Just finished the game and both DLCs. Great gameplay, but the storytelling left a lot to be desired. Does anyone else feel the same?

It has such unique gameplay, and cool mechanics and all that.. but the story telling was lacking. I honestly couldn't connect with our protagonist at all. She was so robotic and had such a lack of urgency that it feels like this is just another day at work for everyone except the player. Even side characters like Emily Pope have no sense of urgency and act like all of this is completely normal, and I know she is used to paranormal stuff, but to this degree? The only side character I felt drawn to was Marshall, but then we had to kill her, smh.

I know the lore is much deeper if you read the 100+ pages scattered around the Oldest House, but after like the 30th page, it quickly gets boring when so much of the lore is told through random documents instead of the game itself or cinematics. That's my biggest issue, the lore is interesting, but I don't think the actual storytelling is good. I also generally like mystery games when the characters and the player are figuring things out together, but here it felt like the player was the only one out of the loop.

Also, there being no real end screen was disappointing. You beat the game, both DLCs, do the side missions, and you're still at the Bureau. Nothing basically changes. It's more "under control" than actually resolved. I found that so anticlimactic, but I'm sure some people love that approach.

Overall, as a maze action game? Great one. That Ashtray Maze level with that banger music will never be forgotten. But as a story-driven game? It left me pretty disappointed. I know this game is beloved, so I'm not trying to shit on it. If you love it, you do you. But I love games with deep character-driven stories, and perhaps that's why I didn't connect with it.