Whilst the game can be considered a tad short, it's one that looks good, runs well and at times tears into your soul. The mechanics are fairly basic and the steady introduction of new ones can be tiresome, but it serves to keep the gameplay interesting and provides you with quite the tool kit on approach to the finale. The game is linear though, and every so often rather clunky, so your frequently left with only one approach to most seemingly open situations. The story is a grim one throughout with the occasional glimpse of a more pleasant world. You have to push the characters to extremes that many adults, including myself, would find emotionally unsurmountable. A couple times I was forced to take a break because of how disgusted I was of my own actions, occasionally being dropped into scenery that churns the stomach doesn't help. This game is very good, but because of it's length and linearity I'd suggest only getting it on sale.
From the view point of a someone completely oblivious to this genre before this game, This game is incedibly good fun. The gameplay is slow, but very tense. Let me give you an example. You sneak up on your prey which can be anything from a lone submarine to a large fleet to a resupply convey. You take your time, slowly using your sonar to figure out which ships are friend or foe. You silently position yourself to unload a volley of torpedoes at the enemy while a civilian trawler glides directly above you, completely unaware that the ships in the distance will soon be at the bottom of the ocean. Then you pull the trigger. All hell breakes loose, your topedoes and missiles make their way to the target while you sonar lights up with contacts from boeys dropped by helicopters and torpedoes fired by denesive submarines. Time crawls by as you take evasive action to get away from the incoming fire. They fly past where you were minutes ago as you watch your targets, one by one you hear your targets being hit and begin to break up. Mission complete, you head out of the area happy you've slowed the enemies war effort. then out of nowhere you hear one of your officer shout out "Torpedo in the water, Torpedo in the water!". You order evasive maenuvers and a steep climb as a torpedo dropped by a vengful helicopter, locked on and only a few yards away, soars by just under your belly. You drop decoys and create knuckles trying to distract it but it's only a stop gap measure before it locks on again you continue a deadly dance for what feels like an eternity before it finally runs empty and self destructs. Finally, after all of that, you finally get to go home. Your efforts are recognized by your superiors but there's no rest, as your sent on another hunt. That's what the games like, you're constantly on edge with a unique thrill which ends with an incrediblyt rewarading sense of relief.
Seriously, it is. Most video games struggle to do one thing well, whether that be the story or the controls or the game mechanics. This game on the other hand does everything flawlessly. The controls are fluid and aren't overcomplicated like most RPG's. Unlike most open world games, this game is packed full of stuff to do. in addition to the main storyline. One of the greatest acheivements I think is that it perfectly balances the RPG elements to be complex enough for an experienced RPG player to enjoy, but simple enough for a new player to get a hang of. It's not so detailed that it bores the average FPS player, but detailed enough to entice you into using every advantage you can. The characters are, simply put, the best I've seen in any entertainment medium. Each character is written to have so much inividual flare but they still fit their surroundings and situation perfectly. The voice acting and character animation go hand in hand to help ground them even further and you can really feel the emotion flowing from them, sometimes they're more realistic than some of the people I meet at work. I care more for some of the characters than I do for some friends, they're simply that good. The story is simple, but it's so deep and twists in way even the most bing watcher won't expect. Along the way you'll do things that simply shouldn't be fun but somehow are, things like preparing and performing in a play or herding some pigs. on top of this perfection of the medium, they managed to find space to add a simple but fun card game that has you yearning for more, thank god Gwent is now a standalone game. and if you didn't think that was enough, this game is DRM free. You can play it without the need for an account or an online connection. You can do whatever you want with this game. There are countless mods available thanks to the modding tools provided with the game. Thank you CD Projekt Red from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being a developer we can trust.
