Recent reviews by Morningstar

So the good first:
I love the artstyle,unique and consistent troughout,coupled with the camera angle and the set-pieces it's an interactive movie...and this is where it splits apart.If it were an FMV/Interactive WS then it would easily be a 9/10,however we are talking about a hack-n-slash...of sorts.

Gameplay: A bit off a mess,you have good combos yet you will rarely use more than 2 or 3,primarily stun + finisher to recover health.Enemy attacks are supposedly telegraphed but it's 50/50 if it will hit you or if yours will connect.Enemy variety is fine in terms of different attacks,I've seen some ppl have complaints about variety but I think its sufficient,the problem is rather the A.I. itself,fighting swordsmen and specters is balanced but Spearmen & Headbutters is just painful,forget comboing just create distance and shoot them (kind of strange for a Samurai game no ? ).In short balance sucks and those flashy moves aren't going to be used for 2 reasons,the first I've stated,so you might be thinking ok just play it on easy,however then enemies die in 1-3 hits making the combos yet again wasted.Movement is also clunky at times,or the enemy jumps 20 meters but just as you are about to hit.In terms of gameplay I'd go with a 3/10 not enjoyable,which is a shame considering the theme.And while on the subject of wasted potential....

Story: Cookie-cutter through and trough,the dubious voice acting doesn't help either.You have the typical oblivious goodie-two shoes protagonist,Sensei that dies instantly,Love interest that goes ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ nowhere and well I can't even call him an antagonist but the main "bad guy" of the story who is just P O W E R & G R E E D,however his presence is never strong enough to warrant any attention.This is basically the main story,Sensei dies,Then your love dies and then you go to Hell/Heaven,yet Hell/Heaven decides on some cosmic irony to send you back to kill the big bad or there won't be any balance to the universe...like some guy who to our knowledge has plundered 3 villages is the next Armaggedon or smth.So yea main story 0/10.

There are some moments after CH4 which as a player I enjoyed,its more of self-reflection and values on the part of the player which is hightened a lot by the visuals,now that part if that was the main story I would have considered this as a pretty good niche game,as it stands now it's a rough gem that is visually appealing and separates itself from most titles that go for hyper realism or just goofy trash.

結論として: Artstyle & Visuals are worth the buy if it's on a very steep discount,if you are looking for combat or a good story you won't find it here.

Breaks down more than a Moskvich - Stutter,Lag,Pop-ins,Softlocks,Jank,Crashes ( A TON),Bugs you name it Exodus has it.

Also since when did Metro a game yk set in the metros & tunnels go into the desert ??? Is this Mad Max ? Not to mention it is the most poorly optimized level thus far.Don't get me wrong up until that point there were still a lot of problems,both fundamental & ones that can be overlooked but it was still enjoyable,now I am just trying to progress out of spite...Overall major dissapointment.

Well this is a hard one.As a big fan of GR1 I was hoping for more of the same and while there is some of that here especially in the early levels overall it is mostly its own game for better and worse.I debate whether I like it enough to recommend it so this is more of a mixed review...and probably my last GR game.

Movement and it's fluidity here are lacking,not that there weren't bugs or clipping in GR1 but they are much more prevalent here,and you are sacrificing speed due to enemies now using iframes,go too fast and watch an enemy do a 180 turn,the trade off is the block which I would be fine with were it not for the speed penalty.However the bigger issue is the level design itself,they went for bigger is better but here it doesn't work in their favour,the bike is kinda fun but very janky with 0 weight or sense of speed,you are either too fast or too slow,that and being stuck on terrain constantly.

Fighting is ok,I didn't find it that different from GR1 in terms of getting used to it at least,it's reliable although there are much less enemies due to the devs wanting you to "explore".Boss fights in both games are just terrible.

Story & Dialogue were mostly fine,there were some good moments and then there was the final boss which is just who wrote this s***,there was a chance for a better story and dialogue system with more involvement but its missed,also yea Kira is annoying af.

With all that being said GR1 had a natural flow that GR2 hasn't or at least it doesn't really feel cyberpunk,in terms of atmosphere specifically,Dharma is great but the outside world was clearly not ready and with the way the story ended if GR3 will be Open-World with more filler and woke characters then I will have to pass.

As for this one,it's good enough to playtrough if you enjoy adrenaline-fueled fights but GR1 is superior.Get it on discount,a steep one.

Anger permeates, it's not our idiosyncrasies
Which leave us ill, I wish to build
Yet it seems all I touch dies, endless drone of sighs
To convince this world we exist, loveless bliss
Content just to be spent at night's end
Fish for your reasons in the sea of ignorance
As if in trance, succumb to an ageless waltz of thought
Why were we brought together only to fall apart?

The Boredom Protocol™

K E E P Y O U R E N E M I E S C L O S E A N D Y O U R G U N C L O S E R

Would have preferred more shooting and less stealth but other than that it's a damn good game

This is one of those times I really wished there was a mixed review.I was a big fan of The Expanse until S5 when focus shifted and became muddled but let's talk about the game.

Pros:
-You play as Drummer
-Maya best Squadmate
-Great Scenery
-Good Soundtrack
-EP3 & 4 were good,although could have been better
-Cinematics are mostly good
-There is potential for better expansion (if there are any after Archangel)

Neutral:
-Gameplay

Cons:
-You CAN'T PLAY RENEGADE LIKE BRUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH W H Y
-Choices are extremely limited and don't really matter (or at least they don't feel like they matter)
-Crew members are boring and so is their writing (maybe spending some more time with them would have helped ME style)
-Scavenging doesn't matter despite being a belter,none of the supplies you find will ever be used
-There is no character progression as in player agency,you are just along for the ride
-D I D I M E N T I O N Y O U C A N'T P L A Y R E N E G A D E

So yeah final verdict 5/10 much like the latter part of the series.

It's good.