Quote Originally Posted by FinalxxSin View Post
Tech side there is Luminous Engine which has been able to produce some of the best lighting effects thus far this gen. There's various tech videos out there showing how the Chocobros stay in sync typically with Noctis while still moving freely enough to not just be robots. Here's an example of a tech vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIsGdJuHWDI
Technical advancement isn't really "pushing the envelope" because it's expected of each successive game in a series, unless it's a substantial increase compared to the rest of either its respective genre or the industry as a whole. A game that pushes the envelope in this area is something like Uncharted 4 (some of the best facial animations in gaming history). With respect to open world games, this game isn't even technically as good as The Witcher 3 which was released over 18 months before XV came out.

- Pitioss Dungeon tells a story through the means of platforming and puzzles, something that isn't common in the gaming market. Atm though, there is no solid detailed info on what that said story is, but there are some good theories out there with what it is.
I'm not sure how much of a positive this is, considering you seem to suggest that the story told in the dungeon is unclear.

Aside from that, the Pitioss Dungeon is entirely optional and non-essential to the story. Few players will ever even experience this. I'm not sure how it tells a story through platforming and puzzles, because I've never played it. So I can't exactly say what it does.

FFXV as a game has a good amount of western influence, while still maintaining some Japanese aspects. A lot of RPGs in general are very extreme one way or the other.
This isn't "pushing the envelope." This is Square Enix attempting to cater to modern gaming trends by making their game open world similar to other successful titles like The Witcher 3. I personally view this as a very, very negative aspect of FFXV. It makes the game feel as though it has no identity.

Brotherhood has not been pushed a lot in games, so it's refreshing to see it as a focus on a much larger scale vs. many other titles that easily give off a "one man army vibe".
External media about the game =/= the game itself. Most games don't have films or anime because, unlike FFXV, they have a complete story. These materials usually come AFTER a game is released because the story the game told was worth telling through another medium (or elaborated upon). You should not need to watch an anime series and a film to understand the game's characters or story.

FFXV always pushes for a dynamic experience beyond the more standard time of day and weather systems. Prompto taking pictures, in many cases, becomes reflective of moments that would be extremely hard to replicate on film again by the same person or anybody else. I don't expect everybody to agree with such notions.
I'm not sure what you define as "dynamic." In the case of Prompto taking pictures, I agree with you there. That's actually one of the game's greatest strengths. However, it is such a small part that it doesn't compensate for all the things XV gets wrong.

I really don't intend for this to be a circlejerk over how disappointing XV was. I do have genuine complaints that I think I'll articulate at some point.