The review is full of shallow points and inaccuracies. . .
Wow that's a lot of points. Well, I play the game, rather than watch streamers analyze it, so you might have studied it better than I have, but still I'd like to address some of your points.
When I say swords or fast, I mean a mercenary wielding a sword often got more attacks then one wielding an axe or similar weapon. I know my 2 handed always got one more attack than my great axe wielder.
The game asks you if you want to retire once you defeat a late game crisis. That is it gives you the opportunity to end the game without abandoning it. You can also play on and complete all 3 crises. I consider this an end game, perhaps you see it differently.
In my campaign, I rarely got good armour off of enemies. I could almost always buy significantly better armour than I looted. But, most of my fights against humans were against bandits.
I know ambitions play a major role in game scaling, but I won't deny that day count also plays a role. If you know all the variables, you've done more research then me. I played the game, and briefly looked through the Wiki.
I never said elevation is "something new," only that it plays a large part in combat. There are a number of srpgs where elevation is not included. In ones where it is included it plays a role, or why bother with it?
I'd also like to point out here, that I play a game for fun. And I play a lot of games. Normally I invest one playthrough worth of time (without studying walkthroughs, or watching profi streamers, or reading wikis) I also like to experiment with things myself rather than going into a game with foreknowledge of what is the "best build" and discarding everything else. I am sure there are techniques to play the game more efficiently than I do, but personally I'd rather not know them. Part of enjoying a game (at least for me) is figuring out things myself.