There is a good, 8/10 game, here, but it's hidden behind the majority of what the game is. That good game is the "main scenario", not counting Chapters 1 and 14. The Nibelheim flashback and Forgotten Capital largely handled very poorly.
The sea of cynically-made open-world anti-accessibility "content" obscures what is good about this game. The main scenario is effectively a sidequest, because the majority of the gameplay time is spent on "optional" side content. That side content (minigames, sidequests, world intel, VR fights) are this game's main features.
Difficulty is forced and accessibility is non-existent. This is the least accessible RPG in history, and it's a remake/sequel/requel to the most accessible RPG in history.
They went out of their way to fill the game with unoriginal Ubisoft Open world content, and artificially unbalanced difficulty.
The game also forces players to engage in some very predatory romantic/sexual actions with underage characters.
Ironically, by choosing to chase money over quality, Square Enix is selling far less than they could have.
The sea of cynically-made open-world anti-accessibility "content" obscures what is good about this game. The main scenario is effectively a sidequest, because the majority of the gameplay time is spent on "optional" side content. That side content (minigames, sidequests, world intel, VR fights) are this game's main features.
Difficulty is forced and accessibility is non-existent. This is the least accessible RPG in history, and it's a remake/sequel/requel to the most accessible RPG in history.
They went out of their way to fill the game with unoriginal Ubisoft Open world content, and artificially unbalanced difficulty.
The game also forces players to engage in some very predatory romantic/sexual actions with underage characters.
Ironically, by choosing to chase money over quality, Square Enix is selling far less than they could have.