this game you have to be in the right mindset in to fully enjoy. if youre looking for a sweeping, multifaceted political tale that is thoughtfully built, you have found your game. it isnt very character driven, which is somewhat unusual for the modern switch tactic/strategy games, but more than makes up for it with how enveloped the story gets.
my first playthrough was about 35 hours, which i completed in a period of 3 days. it was easy to get lost playing the game. the first 3 chapters are story heavy, but most of it is voiced and is used to setup story points to be used later. there is also supplemental material if you wish to read more about the world.
of the four main characters, frederica stands out by far. there is an element of fantasy racism here, though i argue it is one of square enix's better attempts at it. shes also one of the best voiced characters in the game. the voice acting can be all over the place, but it was nice to see that emma balentine do such a great job with the most compelling character in the story.
the branching path element is also a welcome edition. i know it isn't the best game to compare it to, but it did a LOT better than three houses in terms of branching story and replayability. the maps, characters you get, and story reflects the decisions you make which is very refreshing. the choices are also hard to make, there isnt an obvious good and bad paths. this also extends to the main endings. i made what i thought was the best choice on my first playthrough, but i still felt awful about how some things turned out at the end. and thats great! war is complicated and not everything will turn out great.
as for gameplay, i think the difficulty settings are great, it doesnt feel like theres a huge jump from easy to hard. it is harder than a typical strategy game, but there are ample settings. replayability gameplay wise is great, as you keep your levels/items/characters you got from your previous playthrough in ng+, and its easier to see where your alignment is at any given time.
the HD-2D graphics are perfect for this game, with gorgeous lighting effects. the soundtrack is also amazing, especially the rosellan themes ones.
the only complaints i really have is the at times lackluster voice acting, especially with serenoa. there can also be a bit of clunk with the camera controls in battle, but these are really minor compared to the game as a whole.
tldr great game great story, just play it with the expectation that youre going to get less character stuff
adding half a star for having a woman with pink hair