The second problem is that it seems as if there are no random or procedural battles at all. There are the battles in the linear story, and they come with a level recommendation. Right now the level recommendation is 9, while my characters are between level 7 and 8. So to get up to the recommended level, I can only do "mental mock battles" in the encampment. But there are only 5 mock battles to choose from, and only the last gives full xp. So I need to grind that mock battle several times until everybody is up to level 9. Some variety or random battles would have been a lot more fun.

Finally, while there are "exploration phases", which consist of talking to every NPC on the screen and collecting a few blinking spots of treasure, there is no real exploration in this game. You either have exactly 1 next story point to go for the next cutscene, exploration, or battle. Or you have that 1 story point plus an optional cutscene with "what happens at another location" for background info. At very few points in the story, only once up to now, there was a scene where my retinue voted where to go, and I could try to persuade them to vote the way I wanted. So, 10 hours played, chapter VI, and only 1 minor story branch (visit either A or B, but both will then be followed by C).

I do like the tactical combat system. But the rest of the game is rather "meh" to me. I just hope the game picks up in later chapters.