not that the game is half-assed but it seems like they spent all their capital on making sure the pretty complex base systems (dialogue, fail states, quest progression) are solid so some of the ancillary systems (combat, loot, inventory) are a little thin. now that this game has shipped the devs can say, "ok we got most of the essential stuff right so we don't have to work on that anymore. now we can tweak the stuff around the edges for the sequels." hopefully the next game(s) will be a little more fun to engage with