Well, I think I'm sufficiently deep into the game now to cast sweeping judgments, and…eh. Think my prior cautious optimism wasn't really borne out, though it's a perfectly fine game for the most part.
In terms of story, Tales games fall into one of the two categories, games where it's generally a crew of pleasant like-minded friends with one or two ne'er-do-wells out to save the world (Symphonia, Xillia, Vesperia) or ones where everyone performatively hates each other until way too deep in the game (Berseria, Abyss). This one tries to settle right in the middle and it just doesn't make a lot of sense. Two mains in particular have an "I don't need your help" relationship that persists way beyond the point where it narratively makes any sense. Also, the sweet spot for Tales games has always been fairly generic storytelling with above-average characters and localization, and this one seems much more generic anime in that regards; even the skits aren't particularly funny. There's no Jade or Pascal or Zenos to keep things fun.
Now, combat...I will readily admit I am not good at Tales games, with Graces F being the only one where I felt like I learned the systems enough to hold my own at high difficulties by the end, but something seems flat broken in this game to me. The upgraded visuals are very nice and the action-heavy animations are great, but in boss battles in particular it's borderline impossible to tell what's going on and whether the various effects are good or bad. Add in that the main character's central mechanic is big attacks through self-damage and a much more limited healing pool than in past games (WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT). Also add in that the game emphasizes dodging over guarding [only one character actually [i]can guard), but has long animation windows and a very precise dodge timing, plus a camera/targeting system that is wildly inconsistent, and it is not good times.
So, yeah, the core of the game has been nicely modernized and I hope they can build on it in the future, but the game at present definitely lacks the heart and fun of my favorite Tales games. On the bright side, I'm still enjoying it enough to keep playing, which is more than I can say for Berseria and Zestiria, so I'll update if it manages to pull together in the next few acts (from what I can tell, there's still quite a bit to go). Just…not as much as I hoped.