Good
- the elemental damage adds depth to the gameplay and forces you to swap weapons, which adds excitement to the battles. There's also a good variety of weapons to use. Each have their own uses that is effective against certain fights and types of enemies.
- slowing down time really helps with targeting certain parts of machines, and you can actually be accurate without using aim assist on controller
- the music is amazing. The graphics are top tier. The world is so amazingly beautiful.
- the dialogue is top notch. Everything feels very organic. When I walk around a camp i hear conversations everywhere and comments about Aloy. I walk close to someone Aloy knows, and they might comment about something, maybe a side quest or the current events going on in the story.
- The open world is incredible. Can basically jump, climb and swim anywhere. And it has the most organic and immersive feel compared to any other open world game i've played.
- there's a few different styles of play that add diversity to the gameplay. I can hide and set traps to break down machines. I can stalk and stealth kill enemies as they walk by. I can do go complete aggro and fight everything head on. There's so much freedom on which I can approach the game.
- traversing the world feels great, never a bog. Using a mount to reach places combined with fast traveling feels just long enough for me to take in the beautiful world, while not long enough were I feel annoyed. When I get the flying mount, it's even better.
Bad
- i do wish the weapon wheel for traps and potions could be easier to scroll, or I could choose favorites to access a specific item more easily.
- I wish there was a parrying ability. The combat feels a little one dimensional when I can only roll away as a defensive option.