[Aloth's Approval]

I thought it might be bugged as well but once I got closer to the islands to the North (A distant Light) he piped up about updating the Painted mask quest and had ton's to say about my character. He seems to be a slow burner.

[Companions and Romance]

Apparently you can romance Aloth so that german review is at least partly wrong.

I got that impression as well during a dialogue with Aloth where it came up. So he must be a viable option. Eder is fending of Xoti and it is funny to listen to, not sure if he is an option. The interpersonal relationships give it a nice twist and make me weigh my choices much more.

[A Messy & Broken Launch]

I've experienced zero technical issues thus far (about three hours in - got to the first settlement). 

I also have not had any bugs or technical issues so far am about 13 hours in. Not that I have gotten very far story wise keep dying in Sea Battles. Game runs really well GTX1070/Core i8.