It starts off really rough.

The storytelling is choppy up front and the combat requires a lot of ability upgrades to feel good.

But after about ten hours the game settles into a groove and the moment to moment experience of playing it is sublime (if you dig open world third person action adventures).

It holds up next to BOTW and Horizon too, in terms of moving the genre forward. Lots of smart environmental interactivity and quality of life mechanics were introduced this time around. It's not better than those two games, but it's not outclassed by them either.