Before anything I should say that I played this game very on and off on my steam deck. Part of the reason was because it was what I played when I first got my deck before I went on a trip to see some family. After that the times I did play it were incredibly sporadic, with months going between the times I played.

That being said

This game is boring as shit.
Part of the reason I had huge gaps during play sessions was because the game itself is not engaging whatsoever. You can pretty much mash your way through every combat encounter and bumble your way through every fight while simultaneously pulling off perfect dodges and parries all the while you just throw out all your special moves until the enemy presumably dies out of pity for you.

The games story is also there. It definitely goes. I have no history with the Ys series of games, so my only comparison is other action RPG's and this game just hits it's motions with no nuance or interest whatsoever. I don't think it's because of laziness and this is definitely a to taste thing but the moment the game made me laugh at it's story is when the edgelord character just started flat out cussing in the dialogue despite the games tone being generally subdued. It got a rise out of me since I was caught with my jaw slacked and waiting for the cutscene to end. If you've played a video game before the plot could charitably be described as "seen before."

That being said I still don't think it's a bad game. Just kind of a game you pick up because you can swing a sword and it's anime adjacent but nothing noteworthy happens, positive or negative.