I picked this up during the Summer Sale on a whim and a few months later it is somehow my 4th most played game of all time, and that is during a year when I have had precious little playtime due to work and other responsibilities. What I thought might be an interesting diversion for a few plays unexpectedly became an obsession that I wish I'd taken a chance on much earlier. There is quite simply nothing else out there even remotely like this game. It's Fallout: NV meets Dear Esther meets.. old school Everquest rare spawn camping? Oh, and there's hunting as well.

The world is amazingly well realized, with the many different reserves each offering a gorgeous and serene environment in which to complete quests (missions) ranging from killing a certain animal with a certain weapon to the more straight forward "Go to this campsite and see if the yoga instructor there was eaten by a bear." (Spoiler alert, she was eaten by the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ bear). The AI of the animals you hunt is incredible. The living world moves on whether you interact with it or not as the other inhabitants go about their daily routines of travelling, resting, eating, and drinking. They act realistically to sound, sight, and smell, and you must behave accordingly or you'll scare them off before you even see them. Note: Much like real life hunting, the game requires patience and if you lack that, this may not be for you. But even in sessions where I saw precious few animals, the zen quality of just existing in the various reserves was never a waste of time.

After a hard day, coming home and escaping into this world has been the best gaming experience I have had in a long time. If you think this may even remotely be up your alley, take a chance! I recommend getting all of the DLC in a bundle during the sale, as it is all worthwhile. My only caveat is that the devs quit adding new Achievements and Side Missions to the last few DLC packs, which lowers the replayability. Some have also bemoaned the addition of cosmetics, but they can largely be ignored and they have even given several packs away for free.