To everyone who dislikes grid based movement I get it. But it's not all bad.
First off the game, like the one's it's modeled after, is based on the concept that everything you do takes a "turn". Buffs and debuffs are not timer based, but turn based. Battle is obviously turn based, and movement is turn based because it would pretty much break the rest of the game mechanic if it wasn't. Yes you could have free roaming and make each step take a turn, but it would have a devastating effect on the turn based combat. It's use makes the game much more strategy than reaction based.
For example you enter into battle, you have enough NPCs that it looks like they'll surround you eventually if you let them, but there's a hallway one step to the right and two behind you. Do you move taking ranged damage every time you move till you reach the hallway, or do you go straight back so they can't get behind you and take a bit less damage, or do you stand your ground and use your sleep spell (that might fail) to reduce the NPCs that can hit you?
Or you see some NPCs but you're not in battle with them yet. There are three different routes you can take towards them, do you take the one that means you can used ranged but gives them the ability to eventually surround you, or do you take another that means less ranged but they can't surround you, or do you try to get behind them?
Other things like resting, trainers, limited fast travel, and what have you are again a nod to the older M&M games. It's not done to be a PitA, it's done so that every action has consequences. Do you sleep reducing your supplies and forcing a trip to a tavern sooner, or continue exploring on the hope that you won't get wiped by the next NPC party you meet? Do you go get your shield trained up, or do you continue till your crusader get's his paladin?
Even how you hit the buff squares has an optimal strategy before you enter a dungeon. For example the paladin upgrade dungeon Cursed Ruins is pretty hard but there are four buff squares in the open world that give some significant buffs once a day. So if you pay attention and know about the four buffs, save them till you can get all of them, and move so that you reduce their duration as little as possible the dungeon is much easier to do (it's still hard at too low a level though).
The one area where this game gives people new to the game type a break is with the difficulty curve, it actually has one. In the earlier M&M games you could pretty much go anywhere you wanted, and get wiped in the process, right from the very start. I remember in M&M III Isles of Terra, I did a random teleport to another town that was occupied by high level NPCs, instat-kill time. Plus there were two innocent looking bridges outside of the starting town and both led to higher level areas. Getting wiped after crossing both bridges taught me something.
Think! About every last thing you do. A new NPC you don't recognize? What's the other NPCs in this area been like? If they were pretty easy to kill, give it a shot. If not make sure you're at full strength with ton's of pots and scrolls before you engage, then maybe avoid him any way.
Well this reboot actually locks a lot more content than any other M&M game I've played so that you don't find yourself getting instat-killed, ever. If you do find your getting wiped a lot I have a suggestion. Stop! Think! Don't just mash the attack button! Pay attention to every little thing because there's hints suggesting more effective strategies all threw the game, but you need to notice them.
TL/DR This isn't a bad game, in fact for it's type it's a pretty good one. But you really have to be paying attention and using the game rules to your advantage, because it'll eat you if you don't. Consider it a more cerebral than reaction based RPG and you'll be fine.
