Overall had a great time.
The combat can definitely get stale after a while. Early game experimentation with jobs and trying out different moves eventually just gets phased out by using the same attacks that hit everyone once you get your team figured out. I also don't enjoy how much grinding you need to do to be able to progress the main story at some points.
The story is pretty great in this, even without having played the preceding games. The middle sections lost me for a while, but once you get focused back on the main plot, it really picks up. I was surprised at how emotionally captivated I was by the finale.
Despite some repetitiveness that was really wearing me out by the end of the game, there's a lot to do and a lot of fun to be had.

Seriously surprised at how much I ended up enjoying my time with this game, despite how flawed I think it is.
The open world here works quite well for the game, despite how bare bones it is. The exploration is definitely driven solely by looking for pokemon to fill out the dex, and while there's a lot of fun to be had with it for a while, the game feels extremely empty otherwise. With hardly any memorable locations and repetitive scenery, the whole open world kind of blends together and feels very generic. It's a great foundation, but there's clearly a lot of room for improvement on this world design to make the gameplay loop more diverse and interesting.
I also can't help but be put off by the presentation. Some of the fully animated cut scenes in this game genuinely look great, so seeing them contrasted by stiff, robotic npc animations taking place in a world that looks like it's made out of clay definitely puts a bad taste in my mouth. I know I shouldn't expect much from Pokemon games graphically, especially considering the production cycle that this franchise goes through at this point, but seeing the potential that this game has in some of its peaks leaves me wanting more.
However, despite all of my issues with this game I really did have a fun time. It's a lot of fun running around trying to catch every new Pokemon I see, trying my best to fill out my Dex as much as possible. The story and characters are surprisingly engaging and likable, and at the end of the day I'm a Pokemon fan, and this game, alongside Legends Arceus, feel like a great step in the right direction for the series.
If you like Pokemon, go play it.

Great presentation and gameplay with an incredibly engaging story alongside a mixed bag of new characters and many narrative decisions which leave you wanting more.
It's a descent into barbarity, showing the true costs of revenge and 'justice' by putting you into the shoes of two characters completely absorbed within it, leading to a degradation of relationships, and even a sense of self. This game will beat down the player with depressing event after depressing event, but is always permeated by a sense of hope through the love and relationships which characters share. The ending to this game is incredibly divisive, but I believe it’s the most cathartic and thematically poignant point of the game, finally coming to terms with the past and finally being able to move on, despite all that has been lost.
pretty good go play both of these games