Having not finished the game yet, I can't say how I will feel about it after I've finished. I think its phenominal so far. Theres a couple of things I can nitpick here and there, but there is nothing I would say spoils my experience of the game. I'm sure they can fix some of the textures with an update at some point.
I feel criticising the episodic nature is unfair. Its a huge game, bigger than many games which also feature sequels or compliations. Assassin's Creed 1,2,3 spring to mind and so does Mass Effect. They tell a bigger story over the course of several games. FF7R has apparently 15 hours worth of cutscenes; the level of time and energy to do motion capture for all those characters and all that voice acting, then cutting it all together and adding all the effects. Personally I feel its justifiable for this to be one game, and I'm glad they did it that way.
Unlike other games FF7R has never felt like a chore to play. FF13 was one of those games where I struggled to keep my eyes open at one point, The Witcher, Assassin's Creed Origins, Dragon Quest XI, depsite having incredible moments all sufferred from pacing issues where you must suffer through mundate repititiveness at some point.
I have never felt FFR gets to a point where its mundanely reptitive. The gameplay is just brilliant. I have a couple of minor issues, but its simply the most fun I have had playing an RPG since FF10. It feels satisfying to button bash your enemy to build up the ATB. When that thing goes its very satisfying to unleash your staggering strategy on the enemy. You can't button bash your way through a battle, you have to think about your enemy, think about your setup and plan your strategy around what you know. What you don't know can kill you easily.
