I've been hesitant about getting this game for different reasons. How fun is this game and does it have a lot of freedom in what you do and what you can become?
It has a great choices and consequences and an interesting setting (a mix of 3 very different settings in fact). The quests make sense in the world and have unexpected turns, no "bring me x bear pelts" here. Story isn't as well written as The Witcher 2/3 but I felt it was created by a very competent pen and paper RPG dungeon master.
The world is very dangerous so you will need to run and plan your routes with care, specially in the beginning but, because of this, it is very rewarding to acquire new skills/weapons/armor. It is not about virtual tourism like many AAA open worlds. The world feels bigger than the player.
The combat and animations are below average, the text book definion of jank. It is stamina based like Souls but without the deep or the amount of options. It is no Dragon's Dogma for sure. The unpolished combat along with the high difficulty in the beginning probably is the reason people hate the game. The pros outweigh the combat for me though, despite me being a huge brawler/character action fan.
It is not a game for everyone. I get why critics decreased its score. Elex can't compete with higher budgets open worlds in production, animation, number of assets, cinematic. But I prefer how Elex do things.
And it has a jetpack. Which is awesome.