They have completely lost what makes their games great. Fan advice has not helped in this regard. Everyone keeps pushing them for "story", which is why they keep delivering overly convoluted, extremely linear messes.

Story is relatively unimportant. What makes the games great, and what Square always excelled at, was world building. The story of FFVII? Spend 90% of the game just chasing after the villain. But the places you visit, and the people you meet, fleshed out the experience so much more.

Square has spent so long trying to flesh out an epic story that they've forgotten about building the world and the setting in an engaging way. I don't care about the story. I just want a world that I want to live in and explore. That's what the great games of Square's past always delivered on.