So I finally downloaded the game today and I've played for hours and decided to stop for the night to reflect.
I have very very mixed feelings about this game, but unfortunately I'd say leaning more negative than positive overall, which is super disheartening for me, as I really wanted to love it and thought that I would more than I actually do. Regardless let me talk about what I think this game does right and what it does wrong.
For what it does right, I mainly think it's the combat system and story/character interactions. Let me start by saying while the combat system feels very wonky at first and takes some getting used to, it certainly has potential. I'm thoroughly enjoying it now that I've gotten the hang of it. The best way I could describe it is that it's like each weapon has 4 different attack strings. However, I do think it could use a bit more polishing. Perhaps it could use charge attacks as we're used to during each of the attack strings, which would result in some serious variety. But the combat is still a ton of fun and I'm glad they ditched the charge system in favor of this. Perhaps the single best thing about this game is the story. There is literally so much detail it's mind boggling. There are tons of character dialogue and little quips from character to character, I love it. No one in their right mind could say any character is ignored in this game, that complaint from past installments is moot here. If you ever felt one of your favorites was shafted before, they certainly will be given better treatment here, and it's great to see Koei utilizing all the characters they'v introduced, as I've felt that in the last few games nearly half the roster could be cut and you'd hardly notice because Koei seemed to not care about them or forget them. I'm so happy individual stories have returned, and this game shows Koei can do individual stories in a way that doesn't sacrifice story quality. Not only is the story quality still good, but if you don't feel like completing certain characters stories because you fear it would be too repetitive, then no worries, there is no reason at all for you to feel forced to play through a story you don't want to.
Now for the bad..I absolutely hate hate hate the open world. I knew this would be the aspect that would make or break this game and it's so bad that it nearly breaks it. First, lets start by saying that the open world is downright barren. It's practically nothing but a bunch of open fields and wooded tree areas. There is other variety but majority of it is grasslands and woods and it gets so boring to look at. Nearly all the battles take place in nearly identical looking fields and forts. It completely destroys any sense of originality in map design. Did you love how the Yellow Turban Rebellion always took place in a sandy desert? Hu Lao Gate in a snowy area? Or like how certain battles had iconic features such as He Fei Castle having absurd traps? Fan Castle and Tong Gate in pouring rain? Guan Du and Wuzhang Plains at night? Well too bad because now they are all practically identical. Open fields and woods with forts/castles thrown in for the bosses. It makes all the battles feel so much duller, every battle is practically the same as the last aesthetically, apart from the enemies you fight all the battles may be the same battles for all intents and purposes. Battles also aren't near as much fun anymore. If you were like me and loved the tight and condensed action of prior DW games, where you had allies and enemies fighting all around you, and could within 30 seconds go from fighting in one packed area to the next, you won't like this. You may fight a horde of enemies in a fort or a base and then have to ride your horse for several minutes before finding anymore enemies. It makes all the battles feel more like a collection of small skirmishes instead of actual battles like they used to. It really takes away from the heat of the moment. Let's also talk about how the open world doesn't really have much for you to do that's truly fun. Almost all of the things in the open world feel more like a distraction than a welcome addition. After not very long you'll hate the thought of wandering more through fields to hunt lifeless animals for hardly any true reward you'll care about at all. If you're like me you'll just want to ignore the entire open world aspect and just skip to the next fight. Only problem is that often times getting to that next fight involves riding on your horse for long distances that bore you and annoy you. Also, while I know DW has never been the best graphically, the open world has really held this game back. The draw distances aren't that impressive, textures take longer to pop in correctly, and things look more like they did in DW7, which means lots of green and browns. I suppose that fits the more realistic angle of the open world, but I liked the more stylistic looks of DW6 to something like this. I actually feel like DW8CE on the PS4 looked just as good as this game, which is disappointing considering this is a PS4 launch in 2018, not a PS3 game ported to PS4 in 2014. I will say I haven't experienced any frame rate drops like some people have been complaining about.
So overall I think with this game Koei has done a tremendous job with the combat and story. Both are the best they've ever been. Hats of to Koei for accomplishing that. However, the open world is so awful that it nearly ruins the game for me. This is the first time I've played a DW game for the first time and after playing for a while start to get bored and annoyed and put the game down for a break. In all previous releases I was so hooked I could barely force myself to put the game down to go to bed. It sucks because I really want to keep going to see what else the story has to offer but I'm not sure I can, the open world is just a huge mess that takes away from what could have been an otherwise great game. I can't help but feel that the open world has a huge mistake for DW. I hope moving forward Koei keeps this state combo combat system and sticks with this format for storytelling but goes back to map based battles instead of this open world concept. However just make the maps very expansive and open, DW3 managed to somehow pull that off, try to recreate that same feeling while potentially making the maps even bigger. All in all, I can't help but think this game is 2 steps forward and 3 steps back for the series, I'm not as pleased as I had hoped to be

"Change is the law of life. And those who only look to the past or present are certain to miss the future. "
- President John F. Kennedy