I actually just got the game in the mail from GameFly yesterday and started playing it today. My initial reactions so far are that it's good, but I don't love it. Maybe that'll change as I play the game more. Some things I like and dislike about it are:
+ It has a huge open world, I love those kind of games. I've heard it's larger than Skyrim, Fallout 4, and The Witcher 3.
- However, that comes at a cost. It doesn't feel as lively as any of those three worlds
+ It's a cool blend of sci fi and fantasy which is always nice. I'm a huge fan of space science fiction.
- The character customization leaves much to be desired
- The sound track isn't appealing to me
- The battle system is complicated, but that's on me more than anything.
Now that I've played a couple dozen hours, I have a clearer impression of the game.
I agree and disagree with some of these points:
-Character creation: In my experience Japanese games are always lacking here (compare Dark Souls to Dragon Age, for example) but the one in XCX is remarkably bad!
-Huge world: It's quite massive, yes, but somehow I thought it'd be significantly bigger than it actually is. Granted, I've only been to 3 of the 5 regions, but perhaps I believed all the hype and set myself an expectation for a much bigger world than it already is.
-Soundtrack: I feel very ambivalent here. I
love the exploration music to Primordia, I think it's a classical example of modern Japanese compositions. Japan must have excellent music academies, the music they typically make for this sort of stuff is always superbly done, delightfully melody-oriented. Anyone, especially Nintendo fans, can see this. I mean Koji Kondo? Legend. But also Shunsuke Kida on Demon's Souls, one of the most praised scores of recent years, or the ever-magnificent Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame.
On the other hand, themusic to New LA... seriously? The persistent wannabe energetic trash can drum, 1998 guitar riff and directionless poppy wannabe soulful vocals of the daytime theme Ifind obnoxious, it gives me a headache within 5 minutes and the inability to change the track means I avoid a central and key area of the I'dotherwise enjoy solely on account of the terrible music. It's incessantly repetitive, even if you love it you'll end up hating it within several hours worth of gameplay. And the hip-hopish night theme is even worse.
-Comat: It feels a little flat to me. I don't feel I can overcome higher level creatures by good tactics alone, and leveled monsters usually die before I can tactically disable a limb. It feels like you can tailor yourself a combo or two and just repeat the same battle mechanics. Very grindy.
I realize most of my comments are not very positive, but I'm actually loving the game. I definitely agree with the nearly ubiquituous sentiment I've heard and read that the best part about the game is the world itself. Ilove exploring and getting lost in the immense, epic landscapes with a lively varietyof grandiose and bizarre creatures.