Do you mind if I ask a couple of questions? I know it's not an rpg as such but are there characters to interact with? Are there towns to explore? Are there side quests if so what are they like? Is there any point to exploring the open world? Are there things to find if you explore?
Cheers.
I might not be the best person to ask, as I've only played it for 4-5 hours.
So, I can only give you answers in terms of what I've seen so far - and what my experience with this kind of game tells me. So keep that in mind.
When you start quests, you often interact with characters - but it's pure cutscene stuff and there doesn't seem to be any kind of dialogue choice or similar.
There are no towns so far, only ruins, camps, and towers. There are side quests, but they've been very "systemic" up until now - as in you kill X amount of creatures or you find X amount of plants. They don't seem to have much of interest beyond the rewards. There is a built-in "relic-hunt" of sorts, where you find old items or artifacts that give you bits of LotR lore once you find a hidden spot on the item. Pretty silly system, frankly.
I've yet to find a point to exploring the world, beyond experiencing the rather dreary scenery (technically, it looks great though), except to find the relics and items that are already marked on the map. There's nothing hidden, so far, and I don't think the game is good for exploration, really.
It's very much like Assassin's Creed, GTA, and the recent Batman games. It's super gamey - and everything is systemic, as in it's part of some predictable gameplay system, instead of something that's cared for by a designer and done by hand.
It's the norm for how they make these games, I suppose. They design a handful of systems, like item hunts, Nemesis, and so on - and then they don't really have to bother doing the work of actually making unique quests for the side stuff. They just adjust a few variables in a mission editor and record some dialogue to make them seem less generated, I guess. Doesn't work for me, though.
The good parts, so far, are the combat, the upgrades, and the visuals. The rest is a big fat meh to me.
I'd probably give it 6.5 or 7 right now. We'll see if it changes once I get around to really diving into it.
Keep in mind that I'm not one to be dazzled by visuals if the rest isn't up to snuff. If I was, it would be 7.5 or 8.