Tiago M

When you hear about the visuals and how it’s a ‘work of art’ than the gameplay and story beat you know you have missed the mark here. More of a hand-holding art cinematic than a game many of times. Although switching the original stance system for different weapons depending on the enemy seems new, can’t help but think it’s the same combat loop of pressing down ‘r2’ mid combat to switch to something just to fight enemies, and you certainly think this during gameplay. Standoffs and assassinations don’t feel as crisp as in Tsushima, and the map is roughly the same size as Tsushimas’ but split up this time round in an awkward manner, resulting in stopping of the natural gameplay flow, and even a cutscene to get to certain parts. The character follows a generic revenge story, seen far too often with PlayStation exclusives time and time again, and the story leaves something to be expected with the act of pursuing the six main enemies, but does have the occasional moment here and there. At times the game can also feel like an advertisement for the dual-sense technology but not in pure gameplay aspects, but instead Zelda-esque things such as cooking food or starting a fire, but thankfully can be skipped. All controversy aside regarding the studio and the staff within it, the game offers little to no merit to justify a £70 price tag, and feels like a toned down Tsushima experience focusing on the wrong aspects of what made the first so great. Although an evolution on the art style, the core gameplay just doesn’t stand on its own, a problem we keep seeing with AAA games that prioritise graphic fidelity over fun.