TLTR: this is an overall good game, far from perfect, but still quite enjoyable. Should you buy it? At full price - probably not, unless you are a hard-core SW fan. With 50% discount - sure.
Now for more details. Firstly the story is not that good. It's quite cliched and predictable, has some plot holes, that are simply stupid (won't spoil them though) and characters are quite under-developed. I was not able to believe in any of them. The little robot BD-1 has way more charisma than the rest of the crew. Well, maybe besides Greez, but he is still under-developed. The story is too simplistic and "for kids". Generally in Star Wars movies niche, but I saw some comics in the universe that were quite good in that regard and delivered a "grown-up" story. I do not mean like with gore and adult themes, but something that makes you think a bit, and does not use clear cuts to differentiate good and bad.
While the story is subpar, narrative design in general is quite good. There are locations, where you have some relative freedom to explore, but they seem more like an after-thought most of the time. Where the design shines are the more linear places. I really enjoyed the episode in the forest for example, how it depicted its size, its age. It was a very beautiful location with good progression through it. And this is what I really enjoyed in the game: traversal through those locations. There was nothing particularly new, but it was well done and [mostly] logical. Reminded me a lot of Tomb Raider (2013) trilogy, although it did not deliver the same sense of danger and vulnerability.
Collectables in this game are... Pointless. Plants are ok to watch in the ship, but paint jobs and skins for your swords, BD and ship? It's not like I do not understand the appeal (although I do not see one of ponchos, preferring more practical jacket), it's just that some of boxes are placed in hard to reach places and when I get some color that I'm not going to use ever, I feel a bit disappointed. Also some crates need to be "opened" twice and they offer the same. At least, they could offer double the rewards. Also not sure how robot opens them underwater, while still being on your back. I believe this to be the reason why I did not enjoy pure exploration that much: because it did not feel rewarding enough.
Combat is ok. I am not that into such "soul-like" style (so at some point I started using a trainer), but can be challenging, that's for sure. And it does feel rewarding to see a finishing move. But same as with traversal it does not feel dangerous. Yes you can die easily, but there is no "weight" to it. I am not talking about punishment for death, no. If you ever saw good fighting scenes in movies or anime or games, you will understand what I mean. It's the feeling of "material" in each punch or swing of the sword. Feeling of power behind them. Even in Devil May Cry series, where you swing a sword like crazy you still see that it has physical concepts attached to it through animation and sound effects. You will not find it here. And while this is ok with "regular" enemies, once you are locked in one-on-one and your literally cross swords in a button-mashing event - you will see what I mean. It visually looks as if it does not matter much whether I push the button or not. There is barely any change on screen. And that what makes this combat bad for me despite it having relatively diverse mechanics.
As I've said above visually the game is good. But mainly in terms of "in-game" graphics. When cutscenes are shown you can see some blurring, bad or awkward lighting, which makes character faces look weird. It's not always like that, though. Maybe except for lighting. On levels lighting is great it "plays" in each scene. In cutscenes it's just there. Just there to show you the faces or some key elements. Sound design is also average. It is there, sound effects are placed where they need to be placed, but nothing catches your attention. There are a lot of moments, when there is no music at all and when there is, it's forgettable. And there are some environmental places, where adding extra sounds could improve the location even more. Say, some wind howling or birds chirping. I do not know, maybe they are there, but I simple do not hear them? Or are they not grabbing portions of my attention?
Either way, these are mainly nitpicking, to be honest. From what I understand this is the first game from Respawn and if I account to that - it is a very good first try. Their narrative designer team may need some skill honing still, in order to enrich the story and sprinkle combat and locations with minor details, that nobody notices, but that make a fuller experience, but I'm sure it will come to them. And for that, we do need to support them. So buy the game. But, preferably, while on discount.
