The graphics. They are beautiful and with the recent upgrade to Unity 5, the graphics became absolutely gorgeous. The beautiful snow-frosted branches of the trees swaying in the breeze; the stark mountains against a beautiful sometimes stormy, sometimes cloudy, and sometimes sunny skyline; The beautiful, but scary nighttime with the aurora borealis, moon, and stars smattering the sky; the bright green, glowing eyes of the wolves...er wait...more scary than beautiful those critters are. :)

The sound. The voice actors are Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale at the time of this review. Veterans of the industry, with titles such as Mass Effect under their belts. The beautiful stinger music that signals a change in weather or time of day. The haunting, creepy music when you discover a corpse inside a house sometimes. The music is not overdone, perfectly placed, so you don't lose that feeling of abandonment. The sound effects, the creaking and groaning of the trees, the wind, footsteps crunching in the snow, the lonely hoot of an owl, the ringing in your ears when you shoot the rifle indoors, the skin-crawling sighing and muttering when in the "creepier" locations, the snarling, howling, and barking of the wolves. The sounds and music in the game are one of my most favorite aspects of the game and it's hard to list them all or describe the feelings of immersion you experience. You must experience them first-hand to truly "get it".

The game mechanics. You have to be careful, you have to be smart, you have to be patient or you die. I love this, it's the player in full control, how long you survive is based on the decisions you make. Plan ahead, learn from past mistakes. Unlike most video games I don't mind dying in this game. I don't feel cheated because I learn what NOT to do or how I can do it better. The saying "you make your own destiny" seems applicable to the gameplay. It's a sandbox, there's no linear path you are forced to follow, you can immerse yourself fully and explore to your heart's content. There are three modes of play: easy, medium, difficult. A fit for everyone- from peaceful exploration to death around every corner.

The developers. The developers have always been very involved in the community on Steam and also on their own Hinterland forum and Reddit. They are AAA title veterans who know what they are doing. The updates to the game are frequent and fun. Hotfixes practically same day. They have a zero tolerance for bugs in their game and it shows in this quality product. It's hard to believe it's an Early Access title. I haven't found a more polished one.

The best part? It's like a free gift everytime there is an update. More fun stuff to check out for free! Another "best part"...the sandbox will remain available even when story mode is released for the people who enjoy it. I'm looking forward to the story mode, but I adore the sandbox survival