Alright I'm about 6 hours into the game at this point and I have some thoughts.
First off I wanna say that this is a great action game, but unfortunately it's a terrible Final Fantasy game. At least in the form of what a normal Final Fantasy game would have. This is the first Final Fantasy game that follows a single dude, and doesn't feature any party members whatsoever and that feels bad to me. Like I expected companions at some point but everyone who joins you is mostly along for the ride and isn't controllable or all that useful in combat. You do get your dog who controls like an extension of you.
Admittedly I knew this was going to be the case and I thought it wouldn't matter to me but it has left me feeling strange based on expectations of what a FF game is.
While the dark tone is very cool and it's great to see a mature game in the series, it's too dark. Even the darkest FF games have a sense of humor or light-heartedness about them and while it might be a bit jarring for some people it's part of this series and I love it. There are no mini games, no card games, nothing odd for Clive to be doing to help take the mind off the seriousness of the events around you. In a way it's fine, the tone is consistant so you're never pulled out of the experience. But it does mean that there is a lack of extras.
Speaking of lacking. It feels like they are leaning WAY too hard into being a DMC game, and not enough into being an RPG. There are no elemental weaknesses or resists on enemies, which means you choice of loadout doesn't matter to the situation and only matters to what you as a player enjoy. While that's fine in a way, it removes any reason to think about what might be coming up or even reduces the reasoning for expiramenting with new abilities once you have a loadout you like. One kit is as good as any other in every situation which means none of the abilities matter.
Top that off with the fact that gear also doesn't matter, everything is so basic. You'll equip accessories that make the abilities of your loadout slightly better, and equip Clive with the best upgrades you have available, which are ultimately very small increases. Each new weapon or armor gave single digit increases to attack or defense and because enemies get harder and spongier as you go along you never feel like the gear is doing anything but keeping you on the same level as everything around you. Which in an action game is fine, but feels bad in an RPG.
The combat is cool, the story is cool, but it all comes together and feels like DMC with a fantasy coat of paint on it. It doesn't play like FF, nor does it feel like FF. So instead you just have this weird game with a mainline FF number on it.
All that being said, it's a good game for what it is. I don't want to take away from what's been done here on a fundamental level. The characters are likable, the story is good, the combat is good. My problem is that it's such a shell of an RPG experience that in the chase to evolve the series, they've evolved beyond being a Final Fantasy game.
Which disappoints me on a core level, however I still think this game is worthy of GOTY simply because what is here is a great action game with a great story. So for that it's ahead of every other game that's come out this year so far.
