A lot of promise, with 1 huge a several noticable flaws
1. Any game that can easily engage you for 30+ hours is a good start....reasonably big world with plenty of good quests.
2. Good character customization/ development options (leveling is done well).
3. Magic, armour and weapon craftinbg/ upgrade system is very, very customizable....very steep learning curve, but immensely enjoyable and immersive.
Cons:
1. Horrible ending takes it down a full point in my book. It shares a lot in common with the horrible ending from Dragon's Dogma....you spend 40 hours customizing your character as an expert in magic, melee or archery and then the final boss 'fight' forces you to do something completely different....rediculous is an understatement.
2. Very steep learning curve...the manual does not come close to explaining the magic or weapon upgrade systems.,,,,which is a crime cuz they're good.
3. Significant frame rate issues, including speaches/ sentences that are cut off right in the middle by your character replying....you're left guessing what the person said.
4. Only a few characters have even the least bit of character development, most, including some prominent ones have zero.