Adam Docherty

Had a great time wandering the hills and dales in a hostile post apocalyptic Lake District! Disclaimer: I am a resident of real life Cumberland/Cumbria so this was a no-brainer purchase for me just because of the setting. I really enjoyed the game and its particular spin on the survival/exploration genre. It's relatively short compared to e.g. Fallout, but a lot is packed into that time. I never got bored or overwhelmed with quests and hoarded inventory items as I did in Fallout 4. The best bits for me were delving into the sprawling underground facilities (I got big Half-Life vibes) and hidden dens (rooting around in dank caves then emerging into countryside reminded me a bit of Skyrim). The environments above and below ground are meticulously crafted and full of items and details to reward exploration. The level design gives you a variety of atmospheric locations that look and feel realistic and foreboding, with some fun characters to meet along the way. The freeform story/quest structure was initially a bit confusing until I realized there was no definitive quest line (sort of) and you just have to weigh up the information you've found when deciding who to trust. I'm already on a second playthrough to follow some of the leads I missed and take some different choices from the first run. Combat is (I assume intentionally) quite clunky, with both ranged and melee options feeling 'high-stakes'. There's no VATS to save you here! The limited ammo and the time taken to reload, plus the brutality of the melee mean that encounters are not trivial and can easily end in disaster if you run in blindly - as I did many times! Saying that, most human enemies scattered about the maps can be avoided and will usually only attack if provoked. Even then you have a fair chance of running away with only a few pieces of buckshot in your hide. Overall, very impressed. Love the setting - despite being slightly disappointed in the lack of many Cumbrian voice actors. They tried to make up for it by including anyone vaguely northern sounding but I wish they had found some more marras for this! Still loved the game.