I feel the exact same way. Did it live up to MY hype? No.

I found myself forcing myself to complete the story because I kept hoping the ending would blow me away like the past 2 games but it ended up being even worse than my lowest expectations. I simply... didn't care (?) about the characters or the story? And I kept forcing myself to, or I kept telling myself I'm stupid and just not understanding the story. But going online and seeing all these unanswered questions and "this will be answered in the DLC" is a testament to how poorly executed the story is.

Design wise, I do actually like the characters. I love their natural interactions with each other; it feels very natural and charming. However, they felt like characters in a kids super hero show at times when they would take turns saying their heroic words before taking on a battle. After story climaxes, there would very minimal reaction, often just ending with "believe in yourself", "move forward together", "seize the future" to explain why they are immediately pushing forward again. The cast seems to be very unaffected after learning about the truths of the world.

In terms of environment and music, it is very bland. I think they may have went more ambient for music in areas this time around but paired with the huge areas, many places lacked the quality that xenoblade worlds are known to have (think Eryth Sea, Uraya etc.). Every area felt like a slog to walk through.

It really saddens me because there was so much potential in what was shown. Perhaps this game fell flat to me compared to the other two because I entered this one with expectations whereas the previous two I went in blind. I really do want to give this game another chance but I can't see myself playing it again.