Mind-dump:
I'm liking the game a lot, but I can't skip the awful cut-scenes fast enough. I wish there was more environmental variety. (Bland city, sewer, bland city. Grey, brown, blue-grey, black.)
The combat on normal seems to be flail around with counters, tap dodge at the right time when enemy turns yellow, Zandatsu when enemy turns blue. Wildly fun to start with, but none of the enemy types are really forcing me to reconsider my play-style and improvise. The last boss I fought had a shield that required super-precise cutting, which is a skill nothing in the game-- up to that point -- had promoted.
Cutscenes and dialogue are fucking dreadful.