Extremely repetitive even on the first playthrough and you have to do it 3.5 times to see all the story and for things to actually make sense.
Even if you hack the game and oneshot everything, skipping the battles, it takes an absurd amount of time to finish the game in it's entirety.

Most characters are one-dimensional cardboard cutouts with 1-2 distinct traits/tropes that they just repeat ad nauseam.
- Yes, Leonie, I know you are Jeralt's apprentice. Stop mentioning him every two sentences.
- Yes, Sylvain, I know you're a horrible human being. Stop being horny all the time.
- Yes, Cyril, we know you like Rhea and cleaning. Can you kindly shut up now?
Not to say that every dialogue or interaction is boring or horribly cliché, but a lot of them are. And a lot of them are just meaningless filler. Though, even despite the flaws, you do get attached to the characters. Seteth is my favorite personally.

The music is repetitive also. The same "heroic" track plays in EVERY character introduction in the game.

Most of the missions are bland "kill all enemies" or "kill commander" and they keep repeating over and over with no variety at all. AND you play the exact same 99% of missions on different story routes. The only fun missions are in the DLC which I actually enjoyed.

The difficulty balance/progression in the main game is broken. Which is also somewhat fixed only in the DLC story.

Basically everything that is bad with this game is done better in Valkyria Chronicles 2 on PSP (or any VC game really). Even graphics imo, since VC series is heavily stylized. And I just can't stop comparing the two. Even the story is very similar with the military academy setting and warring nations in the background. It had better builds, player progression, better side-stories, better characters, more even difficulty curve and more engaging game mechanics.

Not that I completely hated the game. I actually intend to do all 4 routes and already watched all of the support conversations by hacking the game via emulator+cheat engine table. And I will probably do the same with the Three Hopes sequel/spinoff, since I really did get attached to the cast. But holy hell, this game is overhyped AF.
It has a ton of wasted potential, but ultimately it IS wasted.

If you, like I, heard all the raving reviews and want to play it, I would recommend you go play Valkyria Chronicles series games instead. They're leagues better than this one. Sadly, I must admit.

The game has only three positive aspects - it's pretty, it has some epic music tracks (in the later part of the game - specifically bosses and credits song is just beautiful) and it has a really great final act with plot twists, emotional moments and spectacle.

Everything else is mid to horrible.
- The story is a nice fairy tale, but it picks up only closer to the end of the game.
- The map is one of the worst I have ever seen in my 25 years of gaming. No mini map. The camera angle always changes on its own, but the map screen is always fixed. And the elevation tracks very poorly.
- If you want to 100% this game, it WILL be hell. Since the map is so sh*t you will wander aimlessly for hours trying to figure out where you need to go to pick the collectibles.
- The game's has animations for everything, and they're not skippable. Won the battle - 10 second animation of victory pose. Opened a chest - 2 second opening animation, then 3 seconds of cutesy pose. Entered a dungeon - a loading screen and a 3 second animation. Completed the dungeon - 10 seconds and a loading screen. And it just keeps on stacking throughout the playthrough. I actually feel like I've spent an hour total in these same repeating unskippable cutscenes.

I would say I enjoyed it rather than hated it, but it mostly because of how the final act was really really good. I'd rather play a mid game with a banger finale, than a good game with a lame ending.
If the entire game was on par with the final stretch of the game, it would have been an instant classic.

Pros:
- Great 2d sprite work, seamlessly incorporated into 3d environments.
- Design-wise the game is beautiful.
- The world is dense and feels lived it.
- Lots of varied enemies.
- The bosses are entertaining.
- The fighting system is a bit rudimentary, but feels good to play.
- Ayane's a clichéd, but fun and lovable character.

Cons:
- Nonsensical plot that has a bunch of unexplained plot holes and feels unfinished. Some of this is clearly intentional, but it still just feels like bad writing.
- A bunch of text logs that like to use gibberish pseudo-science talk.
- Most characters are either 2-dimensional cardboard cutouts or have motives so convoluted you'd never figure it out on your own. Like why the main villain did what they did.
- The game has a craft system and a lot of trash to pick up that pad out the game's playtime, and that you'd never probably use.
- A few typos, weird phrasing etc. are still present in the game's text even after patches. Though a lot fewer than there were on release.

The game's premise is basically a fusion of Evangelion/SCP homages, easter eggs and references.
Can't recommend, but I actually had fun with this game. Flawed as it is. Just don't expect it to be a clear, coherent story.