I was one of the few haters on this game. I bit the bullet and paid $100 since the next game I'm waiting on is FF7 anyways. Right from the getgo, I am relieved I didn't have buyer's regret. The story, performance, combat, traversal, dialogue are all solid!
I'm more of a Story type of person, so the live service aspect turned me off before I played it. I'm a bit glad I gave it a try! I think most negative reviews are from people who haven't even played the game. Especially these "google reviews".
I was going to rate this a 4, but the extra "star" is to help negate the petty review bombs.