And is also Gacha is it not?

I'll take an up front cost any day over content gating/gambling/fomo.

But the lack of PvP or other strong competitive elements makes it still fun to play free as long as you're in it for the game & story and not for the collecting and minimaxing.

It is, but you can play the 60 hour main story for free. I was surprised by how non-gatcha it was after hearing how bad it was.