Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Demo Impressions | Pre-Order / Buy / Wait?

I checked out the recently released Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Demo, the upcoming Souls-like Final Fantasy Action RPG from Team Ninja.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Demo Impressions Video

A Final Fantasy Souls-like game is definitely not something I ever thought I wanted. Coming off playing the final demo before Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin’s release on 3/18/22, (or pre-order early access on 3/15/22), I’m not entirely sold on the game. See the video above for my full demo impressions.

Looking for a TLDR on the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Demo?

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a mix of decent action, gameplay customization (classes, weapons, loot, etc.), and awful cutscene graphics. I enjoyed the majority of my 3 hours with the demo but felt I spent an excessive amount of time digging through the game’s many menus.

I am your new party member, and I will kill you all!

Personally, I’m going to hold off on buying until I see some reviews. I was looking for a nice change-of-pace game to alternate my time with Elden Ring when I’m not up for the task of exploring the Lands Between, but Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin might be too much of a budget game to grab at full price. As a Game Pass game, I would be all over it, otherwise, I think I would wait for a sale of $20-$30; based on my time with the demo and the rumor that it’s around a 40-hour adventure.

Let me know what you thought of the final demo for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. Will you be pre-ordering for early access, waiting for reviews, or were you turned off by the demo?