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.

I'm not much of a fan of first person shooters. Even then, there aren't many third-person shooters I'd say I'm a fan of. Remnant is hands down one of my favorite shooters regardless of dimension.
There are no real "soulslike" mechanics outside of a dodge roll. All of the weapons are extremely satisfying to use and the gameplay is simply fun, in the best possible way. I've spent hours just wandering around the open world areas gathering upgrade materials. The procedural generation keeps things from becoming repetitive and the gameplay keeps me rerolling the map.
I cant speak highly enough about this game. On top of it being phenomenal on its own, the inclusion of such well done coop makes it an absolute must play. (Seriously, at least start with coop. If you're not playing coop at the start of a new game it is way more difficult, due to boss encounters heavily relying on mobs.)

By far the best customization for demons and their moves. Most of the difficulty in previous games came from how limited the move sets can be without tons of grinding certain demons. The essence system removes that entirely.
"Story" is a generous term, but the lore they came up with for the nature of the apocalypse, Gods, and devils was very clever. I enjoyed it more than most.
Absolutely hated the dungeons though. Terrible design, terrible atmosphere, all which can be blamed on the Switch hardware.

Could not be more surprised how much I enjoyed this game.
I think the last SF game I played was Alpha 3. The modern control scheme is fantastic. I havent don't a lot with the online content but the little bit I have is great.
The World Tour mode is great. I wish it was easier to get certain clothing items, or at least know where/how to get them. You're not going to play it for the "story" but I won't lie, for as campy and goofy as it is at the finale I said, "oh, shit".
Such a fun game to play.