Beware of the GOG version, I originally started on that version but it kept crashing at certain spots and never found a solution for it. Installed and played the Steam version and no problems at all!

Not a Ys newbie but also not a Ys veteran, but overall this is a great game, definitely longer with more content/cutscenes than previous entries. That is my only drawback, everything else, mechanics, visuals, plot, OST, are awesome! Definitely a good starting point for anyone interested in the Ys series!

I love video games

The story is interesting enough. You are stranded on an island and roam through a set of connected areas while searching for survivors of a shipwreck. Every time you find one, you unlock a new area and some QOL feature. I feel like it is fine, but nothing really new. Far from the "materpiece" that reviews are raving about all the time.
Game came out in 2018. No idea why it has to have PS2 era graphics, especially given the price tag (though there always is the next deep sale right around the corner). They could have used some of the excess energy they put into modelling and animating Laxia's posterior to improve the rough polygons and textures of the environment as well as the rather cumbersome UI. Seriously, "Ys VIII: Laxia's Butt" would have been a more adequate title for the game - that thing gets more screen time than her face. I understand why they went with the actual title, though.