Yes, I have 20 hours in this game. But first, some background.

Like with Final Fantasy XIII and Remember Me, I avoided this game because people complained about it when it came out despite me being hyped for it. I bought it when it was on sale for a dollar and regret not buying it day-of.

I can see where people can find significant flaws, especially playing now just before the new game comes out, but there's so much good in this game that I think it's okay to overlook. The story's a little undercooked, Merc annoys the hell out of me (the white guy who's talking in your ear for 90% of the game), and for such an important character, you see Faith's sister three times and she does nothing significant. The borderless cartoon animation comic-wannabe cutscenes between levels are tragic and make my heart hurt. The biggest complaint I've seen is also slightly true: yes, some jumps and parkour tricks can be difficult to pull off because of finicky controls and poor item interaction (like not being in the correct centimeter length from a pipe so you fall to your death despite staring right at the bloody thing).

But, honestly, the only parts of the game I got truly and genuinely frustrated at were the fights (particularly one boss fight with a ninja person *spoiler spoiler*). Thank god Catalyst ditched the guns because wow, I didn't get this game to play a shooter.

Despite all of this, which I guess some is enough to ruin this game for people, I cannot recommend this game enough. It is quite possibly one of my favorite games of all time, and I play a lot of games. I spent $200 on Catalyst and got the prequel graphic novel. I own the soundtrack to the first game and will probably get the next. I seriously love this game. So what's good?

It's art, pure and simple. And there's nothing else like it. Maybe some indie stuff popped up in hopes of scratching that virtual parkour itch, but nothing really compares to this full game of jumps and swings. It's like making Assassin's Creed first person and giving you complete control of every wall dash, every jump, every lunge, all those little tricky grabs and spins, and turning travel into the puzzle rather than combat or hacking minigames. Every tiny detail is carefully created and placed to challenge you and force you to think creatively, using the tools you learn in the tutorial on increasingly difficult puzzles. Even the fights can sometimes be enjoyable when you treat it as a marathon instead of an fps shooting gallery.

The game is gorgeous, even for today's standards (though Faith's model is a little choppy). The color contrast and choice in neon vibrance and bright white have been lauded for years now. And it always stands our, no matter how many times you play the game. In a world of greys and browns, this game is quite the visual gem and that can't be understated. Traveling over skyscrapers really shows all these contrasts, then busting into office buildings and cunstruction sites, subways and malls, put those big blues, oranges, and greens right in your face.

I'm a huge cyberpunk fan and there's not a lot of it. People want to think it died in the '80s, but I say ♥♥♥♥ that. Even if we don't have AIs or cyberspace, this is cyberpunk. A small group of rebels try to circumnavigate the system that the ruling totalitatarian government has created in this near-future dystopia. It's guilded, with high-rises and men in swanky suits, but crime and death in the cracks. This point's more about my personal interests, but anything cyberpunk is a win in my book.

The music perfectly frames everything going on. It's fast, it's calm, and it's creepy. People complain about "Still Alive" but I'm one of the nerds who loves that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ song. When i heard the composer for the main soundtrack was coming back, I immediately got the collector's for Catalyst. He's good. It's soft, kinda futuristic (as we'd like to imagine it) and is the perfect audial counterpart to the colorful visuals.

Then there's time trials and doing speedruns of actual levels from the game, which is always fun. There's hackers on the pc, so don't bother trying to be number one on the leaderboards, but it can be very fun to push yourself to beat your own best times. Some of the most fun I had in this game was discovering new and faster ways of completing levels, like trick jumps I missed on my initial run or near-glitches that let you skip whle sections. I suppose these types of things exist in all sorts of games, but it truly feels different in a game with the parkour gameplay like this. I also thought the voice-acting was well done, particularly on faith and Jacknife, even Merc (despite me loathing his voice).

I am a very big fan of this game, now franchise, and will likely love it forever. No, it's not perfect. If it was, would we need a sequel? But it's unique, fun, and stays in your brain. Granted, the folks around here bashing on it aren't likely to think about it again, but how are you to know you won't love it until you try it?

One scene will always stick with me. Faith's sister's first appearance is in a cutscene, and not one with that horrible cartoon animation, but a realtime in-game cutscene in first person. There aren't a lot of these (in fact, off the top of my head, I can only remember two). This one is a good length, the vast city is visible in the background, you don't have control over Faith's actions, and it's emotional. It sets up the plot for the game (which isn't dreadful, they just could've done al ot more with it) and the relationship between Faith and her sister. Faith's personality is on full display here, her drive to run and escape problems rather than face them, and we never see her face. Many fps games don't have cutscenes from first person where the first-person character actually does stuff that the player doesn't do. But it's not awkward, it doesn't feel weird, even when the two sisters embrace and you see Kate's head go over Faith's shoulder. It's fluid and makes me wish there were more of these throughout the game. Even outside of the parkour, the music, and the visuals, this style of cutscene will always stick with me.

TLDR- I love it, you might, there's problems, what game doesn't? You won't know if you're a hater or a lover until you try it. There's running, jumping, music, some iffy storytelling, and an overall unique experience. I've also heard it's good with VR. Give it a shot, it may just be your next obsession.

Yes, I have 20 hours in this game. But first, some background. Like with Final Fantasy XIII and Remember Me, I avoided this game because people complained about it when it came out despite me being hyped for it. I bought it when it was on sale for a dollar and regret not buying it day-of. I can see where people can find significant flaws, especially playing now just before the new game comes out, but there's so much good in this game that I think it's okay to overlook. The story's a little undercooked, Merc annoys the hell out of me (the white guy who's talking in your ear for 90% of the game), and for such an important character, you see Faith's sister three times and she does nothing significant. The borderless cartoon animation comic-wannabe cutscenes between levels are tragic and make my heart hurt. The biggest complaint I've seen is also slightly true: yes, some jumps and parkour tricks can be difficult to pull off because of finicky controls and poor item interaction (like not being in the correct centimeter length from a pipe so you fall to your death despite staring right at the bloody thing). But, honestly, the only parts of the game I got truly and genuinely frustrated at were the fights (particularly one boss fight with a ninja person *spoiler spoiler*). Thank god Catalyst ditched the guns because wow, I didn't get this game to play a shooter. Despite all of this, which I guess some is enough to ruin this game for people, I cannot recommend this game enough. It is quite possibly one of my favorite games of all time, and I play a lot of games. I spent $200 on Catalyst and got the prequel graphic novel. I own the soundtrack to the first game and will probably get the next. I seriously love this game. So what's good? It's art, pure and simple. And there's nothing else like it. Maybe some indie stuff popped up in hopes of scratching that virtual parkour itch, but nothing really compares to this full game of jumps and swings. It's like making Assassin's Creed first person and giving you complete control of every wall dash, every jump, every lunge, all those little tricky grabs and spins, and turning travel into the puzzle rather than combat or hacking minigames. Every tiny detail is carefully created and placed to challenge you and force you to think creatively, using the tools you learn in the tutorial on increasingly difficult puzzles. Even the fights can sometimes be enjoyable when you treat it as a marathon instead of an fps shooting gallery. The game is gorgeous, even for today's standards (though Faith's model is a little choppy). The color contrast and choice in neon vibrance and bright white have been lauded for years now. And it always stands our, no matter how many times you play the game. In a world of greys and browns, this game is quite the visual gem and that can't be understated. Traveling over skyscrapers really shows all these contrasts, then busting into office buildings and cunstruction sites, subways and malls, put those big blues, oranges, and greens right in your face. I'm a huge cyberpunk fan and there's not a lot of it. People want to think it died in the '80s, but I say fuck that. Even if we don't have AIs or cyberspace, this is cyberpunk. A small group of rebels try to circumnavigate the system that the ruling totalitatarian government has created in this near-future dystopia. It's guilded, with high-rises and men in swanky suits, but crime and death in the cracks. This point's more about my personal interests, but anything cyberpunk is a win in my book. The music perfectly frames everything going on. It's fast, it's calm, and it's creepy. People complain about "Still Alive" but I'm one of the nerds who loves that fucking song. When i heard the composer for the main soundtrack was coming back, I immediately got the collector's for Catalyst. He's good. It's soft, kinda futuristic (as we'd like to imagine it) and is the perfect audial counterpart to the colorful visuals. Then there's time trials and doing speedruns of actual levels from the game, which is always fun. There's hackers on the pc, so don't bother trying to be number one on the leaderboards, but it can be very fun to push yourself to beat your own best times. Some of the most fun I had in this game was discovering new and faster ways of completing levels, like trick jumps I missed on my initial run or near-glitches that let you skip whle sections. I suppose these types of things exist in all sorts of games, but it truly feels different in a game with the parkour gameplay like this. I also thought the voice-acting was well done, particularly on faith and Jacknife, even Merc (despite me loathing his voice). I am a very big fan of this game, now franchise, and will likely love it forever. No, it's not perfect. If it was, would we need a sequel? But it's unique, fun, and stays in your brain. Granted, the folks around here bashing on it aren't likely to think about it again, but how are you to know you won't love it until you try it? One scene will always stick with me. Faith's sister's first appearance is in a cutscene, and not one with that horrible cartoon animation, but a realtime in-game cutscene in first person. There aren't a lot of these (in fact, off the top of my head, I can only remember two). This one is a good length, the vast city is visible in the background, you don't have control over Faith's actions, and it's emotional. It sets up the plot for the game (which isn't dreadful, they just could've done al ot more with it) and the relationship between Faith and her sister. Faith's personality is on full display here, her drive to run and escape problems rather than face them, and we never see her face. Many fps games don't have cutscenes from first person where the first-person character actually does stuff that the player doesn't do. But it's not awkward, it doesn't feel weird, even when the two sisters embrace and you see Kate's head go over Faith's shoulder. It's fluid and makes me wish there were more of these throughout the game. Even outside of the parkour, the music, and the visuals, this style of cutscene will always stick with me. TLDR- I love it, you might, there's problems, what game doesn't? You won't know if you're a hater or a lover until you try it. There's running, jumping, music, some iffy storytelling, and an overall unique experience. I've also heard it's good with VR. Give it a shot, it may just be your next obsession.