To date, this is the only game in my Steam library that I've taken the time to or managed to actually 100% all achievements.

Also, technically my first full souls-like experience, so I'd say that it's a very good game and is rather approachable to newcomers who enjoy exploration and experimentation. There is a real sense of accomplishment to be had overcoming the challenges the game throws at you and those that you inadvertently make for yourself.

I did everything solo in offline mode, so I can't speak to the PvP or vanilla co-op.

It's really a shame that Sony ditched the possibility of a sequel due to lousy critic reviews at launch. This is a very good game, not perfect my any means but it is very good and I think it deserved a sequel or a DLC... or something; just a little love from the publisher.

The storylines and the acting are great, as is the music. I felt that the use of specific music at certain points in the game was refreshing and help accentuate the narrative nicely. One of the best narratives I've seen in an open-world game.

There is a little bit of tedium in some story scenes, when you are forced to walk with an NPC, but it didn't bother me too much since it did at times allow for me to grab items that I wouldn't be able to if it was a simple cut scene. The side quests (jobs) fall under only a few categories and the goal of each is always the same, but there was enough variety in the situations that I was never bored.

The enemies are varied enough for me and the fact that they are not all of one faction versus you is good and allows for interesting moments where they can be pitted against each other. My favorite such moment is when the baddies at a camp I needed to take out got attacked by a pack of wolves and after dispatching the wolves a nearby horde descended on the camp and wiped it out for me, having heard the gun shots.

The hordes are one of my favorite aspects of the game and something that sets Days Gone apart from other open world games. They are by far the deadliest enemy in the game, but I felt that some of the hordes in the earlier areas of the game were just too small. I ended up modding the game to increase the size of the hordes and freaker spawns to add a bit more difficulty in my most recent Survival NG+ play through. I also enjoyed the fact that after finishing the main storyline, they let you reset all of the ambush camps, hordes and infestation zones so that I could mess around in a more dangerous world again while looking for the damn collectibles I missed.

The game ran smoothly on the highest settings for me. I only encountered one "game-breaking" bug near the end of the main storyline where the floor did not render right after an autosave, which caused me to fall through the world repeatedly. Reloading the game fixed this though.

All in all, I think this is a very solid game and worth giving a shot if you like open world games, cohesive narratives, zombies and/or bikers.

I'm not even half-way through the game, yet, but it has been great so far and ticks a lot of boxes for me, personally.

The Nightmare difficulty (the game's recommended default) is rather brutal early level and you WILL end up wiping and restarting, but that leads to increased power and steady progression through the Remembrance system which grants passive bonuses through subsequent Recollections (runs). Not being able to regenerate health through normal means adds a good level of difficulty and decision making, as the tough choice to sacrifice valuable Daughters in order to overcome the next difficult fight and progress further makes each success rewarding. Sacrifices also provide excellent power boosts to the recipient Daughters and you can always bring back your favorite ones later.

That said, the grind to progress may not be for everyone. I'd still recommend trying the game on Nightmare first and then, if you still find it too difficult or frustrating, try the Dream difficulty which adds passive healing (50% recovery) for Daughters each new day and a free Resurrection Token at the start.

The combat mechanics are fairly intricate and can take some getting used to in order to get the most out of your skills and the dynamic timeline, but it feels really good when you manage to set up and pull off devastating combos that turn the tide. The boss battles can be absolutely brutal and a single mistake or miscalculation can lead to defeat. Bosses can feel overpowered or downright unfair at first, but once your own power grows and you learn their mechanics and what to watch out for they aren't too bad.

There are only 5 Eras, but with the difficulty and rogue-lite death loop there is enough content to fill quite a few hours. As far as the Synapses go, there are a couple really difficult ones that can be costly and tedious to undertake if you aren't properly prepared. I'm looking at you Rescue mission... Others, such as Hunts are typically simple and straight-forward.

My only real gripe is that there are a fairly limited number of Synapse maps which can get a little stale after a while. It would be nice if there was a greater variety of maps as well as more initial random spawn locations on each. It would also be nice if we could choose the formation of our Daughters when spawning into a map, to allow for more tactical positioning at the start. It seems like every boss fight my Shieldbearer starts way in the back, so I have to spend a turn or two simply moving them into range, which can be a bit more painful with certain Traits like Ethereal Flame which lowers movement range.

The art style and aesthetic is perfect for the bleakness of the world and the character designs are amazing and quite polished. While there may not be a huge number of enemy types, I feel that the number isn't lacking. There seems to be a good mix of different types (melee, ranged, elites, etc) with their own skill sets and mechanics that add a good amount of complexity to battles.

I've seen many reviews stating that the story is lacking, but it is actually unlocked through progression. This makes a lot of sense when you think about how the game is based around unlocking memories through recollections and remembering events. The lore is unlocked in bits and pieces, like a puzzle that takes time to unravel. The story that I have unlocked so far is actually quite intriguing.

The soundtrack is absolutely amazing. When I first started the game, I found myself sitting in the menu just listening to the music for a while and checking the credits to listen to that song for a while longer. The music for the first boss was excellent and the transition into phase 3 of the fight fit so perfectly. Truly well thought out and executed.

All in all, I am really enjoying this game and I wish I would have found it sooner than I did. A very solid 9 out of 10 for me and highly recommended to anyone who likes dark fantasy, souls-like difficulty, rogue-lite progression and tactical turn-based RPGs.

This is an excellent game and, by far, one of my favorites.

Not only is this a good hacking simulator, but the ARG elements implemented are great. Exactly what you'd expect from the developers, as NT4 is in the same reality as The Black Watchmen and Ahnayro. The Story Mode campaign was a fun, Hollywood-esque experience and the story overall was quite good. There are many Easter eggs and little hidden bits of information that you can find if you dig deep enough, which really adds to the experience.

The missions range from somewhat outlandish to rather possible in the real world and the problems/puzzles presented are clever and require a bit of creative thinking. Some of the puzzles, especially the Open World missions can be difficult because it's easy to go too deep down the rabbit hole of information at times and miss the key piece of information you were looking for.

The hacking tools and commands are good. They are based on real world tools and commands for the most part and do a decent job of maintaining immersion, as the methodology of using them to infiltrate a system is very aligned with real world tactics. However, they are not perfect. It would be nice to have a singular command terminal that had access to all commands, with a larger history for backscroll, but that's my only major gripe. I don't like needing to have so many windows open at once. Another minor frustration would be that the windows and fonts are too big for my liking even on the smallest setting at high resolutions. The built-in notepad could be a bit better, but I tend to use external programs like Notepad++ and Maltego while playing anyway, so it is what it is.

NT4 is under active development and getting better all the time. The new Stealth Mode, released just prior to this review, is undoubtedly a welcome addition for some, as it addresses concerns over the third-party account and privacy. It is no longer required to have an A&S account to play the game, but it is required to gain access to the ARG elements (live events and raids) for greater levels of immersion.

The music is also very well done and non-intrusive when playing normal missions. The soundtrack dynamically adjusts in Story Mode toward the end, when tension rises. It was a great and memorable experience.

There is a lot to do in this game and while some of it can be a bit repetitive, the same can be said with real world hacking and intelligence work. Over 160 hours in, I still have yet to complete everything that the game has to offer and, with the Network Administrator DLC, there is even more potential to have fun making your own hivemind networks for others to break into.

The community is quite active and the devs listen to feedback. I really look forward to everything that comes next and can't wait for the companion app.

I really see no call for all of the negative reviews for this game. So what if it does not have Two-Headed Giant Mode? It's the price we pay for the new deck constructor. Anyone who thinks that the computer cheats and that Campaign mode is too hard, obviously lacks skill in gameplay and deck construction. Don't like to grind? Buy the cards or go play something else.

IMO, this is one of the best Duels games to date and while there are a couple things I wish this would have (yes, I miss Two-Headed Giant, also), the game is rather polished and not something one should judge by playing it for an hour. The music is unintrusive and quite great.

If you don't like the game, do us all a favor and go play something else. Otherwise, enjoy another (different) Duels.