I finished the game on Monday and really liked it overall. Didn't have any big glitches (a couple of the sort I'd expect in any open world game) and the performance was pretty good. It seemed like that first patch helped address the worst of the hitching I was seeing on the Pro, although it seemed later like certain details (like bits of brush on the roadside) were streaming in a little later than the landscape, at times.
All in all, I think the writing was good. Most of the character work around Deacon and his circle of friends worked for me, including the "ride me/ride your bike" line that inspired a million hot takes.
The broader story I was fine with, but I feel like (and I may be in the minority here) that it may have been more satisfying chopped into two shorter games rather than the game we got. I recognize that part of my preferences as a gamer — I'd much rather play a focused, 15/20-hour game over something longer — I found it meandered at times, with story missions that felt a bit too much like busywork. I also feel like there were big moments that could have been played for more impact. But I suppose I am nitpicking. Definitely looking back, there are a lot of things I think could have been improved by a different approach, but I was still engaged by the story overall.
Complaints aside, it was a really solid game. I especially enjoyed rolling around on the bike. It reminded me a bit of biking around local paths as a kid for some reason (all those rolling dirt roads, I suppose).
Nothing I'd seen pre-release had me excited about this game, going in and I fully expected to play it for a few hours and be done with it (only reason I got it was because it was almost 40% off through an Amazon.ca preorder deal), so it was a very pleasant surprise.
