Ultimately disappointing.

Really cool general vibe. Some of the driving and exploration is cool. Some of the music fits really well. Escaping with a sliver of health feels great the first few times. The outer zone looks beautiful most of the time.

But the story sucks, narrative progression is completely disconnected from general progression, some of the final upgrades are just pointless. Anomalies are just annoying things to drive around. Difficulty is too low, there's no real danger (I never died in the 60 hours), and yet you have a timer that doesn't let you explore at your own pace. The drive-not-like-an-idiot-for-2-minutes missions are trash, the final mission is mega trash.

Car upgrade balance is off too: no point upgrading the engine past the first upgrade after you get nitro, no point upgrading shielding after limshield and ion shield.

There's a much better game in there somewhere that got lost along the way.

Ultimately disappointing. Really cool general vibe. Some of the driving and exploration is cool. Some of the music fits really well. Escaping with a sliver of health feels great the first few times. The outer zone looks beautiful most of the time. But the story sucks, narrative progression is completely disconnected from general progression, some of the final upgrades are just pointless. Anomalies are just annoying things to drive around. Difficulty is too low, there's no real danger (I never died in the 60 hours), and yet you have a timer that doesn't let you explore at your own pace. The drive-not-like-an-idiot-for-2-minutes missions are trash, the final mission is mega trash. Car upgrade balance is off too: no point upgrading the engine past the first upgrade after you get nitro, no point upgrading shielding after limshield and ion shield. There's a much better game in there somewhere that got lost along the way.