I'm in love with this game
Even droped Hogwarts Legacy completely
I usually focus on the main quests in open world games, so maybe that's why I'm not bothered by the respawn rate. But from what I've seen on the internet, only the first village is problematic, and the rest of the open world is ok. And thats also my impression thus far.
Every area looks amazing. And the scope is massive. The art team did a tremendous job, seriously. I'm at the museum right now, and time and time again I drop my jaw on the floor. Level design is excellent.
Not only visually interesting, but I love the worldbuilding. Signs, posters, dead bodies that talk to you, mailboxes, voice diaries and etc. It really immerses you.
Also, people saying the gameplay is boring must be nuts. Melee packs a punch, and every blow cuts your enemies realistically, exposing their internal parts, very satisfying. Same with bullet shots.
Powers are fun to use, and being tied to cool down instead of "mana" is the right way to do it. Mass Telekinesis is always awesome.
Since Bioshock Infinite, there was no other game that played like this. And that game is 10 years old already. And this one plays better. So WTF with those people saying that this game has "mundane" gameplay.
Puzzles are also really great so far. The platforming with magnets was awesome, and the beams puzzles are also clever.
Story is nothing to write home about so far, but its been stimulating enough to keep me interested.
If theres no nosedive in terms of quality later on, I see this game being on my GOTY list, 100%.
Crazy how my opinion with new games have been so different from reviewers lately. Callisto Protocol is my GOTY so far, and that game was obliterated by critics. And now Atomic Heart. And I found God of War Ragnarok to be the most boring game that I've played recently.
For their first project, I'm so impressed with Mundfish.