>>725350552
Writing and just low dev skill/ambition.
For example friendly NPC's are just set in stone, they completely ignore you if you arent interacting with them. Even in Skyrim a 15 year old game, if you crouched near an NPC they'd comment on it, if you went to a store backroom they would follow you. Not in this game, you can be standing right in front of them, throw a decoy grenade behind them and they will still look and investigate.