What impressed you?
The opening sequence and Orwellian atmosphere immediately hooked you: "this opening sequence establishing these guys welcome to C7 have chosen or worth avoiding is crazy good" (3:21), "so orwellian the feels this game gives is great" (2:56), "no one would do this today I love this" (3:36), "it's not very subtle but it's perfect I mean what we're only like 2 minutes into this" (5:17). The physics playground started right away: "play with the physics I've been proud call City 17 my home and so over stopped our train" (3:42). Environment set the mood: "the environment that they built for this game is so good" (4:08).
What would you change?
Audio levels were too loud initially: "let's see if I can tone them that audio some" (0:55), "it's still a little loud hold on second better yeah" (1:55). (Missing info on menu navigation or options screen here ())
How could it be better?
Keep voiceover volume higher than game audio consistently: "I just want my voice to be better higher than what's in here" (2:01).
What impressed you?
Intuitive progression through curated sequences: "tutorial not done yet but opening image on the save the cap beat sheet is close" (17:43), "they're constantly um back and forth going back and forth between like action sequence and exploration sequence... they never keep one thing going for too long" (38:03). Feedback via suit HUD and physics: "similarly to breath of the wild everything's got this just in time tool tip here that's nice" (24:19). Goals clear via audio/radio: "get out of City 17 as fast as you can Gordon take the old canals" (30:10).
What would you change?
Occasional getting lost in curated levels: "don't really know where to go" (1:18:01), "surprised... when I get lost in such a heavily curated game" (1:25:55). Ladder/jumping physics: "ladder physics biggest criticism this game" (1:19:45), "jumping is so so broken" (54:36).
How could it be better?
Stronger vertical cues earlier: "they had to teach people like there are hazards above you let me show you in a safe way" (42:19). More consistent navigation lighting: "in Halo they spent a whole lot of time trying to make sure you knew where to go based on lighting" (1:25:33).
What impressed you?
Physics messing around: "anything that has physics it's like you just want to start messing with it... let your inner 12-year-old out it's pretty great" (9:12), "the physics playground I remember this so much" (13:08). Laughs from comedy timing: "freaking head Humper get it off me" (21:52), "comedy is not very easy to do in video games... they blend the two... they can time the the comedy so much better" (22:33). Excitement/stress in sequences: "this whole sequence is great" (27:17), "this game's way more interesting once it gets harder... having to focus so heavily" (1:44:30).
What would you change?
Input lag disrupting flow: "I'm actually dealing with lag" (6:46), "weird lag on the um on the controls sometimes" (36:43), "input lag stop it" (1:27:16).
How could it be better?
More consistent tension pacing without lag: "how they keep tension up continually... feels handcrafted... for optimizing for for this engagement" (37:55). Add chat widget for live feedback: "I should get a chat little widget thing that shows up here" (44:01).
What impressed you?
Invasive scanner flash: "when they take your picture and it flashes in your eyes and you can't see it's very invasive makes you feel very invaded vulnerable" (9:30). Particle effects for tension: "tiny little particle physics particle effects... the Imp ation of those particles so great" (29:19). Citadel as anchor: "this giant Obelisk you spend the entire game... constant reference... very good St environmental storytelling anchor" (29:31). Model swaps/texture pops: "the model transition there those those the the spinny things different models when they're going fast versus when they're going slow yeah see that texture pop" (25:49).
What would you change?
Janky physics visuals: "physics or janky it's its greatest selling point and its worst selling point both simultaneously" (54:47).
How could it be better?
Smoother LOD transitions: "see that texture pop right there it's clever makes it look really good" (26:03) – apply more widely.
What impressed you?
Enemies aware and smart simple: "the AI on these guys is pretty good like they're they're simple like easy AI but but like smart simple" (37:10). Man hacks terrifying: "they manag to make them not extremely difficult to fight they're more terrifying" (1:02:40). Scripted responses build personality: "all these script things once you're safely out of the way they they trigger" (39:33).
What would you change?
(Missing specific enemy dumbness complaints here () – mostly praised)
How could it be better?
More dynamic AI beyond scripts: "alive conversations because they're fully scripted and not Dynamic to what you're doing that is an interesting interesting problem" (46:34).
What impressed you?
Real-time cinematics: "they never break into cut scenes... something that I haven't seen a ton of other games do" (7:07). Time flew in sequences: "60 minutes just fly by" implied by 2-hour stream focus. Felt part of resistance: "managed to somehow make me feel like genuinely... part of a resistance group" (15:06). Responding to game via physics/audio: "audio design... great" (59:37), "ambient music... interplay between combat and ambient music... pretty great balance" (1:24:22).
What would you change?
Input lag broke flow: "latency lag like like uh you press stuff with your keyboard and then half a second later you move" (7:32). Getting lost/pulling from curated path: "I come from here yeah I think I did not paying attention" (1:18:20).
How could it be better?
Eliminate lag for 100% focus: "having to think about it and I'm not talking as much because I'm just having a good time um and having to focus so heavily" (1:44:37). More freedom in physics without jank: "did you feel freedom? Did you feel able to play on your terms?" – smoother ladders/jumps.
What impressed you?
(Missing specific camera praises here ())
What would you change?
(Missing camera problems mentioned here ())
How could it be better?
(Missing info on camera system here () – no complaints noted)
What impressed you?
Genre-standard intuitive: "just in time tool tip here that's nice" (24:19), "swaps and then" (34:02). Weapon swap satisfying: "flexed my uh like hitting buttons to swap weapons like the number pad... feels nice" (1:42:37). Mistakes felt player fault mostly: "I'm actually proud of myself that I'm aiming for their heads" (38:58). Interface HUD works: "your suit on Gordon... just acquaint you with the Essentials" (23:19).
What would you change?
Input lag frustrating: "controls are just Bonkers" (1:17:21), "input lag oh man" (1:10:43). Ladder dismounts: "must have been like specific ladder dismounting scripts... suddenly was there" (1:14:50).
How could it be better?
Fix lag for responsive feel: "Did you feel 100% of any mistake was your fault and not the fault of the controls?" – remove delays. Other FPS learn precise physics integration: "Is it genre specific, what other games could learn from this?"
What impressed you?
Real-time cinematics/comedy: "because they they blend the two... time the the comedy so much better" (23:00). Physics as core hook: "just the physics engine alone I think sold this game" (13:28), "Havoc is so cool" (52:27). Teach look up via barnacles: "getting players to look up... so that they could design for environmental puzzles around up and down" (42:05). Airboat sequence fresh: "I love this thing this janky physics thing they had so much fun" (1:33:47). No customization mentioned you cared about.
What would you change?
(Missing disliked ideas here ())
How could it be better?
Less reliance on janky physics: "physics are nothing new now but they were incredible at the time" (53:27).
What impressed you?
Left wanting more: "halflife 2 is a pretty pretty stellar game... I'll be back tomorrow probably" implied continuation desire (1:53:06). High-point: "super curated it's really tightly tense it's got great environments audio the sequence" (1:53:15).
What would you change?
Janky physics lingering: "it's got some problems with the physics the janky physics" (1:53:22).
How could it be better?
Polish jank for replay: "they went all in I don't fault them... but why is this game still on so many lists" (53:33). 50-word high-point: "Physics playground in Orwellian world with real-time cinematics, handcrafted tension pacing, comedy timing perfect. Curated linear mastery makes you feel resistance hero." (28 words)
David Perry suggests using gameranker.com for [[202501031828 The David Perry Challenge]], and filtering for platforms you own. I found this list to be...