Impressions, hm...? I normally don't do much of this, but let's see.

Story
-As expected, the story is short, well even shorter by this game's standards, but it's obviously slowly building up towards Falz. Still, I wish we could've done more.
-Finally get to see Manon use magic, despite the fact that she normally uses Daggers (even despite the fact that the site has her as Force/Fighter).
-Glen and Kanui are pretty good, and even finally getting to see Crawford in direct action. Bonus points for him being a Techter..

Music
-I mostly just really like the region boss song. It's the one I keep coming back to for its elegant feeling.

Enemies
-So for the formers, I'm kinda tired of seeing wolves, but it probably was expected. The Rockbear disappointed me. Very glad we got to see Draconians though. It was my concern that they wouldn't be in this region that fits em so well.
-Alters got some attention, even if we count the couple of obvious reskins. I wanna know more about these creatures though, since they're getting more interesting lately.
-Well the Dolls surely got a bit more powerful, some still annoying, but that's their job, especially those gun ones. They mostly seem the same except most of the bosses.
-Boss-wise, I appreciate the new ones that aren't reskins, especially the mage, monkey boss, and the regional big bad. I can respect the drill boss... just takes a bit of time to get used to all the stuff happening at once. The Flamedyl, flaming dinosaur and those reptile alters also get a pass.
-Region boss is my favorite for its elemental mechanic and beautiful music. The UQ one is even better, and is a reason why I sometimes wanna fight it. Make more of these kinda bosses.
-There's the special Giga Vardias around also which is okay, better than Ancients at least. The loot however is not desirable.


Other
-Disappointed that the geysers don't hurt or even launch you. I've been staring at it since the headline hoping it would be a field hazard. The flaming rocks and the lava core things are okay. Nice to know you gotta be careful not to hold the rocks for too long, but at the same time, holding it long enough makes it stronger.
-Only 1 combat zone definitely felt off and disappointing. I read somewhere that we're getting another combat zone in late January, and I really hope it's in that area where we fought the regional big bad in the story.
-This region's "Blizzardium", the Infernium, is handled much better with multiple ways to get em. Bonus points for Recon Gigants for existing.



Overall, the region was so-so in some parts, but it kinda felt worn out too fast. With the story being so short and only 1 combat zone upon release, it didn't feel complete. We'll have to see what else they'll add to this place besides the inevitable Falz fight later on, which is why I hope the upcoming headline will give us some important info.