The pacing of the story is perfect - for a book, movie or linear game.
This game however, is not linear and several problems in act two surface, when you are presented with your new health condition.
The moment Vic tells you that you will die, you are in overdrive to safe your sorry ass. Every main story and conversation from that point on is centered around how pressing the matter is and that you have to act quickly. This disincentivises you to explore the open world and to play side missions.
A small change to vics script at the beginning of act 2 would do wonders, without destroying the urgency of the situation.
First, let vic tell you that you have one or two months at best, because the damaged chip is not progressing linear but logarithmic (very, very slow at the beginning and very fast at the end). He could also tell V that strong emotional experiences sped up the process a bit (main missions)
This takes some pressure away from the player and allows for further exportation of the world.
Small change but it makes the progression significantly smoother and more realistic.
This game however, is not linear and several problems in act two surface, when you are presented with your new health condition.
The moment Vic tells you that you will die, you are in overdrive to safe your sorry ass. Every main story and conversation from that point on is centered around how pressing the matter is and that you have to act quickly. This disincentivises you to explore the open world and to play side missions.
A small change to vics script at the beginning of act 2 would do wonders, without destroying the urgency of the situation.
First, let vic tell you that you have one or two months at best, because the damaged chip is not progressing linear but logarithmic (very, very slow at the beginning and very fast at the end). He could also tell V that strong emotional experiences sped up the process a bit (main missions)
This takes some pressure away from the player and allows for further exportation of the world.
Small change but it makes the progression significantly smoother and more realistic.