I backed the original Kickstarter and also Undertow. It's my favorite game I own, but it is a little hard to get it to the table because of time. If you're playing with 3 people, I'd say 3 hours is a given, especially if it's the first time for players. That said, it's a fun 3 hours and doesn't drag.
It's expensive, but I think it's justified. The mats, dice, and chips are all good quality. It feels really good upgrading your character and putting the new upgraded dice into the slots on the mat. Yes, everything could be done with cardboard, but it's just not the same.
As for replay, a lot of it comes from the characters, as you have a lot of options available for how to build them. I've had players choose completely different skill trees to focus on and be successful, which also affects how the character is played. Coupled with the fact you'll be having different encounters and bosses, which will also affect how you build you character, I think there's a lot of replayability. Basically, everytime you choose a different character you're going to have a different experience, and how you build that character is going to change based on the adventure you have.
The complexity of the characters can be an issue, as there's a lot of information to process for each one. This can be quite intimidating initially, but you build the characters gradually, so after the first battle I think most players will get the hang of it. If your group is easily intimidated, it is a concern, though.
So, yeah, I really like it.
