Does the game get better? I'm at the beginning of the game (right past the sword) and so far the writing has been horrible, the companions bland and boring and the story seem to be a very manicheistic good guys vs bad guys and you're the chosen one. It's a very juvenile setting, much worse than the previous game. I don't have any hope for the writing and the companions (unless maybe some new ones are better), but does the story get at least a bit interesting?

Same. I'm deep in the Maze bit at the beginning and about 5 hours in, but the game just hasn't grabbed me yet. The writing/dialogue seems pretty meh. It's "adequate" at best. I don't care for any of the whole bunch of companions I'm running around with either, at least for the time being. I was so hyped for this game and read a lot of extremely positive reviews, so maybe I went in expecting a little too much.

I just finished the 1st act. Kingmaker was the same in this regards, as in, the 1st act was slow as hell, but picked up the pace and the story as the acts went by. I am sure it will be the same here too.

It wasn't the same at all! First of all, it got the main theme of the game right. It was something to look forward to, the possibility to acquire a land, a title for my character, it was something personal. Just like it was personal the fact that most people would want to take revenge on Tartuccio. What do we get here (at least in the beginning, which is where I'm at, because of the bugs and because I'm struggling to be motivated to keep playing)? In particular, my character is evil, so why should he care about anything that's happening in the beginning? And let's not even talk about the companions. They're so bland and generic. Right from the start in KM you got an idea about the personality of the characters you met. Obviously, before getting to know them, it was just a little part of who they were (and you weren't even necessarily right about that first impression), but that's normal, like in real life. What about the companions we get here. I can't think of anything I got about them, other than them being either "good" or "bad"!