A game with extremely high highs and some pretty dry lows.
Content pacing is the big discussion point here, mostly with side quests. The quests themselves are generally pretty good, and showing how the world is evolving outside of the main story is done really well. The issue is when about 4 hours worth of side content is dumped on you between major story beats near the end of the game. Early on, I was actually praising the game for its restraint in only giving out 2-3 quests every few story beats, which felt a bit on the low side but totally appropriate. By the end of the game, I'd never taken back a comment as much as I had that one. I'm glad I experienced all the quests once, because now on a replay I can just play the story, which I think will greatly improve how much momentum is maintained in the back half of the game. When a game's problem is more about evenly distributing content than the quality of the content, it's not the worst sin ever, though it did put a damper on some play sessions. I ended up with the feeling that the game could have been about 10 hours shorter, but I'm not sure on how much of that was due to side quests vs the main story itself.
The quests aren't the only way the pacing is a bit lumpy though. Aside from the huge setpieces that get diluted as more and more side content spreads them out as the game goes on, there's also a gradual shift in the balance of linear stages vs what I'll call "zone traversal". After playing so many modern games with at least semi-open worlds, the somewhat "retro" feeling (at this point) linear structure of the game was kind of a breath of fresh air at first. It did get a little tiring later on, reminding me why this isn't really the norm anymore. But it's hard to differentiate between the fatigue from exploring those zones as part of the story and the inflated time spent in them from side content. The first half felt like a more directed, higher tempo story with a bit of a different tone than what it eventually settled into, which felt a little more traditional JRPG fantasy by the end.
On a more positive note though, the combat was hyped up to be "the best game ever" and while I'm not sure about that, it was pretty great. It was deep yet approachable, it had a ton of customization, it let you experiment without penalty, it had some super cool looking abilities, what more can I say. Bosses were also pretty great, and though I prefer fighting as Clive to Eikon battles, their over the top presentation was also quite the spectacle. Accept The Truth was the peak of the story for me and just one of the hypest moments I've ever experienced in a game.
(Light spoiler warning): There was a weird trend I was noticing throughout the game where concepts and characters were introduced or brought to the foreground right as they became relevant instead of being seeded and built up beforehand. Some of this is probably just the intro of the game having too much on its plate to set the stage properly (better explanations of Bearers before Clive is branded, for example). Byron and others kind of pop up out of nowhere, Cid's idea about the Mothercrystals is just something you get from a line after a fade to black instead of hearing his actual pitch, etc. This isn't a huge deal, just something that seemed to keep happening. Vivian's "state of the realm" rundowns in the 2nd half would've been nice to have earlier as well for clarity, despite how direct they are presentation wise. The hyperfocus on how badly everyone treats Bearers in the first half was also a bit overdone, though I guess it was to contrast the treatment you receive later on.
Characters were a big of a mixed bag too. Clive, of course, is Clive, but most other allies felt very side character-y even if they were major players. There were some standouts like Dion, and some slight letdowns like Jill, but at the end of the day this is Clive and Valisthea's story, so that's not that big a deal. These just aren't necessarily characters that I'll cherish forever. There's such a large cast of medium-importance characters to support the feeling of a living world, and for that I think they did a pretty good job. And active time lore was a great feature for keeping track of everything.
Despite some mixed feelings on pacing, this was a pretty great game overall that I think will feel even better on a replay. I was on the fence about it beforehand and not quite sure how I'd like it, but now it seems crazy that I might have skipped this. Now give us Leviathan DLC you cowards
Content pacing is the big discussion point here, mostly with side quests. The quests themselves are generally pretty good, and showing how the world is evolving outside of the main story is done really well. The issue is when about 4 hours worth of side content is dumped on you between major story beats near the end of the game. Early on, I was actually praising the game for its restraint in only giving out 2-3 quests every few story beats, which felt a bit on the low side but totally appropriate. By the end of the game, I'd never taken back a comment as much as I had that one. I'm glad I experienced all the quests once, because now on a replay I can just play the story, which I think will greatly improve how much momentum is maintained in the back half of the game. When a game's problem is more about evenly distributing content than the quality of the content, it's not the worst sin ever, though it did put a damper on some play sessions. I ended up with the feeling that the game could have been about 10 hours shorter, but I'm not sure on how much of that was due to side quests vs the main story itself.
The quests aren't the only way the pacing is a bit lumpy though. Aside from the huge setpieces that get diluted as more and more side content spreads them out as the game goes on, there's also a gradual shift in the balance of linear stages vs what I'll call "zone traversal". After playing so many modern games with at least semi-open worlds, the somewhat "retro" feeling (at this point) linear structure of the game was kind of a breath of fresh air at first. It did get a little tiring later on, reminding me why this isn't really the norm anymore. But it's hard to differentiate between the fatigue from exploring those zones as part of the story and the inflated time spent in them from side content. The first half felt like a more directed, higher tempo story with a bit of a different tone than what it eventually settled into, which felt a little more traditional JRPG fantasy by the end.
On a more positive note though, the combat was hyped up to be "the best game ever" and while I'm not sure about that, it was pretty great. It was deep yet approachable, it had a ton of customization, it let you experiment without penalty, it had some super cool looking abilities, what more can I say. Bosses were also pretty great, and though I prefer fighting as Clive to Eikon battles, their over the top presentation was also quite the spectacle. Accept The Truth was the peak of the story for me and just one of the hypest moments I've ever experienced in a game.
(Light spoiler warning): There was a weird trend I was noticing throughout the game where concepts and characters were introduced or brought to the foreground right as they became relevant instead of being seeded and built up beforehand. Some of this is probably just the intro of the game having too much on its plate to set the stage properly (better explanations of Bearers before Clive is branded, for example). Byron and others kind of pop up out of nowhere, Cid's idea about the Mothercrystals is just something you get from a line after a fade to black instead of hearing his actual pitch, etc. This isn't a huge deal, just something that seemed to keep happening. Vivian's "state of the realm" rundowns in the 2nd half would've been nice to have earlier as well for clarity, despite how direct they are presentation wise. The hyperfocus on how badly everyone treats Bearers in the first half was also a bit overdone, though I guess it was to contrast the treatment you receive later on.
Characters were a big of a mixed bag too. Clive, of course, is Clive, but most other allies felt very side character-y even if they were major players. There were some standouts like Dion, and some slight letdowns like Jill, but at the end of the day this is Clive and Valisthea's story, so that's not that big a deal. These just aren't necessarily characters that I'll cherish forever. There's such a large cast of medium-importance characters to support the feeling of a living world, and for that I think they did a pretty good job. And active time lore was a great feature for keeping track of everything.
Despite some mixed feelings on pacing, this was a pretty great game overall that I think will feel even better on a replay. I was on the fence about it beforehand and not quite sure how I'd like it, but now it seems crazy that I might have skipped this. Now give us Leviathan DLC you cowards