10/10
One of the best examples of how timing and polished execution can define a game’s impact. First of all, the one-shot camera gives a tremendous boost to the atmosphere and immersion—it truly feels like playing through a single-shot film. When that’s combined with such polished mechanics, everything flows incredibly smoothly. Both combat and exploration become a joy.
As for timing, the game hit at the perfect moment: it arrived when the series was in real need of mechanical evolution, long enough after the previous title to build anticipation, and delivered a tonal shift that emotionally resonated after the original story’s conclusion.
From a broader perspective, it also dropped during a time when the industry was starving for strong single-player narratives and emotional father-son stories were riding a cultural wave. So it’s no surprise that the mix of quality and perfect timing caused such a big splash.
My biggest criticism of the game—and it seems to be a common one—is the weakness of the boss fights. If it weren’t for a few specific boss battles being so thrilling and satisfying, I would’ve just assumed they couldn’t pull it off. But the fact that those standout moments exist actually makes the absence of similar quality elsewhere even more noticeable.