Impressions after exactly 2.5 hours (39% progress):
- Game looks absolutely stunning. Great lighting, neat effects, first rainy island was a sight to behold, no framerate issues whatsoever
- Starts a bit linear, meaning access to different islands is restricted at first, then opens up
- I have access to 8 islands now, all quite different from each other (and all with a Y in their name: Santoryn, Ybiza, Hawayy, Fijy...)
- Gameplay is a mix between Zelda, Fez and Animal Crossing
- Lots of exploration, secrets and puzzle-solving, but also tons of stuff to collect: There's a museum, an art gallery, a guy who draws postcards and needs inspiration, a pawn shop for diamonds...all of these require you to collect specific items, take pictures of certain people/landmarks etc.
- Main goal (apparently) is to find 4 Monument Cores, which can be found in mini-dungeons
- No combat (at least so far)
- Over time you unlock new abilities like climbing up ledges, double-jumps, sprinting...
- Tons of side activities: There's an arcade with at least three different minigames (an F-Zero endless-racer, an Arkanoid-clone and somewhat of a Jetpac-style game), a quadcopter race which reminded me of Pilotwings, surfing, I found a bunch of NPCs and buildings I can't interact with unless I have proper clothing (for example a night club and a soccer trainer), I just gained access to a mine...
- Lots of cool ideas and mechanics which are used to deal with one specific issue/quest and then are not re-used again
- Great economy. You really have to think about how you want to spend your money: Buy a travel guide to access a new island or rather buy new CDs for the local DJ or buy a membership card at the shirt store...almost everything feels like a significant investment
Overall really enjoyable, chill game with some neat ideas. I'm having lots of fun exploring every island, not knowing what awaits me there, looking for secrets and hunting down the collectibles. So far I'd give it an 8 - 8.5.