Nearing the end of the story, but took a break close to the end of Chapter 13 which is the second to last chapter. Found out you can go back to Lucis after you hit the no return point around Chapter 8. Kind of an interesting way too do it and I really needed it because Chapter 13 kinda sucks. It introduces a new tone to what is going that does work pretty well, the problem is that it goes for way too damn long. There's kind of a new tension, a vibe I can't specify because it would sorta ruin the surprise slightly, but you'll probably get it to once you get there. Though with it dragging on for too long, the tension dissipates and it's replaced with boredom.
I think in the end, the biggest problems with the game are going to come down to the story, even once I get the full truth of what is going on. I think the game is a bunch of fun, some great ideas, great details, but while the overall plot is awesome, the execution isn't. It's too disjointed, like they were missing a lot of interaction between characters at certain points. When Kingsglaive is mandatory to watch, you've made an error from the start.
But when I went back to Lucis to do more regular questing as I was talking about before, some crazy quest side story happened and blew my mind and made me happy again after wading through Chapter 13. Those moments keep me going for sure, because even at this point after 30 to 40 hours of playing, I still find stuff that gets me excited to do more. I'll probably be playing this through a lot of December and there's a good chance I'll do New Game + when they add it in later and I rarely do that stuff.
