Look, I get it - there are problems. The control could use some work, the environments could use some variation, the map is garbage, the weapon wheels continue to be incredibly non-intuitive and annoying.
But sweet holy Jesus, they're making games for me again.
Anti-fascist message and glorious coincidence aside, I really, really care about these people. I also really, really enjoy killing a lot of goddamn Nazis as quickly and brutally as possible. I spent a lot of time on the submarine just ... listening. Caring. Watching the people talk to each other, get to know one another, make their homes, live their lives. There's a sublime moment with Max Hass (you could completely miss it) that nearly brought me to tears.
Nay-sayers, slow your roll, ok? I didn't play this game for six months after it came out because everyone was raving about it, and I don't like most things that the general gaming public falls all over themselves to defend. I often get frustrated with the pacing of things, too, but this one is a gem. Not working for you? Maybe the game's not speaking directly to you or your experience. And that's ok.
Move on to the thousands of other glamorous, post-apocalyptic cookie-cutter loads of bland BS that major developers are churning out these days. New Colossus is heartfelt, nutty, over-the-top and brave. What sloppiness is here doesn't outweigh its balls. Sign me up.
This is the kind of storytelling that's going to take this industry into the future. Not the themes, per se, but the chances it takes. The choices and the weight of those choices. The character growth, the bombast, the joy and sorrow and cheesiness and earnestness.
How many other shooters can deliver that experience next to microwaving Nazis on VENUS?
Not too many, that's for damn sure.
(DLC ain't shit though)