New season has been awesome! However and even back in the beta, The Cycle: Frontier has something truly special about it. This is such an atmospheric and immersive game.. it has incentivised me to play a bit, unconventionally, perhaps. However, this potential unconventionality to my gameplay approach is quite literally how i find enjoyment in the game. I don't know of any game that motivates me, to this degree, to be scrupulous to detail even while playing casually. It's a casually intense game.

My synopsis:
The audio in this game is the best audio of any game I've played. The audio scratches an audiophile itch that I didn't know existed. The world is alive. As you move through it, you interact with things and things interact with you. For example, in order to risk it all and remain unseen by hiding in a bush, you must remain perfectly still. Even aiming around in this situation, the movement of your body will rustle the leaves. This forces you to freeze and your breath becomes the focus. Waiting anxiously for a potential enemy to spot you in your hiding spot.

Further, there are world-level events. Some world-level events are casual and common like other players dropping down to Fortuna III. Some players get big bucks and drop drilling platforms which creates a sweet event where you can challenge it, if you dare. The flora and fauna of Fortuna III is dense, iconicly characteristic, beautifully artistic, and compliments the sandbox in a way that encourages patience, thoughtful risk calculations, and swift decisive action. Following my unconventional meta below- let me know if you also find enjoyment in the thoughtful and deliberate

My unconventional meta:
Every sound you make is an indicator for anything around you. This means your movement is a risk. Your actions that create sound, also create a higher chance that you will face a threat. My unconventional meta is to minimize the risks associated with making sounds. This incentivizes me to play quite slowly and thoughtfully. TURN THE SOUND UP. PLAY SOLO. LISTEN.
This world will inform you of many local and distant events, if you truly listen. Rattlers, for example, can be heard a long ways away if they spot an adversary. A player can alert the scattering birds. Even a Strider makes a loud scream when it sees a threat. These indicators can be capitalized on if you just turn up your sound and LISTEN. Then, when you hear it first - you're equipped with information that you can use to your advantage. Minimize the risks by very selectively choosing when to sprint. Sprinting is LOUD! Only sprint when there is something louder to mask the sound. Try to use other noises to drown out your footsteps. This way, a potential nearby enemy may less reliably be able to identify your location. Additionally, only step forward in small spurts. This way, you provide yourself an opportunity to listen to what's around you without the noise of your own movement. This precious time can be what enables you to hear of an enemy's presence before they are alerted to yours. This advantage is PRICELESS. The first to information is often the first to win. This is true in life and especially in war. Speaking of war; I'm not going to say no one can be trusted. However, i can say with certainty that everyone has anterior motives. No one is verbally capable of holistically portraying their intentions.