Unapologetically postmodern, brimming with creativity.

the game is aware of your what absolutely busted combos you can pull off. it will put it to the test. this is lovely.

I was insane enough to pay off the debt legitimately...

This game fulfils the Netrunner dream better than any other game I've played, I've unlocked 3 endings so far and still feel like I've only really scratched the surface when it comes to all the layers, outcomes and overall surprises that seemingly keep coming about from what I had originally thought to be a quite unassuming game.

--- Spoilers below ---



Honestly I was extremely fond of how the game subverted it's simplistic style for sudden dashes of hyperrealism, distorted faces and features, playing with 2D and 3D elements at times really pulls you further into the world that DDS has weaved leaving you with moments of genuine discomfort and equally such awe. Whilst the Story and writing have been criticised in other reviews, it does it's job in it's own way, even if particular dialogue branches and trees are hard to predict and the various outcomes even with the hinting the game sometimes provides.

I can see this being a game I spend plenty more hours into, The only criticism I have is simply just how powerful the Hacker Vocation is to the game, that it outmodes most other playstyles, especially with how fragile you feel most of the time, even when you get your hands on some pretty powerful hardware, even when I forced myself to play a heavy acrobatics, smg style runner, it never felt like the intended way to play, nor the most efficient with the exception of Capture/Control side-missions - even if I did get into a semi-competent build by the end stages of the game, the frustration it took to get there knowing I could have instead been on my laptop plugging away at nodes and playing the puppet master bothered me and I can't tell if that's the fault of myself of the game itself.

Otherwise I'd mark these as nitpicks on a game that scratched an itch like no other, the difficulty curve is steep, but the fun you will have once you get into it really I think is something that is worth the time, money and investment.