Preface: played 1 & 2 in the series, tried X and will pick it back up one day. Fab of both 1 & 2, although acknowledge they're not perfect (nothing is lol).
Firstly, this title does a much better job of tutorializing the systems when compared to XC2. The systems in question are progressively introduced and I never felt overwhelmed.
Combat builds upon previous titles, taking most inspiration from the strength of XC2's combat and really just clicks so seamlessly. A huge strength to combat is the addition of classes, which can be applied to any party member! Allows for so much variety and has been one of my fave new features.
The plot is so gripping, extremely well written and seems a little more reminiscent of XC1's darker tone in general. The writing, world and character development are all outstanding in my humble opinion.
Music, environments, traversal are all on par with the series, so you're not going to be disappointed here. Even small QOL features like removal of mundane 'field skills' from XC2 and adding back the auto-item pickup from XC1 show that the devs have paid attention to common fan gripes.
Graphics and performance seem to have significantly improved from XC2's output, seeming comparable to the XC1 remaster for Switch.
TL;DR: this game is flippin' awesome!!
Firstly, this title does a much better job of tutorializing the systems when compared to XC2. The systems in question are progressively introduced and I never felt overwhelmed.
Combat builds upon previous titles, taking most inspiration from the strength of XC2's combat and really just clicks so seamlessly. A huge strength to combat is the addition of classes, which can be applied to any party member! Allows for so much variety and has been one of my fave new features.
The plot is so gripping, extremely well written and seems a little more reminiscent of XC1's darker tone in general. The writing, world and character development are all outstanding in my humble opinion.
Music, environments, traversal are all on par with the series, so you're not going to be disappointed here. Even small QOL features like removal of mundane 'field skills' from XC2 and adding back the auto-item pickup from XC1 show that the devs have paid attention to common fan gripes.
Graphics and performance seem to have significantly improved from XC2's output, seeming comparable to the XC1 remaster for Switch.
TL;DR: this game is flippin' awesome!!