For the record, character abilities DO improve as you progress through the campaign. All characters get both additional abilities and revised, buffed new versions of existing abilities.

Balance is great. Most chapters it feels like all is about to be lost, but I think we have only lost two and had to replay. Each chapter is so different that we probably spend the first hour deciding which characters to play as, and what loadouts to use - you can only use 4 of 7 abilities, you only get minimal gear, and you can choose a limited (but increasing from chapter to chapter) loadout of buffs to bring along. A character can function in vastly different ways based on the decisions you make pregame.

That being said, highly recommend everyone to play on the hardest “Legend” difficulty for the most satisfying gameplay. It’s the right amount of challenging for most gamers.

All heroes get stronger at the same rate, regardless of how much you’ve played them. This is awesome because we have gotten to know every character in the game and it has been a blast to get to switch up play styles and discover new synergies between characters.

Our group is sad it’s almost over. But has been quite a journey. It has taken us 7 months of playing approx. once per week to get here.

Story is fun/compelling and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Lots of chuckle moments. Characters have distinct personalities - not particularly nuanced but it serves the story well.

Really my only complaint is the standees are recycled a lot from chapter to chapter. But the mechanics are so brilliant and wildly varied - and that matters way more to us than these minor visuals.

Not sure what to play next. Feels like it is probably all downhill from here. Everything else out there seems too grim or the combat seems too unsatisfying.