to demonstrate the strand type of game. It feels so nice knowing you helped another random player. It feels so good when you seems to be running out of a tool during a hard trip, only to find some stranger builded a bridge or something like that, saving your skin. This is still a single player game, but that aspect makes it so interesting. I do hope more games try this approach. It is simply amazing. My only complaint here is that you cannot choose to see or connect to a Steam friend. You have to be lucky to find something from them randomly, if ever.

This is just me trying to scratch the surface of this game. I don't want to spoil gameplay mechanics or tools, not even the story, but I do think it's a good game to be played at some point. The game is pretty straight forward in the beginning. I think it is safe to say that if you are playing it for about 2 hours (refund window) and you are not interested yet, maybe just skip it and refund. The game does not show it's true potential in the first hours, it only gets better, but the core gameplay and story is already in motion at this point.