As someone that was there from the original teaser trailer to having played through the game more than once, we were initially promised the world in terms of features but with each delay, my hype was tempered and died down to expect something....more realistic given the size of the studio behind it. That said, my first playthrough of the game had me hook until I finished it. The music, the characters and the way the story and endings are handled are great and were more than enough to carry me through the first playthrough and be initially satisfied by it. However, on a second playthrough, you come to realize just how much the "game" itself is pretty lackluster. The "life paths" are actually just a short 10-to-15 minute intro before you come to the same starting point as the other life paths. All the freedom and customization that was promised initially is baically paper-thin and doesn't actually matter at all. The gunplay is bland at best and really interacting with the main cast of characters is the only thing worth going back for; although I have to admit that the game's "true ending" was also a very strong point and made the other endings look weak by comparison.
This game has a LOT of systems to learn and you'll probably be overwhelmed at first but once you finally come to understand a mechanic, you'll get a euphoric feeling before you're promptly given 1000 more mechanics to learn.
