Ok,so i finished the game a couple days ago,waited a bit to see how i feel about it after a few days passed and I'd just like to say this is a flawed masterpiece yet its one of my favourite games.
To start with the negatives the worst thing bogging the game down are the pacing issues. I think from around the halfway point till towards like 80% of the story the game has major pacing issues and lousy quest design.-Example: You battle Titan in one of the most insane fights in the game,hypest shit ever then the next couple missions you go on errands for the lazy cunts in the hideout who can't be half assed to go to the market to get some peppio nuts and other useless shit which completely breaks the pacing of the game and story.
Another negative is the loot or lack there of.At least with any meaningful loot from chests.Basically exploration is not really rewarded at all which is such a shame cuz the world looks amazing.
Another negative is the design of the gameplay,its basically just running around and combat,i know its very basic summary of what it actually is but i feel like some mini games and just some other activities would've gone a long way to make the full package complete.
Thats about it when it comes to what i didnt like which isnt something negligible...HOWEVER....
Lets talk about the good stuff now:
-Story :Gawddamn what a story.The writting was fantastic from start to finish,so many games nowadays I feel just choke at the finish line but this game....Made me feel emotional at the end,when the credits start rolling and the music plays and we see the final cutscenes only one series came to my mind...Metal Gear Solid.It just oozes heart. I enjoyed immensly all the cast from the main characters to the side characters.They all had distinct personalities and were fleshed out briliantly,especially if you complete the latter sidequests which are so amazing compared to all the fetch quests that plague the halfpoint of the game.
I will say i would've prefered the dominant of fucking Shiva to be a bit more useful in the game though,they kinda did her dirty.
-Combat : The combat is fantastic,it feels very basic and for the most part it is but you can work wonders with it and it looks amazing if you master it.
-Soundtrack: Best ost of the year and maybe even passed couple of years.Its one of the best FF osts ever.Soken created a masterpiece and the themes in this game will be humming in my mind for a loooong time after the game finished.
-Boss Battles: By far the most impressive thing in the game are the Eikon battles,some of the greatest fights you'll see in all of gaming.Spectacle that puts the newer God of War games to shame,and as a GOW fan it only makes my dissapointment worse in how low the series has fallen when it comes to the scale of it,a staple of the series reduced to nothing for close ups of sighs and grunts from a Kratos too tired....pathetic.
So to conclude,when i first shared my thoughts on the game i gave it a 7 but after finishing it I'm bumping that score up to a 9/10 and recomend it to anyone with a PS5.Its a must play in my opinion,despite its glaring flaws it still is a stellar experience.Its my favourite FF and one of my fav games of this generation. The story really is the highlight of the game and a breath of fresh air in a sea of gaas games and open world games with barely any cutscenes.
Also the visuals are absolutely stellar in quality mode and a true showcase of the PS5.Some npc's are a bit rougher but as an overall package theres no doubt this is one of the best looking games available at the moment.
I congratulate and thank the team at Square Enix and Yoshi-P for creating such an unforgettable experience.
Story:10/10
Music:10/10
Visuals:10/10
Gameplay:9/10
Game Design:7/10
Final Score: 9/10