It's mostly because of all the unnecessarily long and awkward shots at our main character:
- not saying a word for seconds - being framed by the camera for way longer than he really needs to. - being overly expressive and having way too pronounced body language, to the point of looking like a mime/parody. - also, quite frankly, being a bit of a wimp. Constantly acting squeamish and/or scared like a kitten at any given chance.
I wonder, if direction is a problem, rather then lack of VO. I never minded silent protagonist in those first person RPGs, like Fallout:New Vegas, or OuterWorlds. KOTORs, Jade Empires, DA:O did feel more awkward, even if it never bothered me too much.
I think using standard shot/reverse/shot editing might be an issue here - in films we cut between characters to be able to see them as they speak. It is however off, to cut back to our character, only for him/her to just stand like a lifeless puppet.
