If you have previously played a Hideo Kojima game and didn't like it then this is not for you. If you have an are wondering what I'm talking about a Kojima game means long segments of being exposition dumped or hearing a character tell your their wacky and contrived origin-story. It means naively thinking that the game is over before being hit by 2-3 more hours of playtime and cutscenes that means you finish the game at 2 AM in a delirious state, waking up the next morning wondering whether or not it was just a weird dream. BUT, and I don't know whether it is just Stockholm syndrome or not, I promise these cheesy Kojima games always seem to hit you right in the feels at the end in a way that makes all the ridiculousness worth it. They always have a really good credits song as well.

Jokes and warnings aside, this game does a lot of things that are unique and interesting if you are okay and aware of the above. This game is all about working to make connections with others. Whether that be leaving a ladder or a zip-line in the perfect spot for future players to have an easier time, or helping all these eccentric NPC's with their life problems in the grand attempt to reconnect America after an apocalyptic and isolating event. It doesn't seem very meaningful when you read it but the first time I thoughtlessly "5-starred' my connection with someone only to be given a gift of a unique and helpful item, something only that character could make, this virtual experience suddenly felt very real and very human. I don't normally go out of my way to be a completionist but these connections felt meaningful in a way that I haven't experienced often in video games. They felt like real people I wanted to go out of my way to help and their gratitude felt meaningful and genuine. I am always a fan of games that try to make you be a better person and between all of the Kojima ridiculousness this is one of them.

I also want to say that this game turns the traditional open world design on it's head in a very clever and interesting way. Most open world games just spread the content across vast open spaces that take a long time to traverse, ultimately hurting the games replayablility. In this game traveling from point A to B IS the content, the destinations are just where you go to rest and get more packages. You can take the long and easy path or you can use any of the growing amount of tools you are given to make your traversal easier, the gameplay is conquering that distance and finding the shortest and safest path to where you need to go. It gives this game the replay value that other open world games lack.

If you have previously played a Hideo Kojima game and didn't like it then this is not for you. If you have an are wondering what I'm talking about a Kojima game means long segments of being exposition dumped or hearing a character tell your their wacky and contrived origin-story. It means naively thinking that the game is over before being hit by 2-3 more hours of playtime and cutscenes that means you finish the game at 2 AM in a delirious state, waking up the next morning wondering whether or not it was just a weird dream. BUT, and I don't know whether it is just Stockholm syndrome or not, I promise these cheesy Kojima games always seem to hit you right in the feels at the end in a way that makes all the ridiculousness worth it. They always have a really good credits song as well. Jokes and warnings aside, this game does a lot of things that are unique and interesting if you are okay and aware of the above. This game is all about working to make connections with others. Whether that be leaving a ladder or a zip-line in the perfect spot for future players to have an easier time, or helping all these eccentric NPC's with their life problems in the grand attempt to reconnect America after an apocalyptic and isolating event. It doesn't seem very meaningful when you read it but the first time I thoughtlessly "5-starred' my connection with someone only to be given a gift of a unique and helpful item, something only that character could make, this virtual experience suddenly felt very real and very human. I don't normally go out of my way to be a completionist but these connections felt meaningful in a way that I haven't experienced often in video games. They felt like real people I wanted to go out of my way to help and their gratitude felt meaningful and genuine. I am always a fan of games that try to make you be a better person and between all of the Kojima ridiculousness this is one of them. I also want to say that this game turns the traditional open world design on it's head in a very clever and interesting way. Most open world games just spread the content across vast open spaces that take a long time to traverse, ultimately hurting the games replayablility. In this game traveling from point A to B IS the content, the destinations are just where you go to rest and get more packages. You can take the long and easy path or you can use any of the growing amount of tools you are given to make your traversal easier, the gameplay is conquering that distance and finding the shortest and safest path to where you need to go. It gives this game the replay value that other open world games lack.