Remnant 2 is the example of a 9 out of 10. It falls just short of the "full package" like a FF IVX or Elden Ring. The story is pretty much not there, no big deal. Characters fall almost entirely flat, meh. That's okay. These are the main faults with the game. The ONLY faults, really. In no way does that harm the experience at all.
The environments are, in a word, shockingly good. The music, the sound design, the level design, the puzzles and secrets; it's ALL a love letter to video games as a medium. Playing video games allows for a particular way of engagement, and Remnant 2 revels in it like a pig in slop. This couldn't be a show. It couldn't be a book. It couldn't be a movie. It couldn't be a board game. It HAS to be a video game, and it confidently does what only video games can do.
My jaw has dropped, repeatedly. Mostly from awe, sometimes from rage. I've played the game for around 100 hours. 5 or 6 crashes in that time. Not a ton but faaaaar more than I've had in games I've played much longer. The development team is small so I remind myself of that. When the game crashes right as I beat a world boss, so the win doesn't count... hard to not start to be frustrated. I genuinely LOVE this game, but two updates in two weeks; probably should have just delayed it a little bit. This is the trend with games any more and Remnant 2 is BEYOND a complete product, so I'm not complaining. Just needed to be said. Screws continue to be tightened.
Nothing has compared to the job system in Final Fantasy Tactics, but the Archetype system feels REALLY good! Getting an amulet or a ring that makes you want to try a different archetype just to see what the synergy feels like.
The game is just fun. F. U. N. Fun. The action, the exploration, the ambiance, and the puzzles have been some of the best I've experienced in years.