Thanks for providing some early feedback! I have been on the fence for this game, and even after these early impressions and reading the reviews out there, I still have some big unanswered question marks (which at this point may mean I won't know unless I play it for myself). But maybe someone who's played a good amount can give some more insight on my primary concerns.
I haven't gotten a good sense yet how repetitive the combat and quest design are. A lot of people seem to like the combat in general, but I haven't gotten a great sense as to why. From videos it looks like either a mess or kind of shallow (or both), but how does it hold up when actually playing it? Does it become kind of "same-y" or "mashy" after a bit? Does it evolve much during the game? Is there much skill involved? And how challenging is the game as a whole?
Going along with that, how is the quest structure? I get the sense that many of the side quests are generic filler, but that some better ones are hidden in there. Are they meaningful to do before beating the game? (I've read that better side content opens up afterwards?) If you don't do any side stuff could that make the critical path harder? Is the side stuff kind of the bulk and/or the "point" of this game? (As it sometimes can be for open world stuff.)
Ultimately, I've been turned of by other big "open world" RPGs like Xenoblade and Dragon Age Inquisition which had too many repetitive quests, and combat that was bland and uninteresting (to me at least). I'm trying to figure out if FFXV may have similar pitfalls for me ;)
Obviously my personal opinion here. In regards to quests you definitely have the typical fetch quest type stuff. Go kill these things, go get this thing for me, etc. Some are more in depth then others and can lead to cool stuff. Hunts are basically go kill these tougher monsters and increase your Hunter rank and get money (a great way to do so), and rewards. Hunts are fun and challenging. The combat just feels good. I know that's a bit vague, but hitting stuff feels satisfying, you have Link Strikes (which are team up attacks that happen automatically in certain conditions), Link Skills which are attacks your teammates can do when you order them to, magic, Summons (whenever they decide they feel like helping), Blindside attacks which is extra damage from the rear and also lead to Link Strikes, and of course the Warp Strike which is super rad. There is a LOT to combat and this is pretty much in its base form. You can upgrade it further in the numerous skill trees. For example I finally got an ability that I saved for called Air Dance that lets me infinitely dodge while doing mid air combos. So basically I'm striking in the air, zipping out, and then zipping in to strike again only to zip out again to avoid attacks.
It's easy to get overleveled for the main story (I was usually like 8-10 levels above the main story quest recommendation). That being said it didn't affect my enjoyment and some enemies/dungeons were still a challenge (this is normal difficulty. the other is easy). There is a TON of post game stuff to do and the dungeons in this game, in general, are fantastic, which was a huge surprise for me. The game gets linear at a certain point, but you generally always have a way to return so you aren't locked in or anything. The game is good about telling you "hey if you go do this thing, you might not come back for a while".
If those games didn't do it for you I'm not sure if XV can persuade you. I like the combat here more then those games (and I really like all those games), the game is gorgeous (I love the modern aesthetic) and the OST is incredible. Exploring still feels fun to me, even in the post game.
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