navigating the overworld and fighting enemies were generally more of a tedious chore than a fun challenge. where it really shined was the branching dialogues, deep (for a 3d CRPG) characters and the overall plot and worldbuilding. the character building and branching plot also made it possible to self-insert basically any backstory and personality into the PC that you wanted. want to be a gay antifascist wandering the mojave murdering racist white male slave traders with your doctor boyfriend? u can do that. want to be a cowboy drifter blowing from town to town like a tumbleweed, staying just long enough to kick the dust off your spurs and solve all the towns problems? u can do that too. i don't think ive ever felt "this game would have been much better as a visual novel" about very many games but new vegas was one of them.