Played the demo some more tonight. Getting more used to the Wirebug and integrating it into combat. Skillbind attacks can be a bit OP if you know how to use them (in the demo anyways, I'm sure the final game will be more balanced.) Even locked to just two wire charges in the demo (going up to 3+ with endemic life), the added flexibility is hard to get a handle on at first. This mechanic opens up so much freedom of movement in every aspect of play and even though my clunky ass fingers aren't handling it great right now, I know I have a high skill ceiling here to look forward to. The YouTube vids of Japanese players pulling shit off a week after launch are gonna be insane, mark my words.
Monster vs Monster fights are a fun aside but they're really just excuses for a lot of free damage, seemingly. I can imagine this mechanic being reigned back a bit in the later stage of the game.
All the QoL improvements, seemingly from world (instant loot/item pickup, walk while consuming, instant subquest delivery, infinite whetstone, etc.) are pretty nice. Not as sold on the damage counts, instant tracking (no paintballs), or a few other points from older games, but I'll deal. The game feels like a much more polished package than GU, but that's to be expected lol. I don't miss separate zones as much as I thought, but that may be down to the implementation here... There's still distinct, separated areas, but there's no loading screen between them now. I would absolutely love if they somehow remade some older maps in this style, particularly Deserted Island from Tri.
I really, really love doggo. 😍 Not only is he infinite stamina, not only can he drift, not only can he run up vines without breaking a sweat, not only can you consume items while riding... but you can even sharpen on a whetstone at full speed. 😍 Dismounting into an attack is satisfying as hell. Not sure about fighting while riding but could be fun.
Looking forward to the full game (have deluxe edition preordered. 🤩)