No spoilers

I loved FF7 Remake, but Rebirth is really not doing it for me. My main issue with it is the story. It feels totally aimless. Almost nothing meaningful has happened in the entire 35 hours I've played. Also, I find most of the characters to be very annoying. The dialogue and cinematography are awkward. (Why are there so many uncomfortable close-ups of characters faces? Why do the female characters keep giggling for no reason? Tifa and Aerith don't seem to know each other very well but they sure like to giggle to each other.)

I do love the combat system though. And the open world stuff is often enjoyable. But it doesn't make up for how the story feels like such a slog.

Does anyone else feel this way? I was expecting to love this game after loving Remake so much, but honestly at this point I'm just forcing myself to finish the game so I can make sure I'm caught up for part 3.