Ignoring the story (which is unarguably, a masterpiece), the gameplay is also great. It's not on the same level as the story, but it doesn't hinder the experience in any way. The problem with this game is that it NEEDS to be played on the higher difficulties. When I first picked this up for my PS4, I played it on the easiest difficulty (I used to play games out-the-box on their hardest difficulty, but stopped after Uncharted. I felt it ruined the experience for me.) I beat it within 8 hours, and had to admit, the game was over-hyped and average at best. But, me, being the trophy hunter I am, decided to try the hardest difficulty.

And the experience changed completely.

Suddenly, death was meaningful and often times, brutally punishing. You could last through 3 waves of Clickers or runners, managing your various supplies and 3 bullets for your magnum, and then suddenly forget about the one wounded enemy you thought you finished off earlier, which makes you start off all the way from the beginning. You had to carefully choose when to shoot a round and when to toss a brick. It is a carefully crafted, intricate survival system that, if taken out of the game, actually degrades the overall product.

Same goes for the cover system. While a traditional system might've helped some players enjoy the game more (initially), I think having the current system helps the game break out from the conventions of it's genre and deliver the experience ND wanted to.


Truthfully, the only complaint I would consider valid is the AI, both enemy and ally. It is straight-up, RETARDED. This is disheartening, consider the E3 trailer showed off incredibly intelligent AI that would've made this already difficult game on a whole other level. But I don't need to harp on that, Dunkey already demonstrated what I'm talking about.

This is just my two cents. Take it or leave it, I'd love to have a discussion if your opinion differs.