Dawntrail feels like an amateur fanfiction.
"So here's my OC. Wuk Lamat. She's a warrior Princess from a far off land that no one talks about. She's got two older brothers who think they're so much better than her, but they'll see the truth soon enough when she wins in the rite of succession. She goes to find the Warrior of Light, and wins his support by being quirky, and loving food. She's not a mary sue though. See, she's got a shaky hand because she's a bit scared. During the Rite of succession, she wins all the challenges by being nice and understanding everyone's culture, and even though she doubts herself, she pulls through all the same by being told how great she is by her friends. Oh, right, this is a game. You also do some of the praising of me- I mean Wuk Lamat. Hmm, other characters? Yeah, they talk to and about Wuk Lamat too. There's this big mean bully who also wants the throne, and he does bad things like release a monster for Wuk Lamat to kill, and steal one of her keystones. Wuk Lamat beats him up and he runs away crying."

None of the other scions are acting like themselves. I didn't even notice this until I just couldn't keep myself in the "turn your brain off" mode that so many people insist is the only way to not hate certain kinds of media. Alisaie is my favorite scion because of how passionate she is. She'll give 110% to any cause she sets herself to, whether it's discovering the truth about her grandfather, fighting for Ala Mhigo, or defeating the Sin-Eaters. She's the kind of girl to face down the most powerful and nearly immortal mage in all history, and lunge forward trying to stab him. Here, she's just sitting around waiting for her next turn as the "character who says generic thing" after Krile and Alphinaud had their turn. There's no bickering. Krile isn't teasing or joking with anyone. Hell, even when the other scions are there, they barely do anything. Thancred and Urianger just leave without even a "well fought, We'll get you next time" before they just nope out of the story.
If this is supposed to be the start of a new story, then this is doing a terrible job at establishing these well loved characters. Even the 6.X patches used the scions better.
This was supposed to be our summer vacation, and they turned it into another "save the world" story, but more like a "watch wuk lamat do everything" sort of story.

They really should have leaned in on Krile being the central character. Keep what seemed to be the original idea for the Rite of Succession. One big fight where each combatant chooses their champions. Then have the scions there to enjoy the scenery, and each other's company as we search for any clues about Galuf's wearabouts. They could even keep the idea that the rite of succession needs to end with finding the golden city. Just have the first phase involve holding your own against Galool JaJa, and whoever passes that part gets to search for the city. No claimants who are trying to create an ethnostate, or take over the world. Just some sibling rivalry. Don't even mention who would be the better leader. Have the scions split on who they choose so we can get some friendly rivalry in, and you've got the framework for an engaging summer vacation.