I am roughly 7 hours in and I feel better about the game now than I did a few months ago.
I actually like Aloy. She’s immediately likeable - make her the martyr immediately - great choice. Her dialogue actually feels sincere, too. I commend Guerilla for pushing dialogue that actually makes sense for branching narratives.
The combat IS satisfying and challenging, too. I am still figuring out my arsenal but getting through my first Cauldron was great.
A couple things that I would like to see in the sequel:
Climb anywhere - the yellow pegs are distracting and in a post BotW era, climbing everywhere should be feasible.
Better camera angles. Dodging can get wonky and a lot of times, you never really know where you’re dodging. A zoomed out camera would help.
Simplify resource gathering. There’s a ton of crap to collect and craft so you’re never short of supplies but the process of crafting arrows, for instance, is tedious. If they’re going to make the resources so plentiful, just auto create the arrows.
I am enjoying the game, though. The graphics are quite good. I am on regular PS4 and it’s neat.
The sound and OST are great too. Subtle, similar to BotW.
I’d like to continue playing. I hope I don’t get sucked into The Division 2.