I think you're oversimplifying or simply not able to see characters as deeply as they're meant to be seen. For instance, anyone could read Animal Farm, its basically a (modern day) 10th grade reading level. But lets say you read it with absolutely zero knowledge of communism, or at least you never realized the main characters are an allegory for the Russian revolution. Its an extremely simple story about the corruptive nature of power and the evils that lurk even in those with the 'best' intentions. BUUUUUT, the story ISN'T meant to be read that way. It's meant to be read with a certain level of baseline knowledge that COMPLETES the readers understanding of the characters and narrative. Doesn't mean wither way to read it is wrong, but there is an intention there on the part of Orwell.
Similarly, there's a lot more to the characters in BaD than just the things they say. You can to read their expressions, gauge their reactions and most importantly see what they DO. For instance, my favorite character as of Ep 9 is Maya. There's a lot I could say about Maya, but probably the most interesting thing about her is her world view. This is a girl who's got a hole where her mom should be, a Dad who treats her like a hostage, and a girlfriend/ex-girlfriend who treats her like an option. There is NO reason for her to a nice, generous person who does the right thing. Seriously. Most people in her situation are bitter, broken and cruel (a la Quinn). But Maya's NOT. She's the inverse. And yes, we know a couple of her hobbies because she tells us. But if you pay attention, you can also start to figure out more of her personality. Maya is determined.* Maya is lonely.** Maya is empathetic.*** Maya has a character flaw of envy(which contrasts beautifully with her empathy).****
I could go on and on and on, but the point is that in a given story, we don't learn about characters to learn their daily schedule, eg their 'hobbies'. We learn about their 'hobbies' to understand the character. At the beginning of a story, we don't know what a character will do in a given situation. We slowly learn about a character's values over the course of the narrative, and in the best stories, they show, don't tell. Take Star Wars for example. We know exactly TWO of Han Solo's hobbies, we can assume he plays that hologram board game, and we hear him mention he won his ship in a card game. However, we learn throughout the film that he's NOT a traditional hero, he wants to get paid. We learn WHY he wants to get paid. After he does get paid, he abandons the cause. And then at the end he shows growth by returning. So by the end we have a much greater understanding of the character.
Similarly we learn tons of things about Maya (and others) without her directly stating her values. For instance, at the end of Ep 9, when the throuple wakes up in bed, Maya complains about a headache. Josy asks, 'Can we just sleep in today?' and Maya replies 'they should help clean up'. This tells us one thing about each character (which is already in alignment with things we already know). Josy is a little bit spoiled. She doesn't default to think about others needs. Maya on the other hand, even when she's in pain, wants to help (this might even be a third thing, as people who have low self esteem like Maya, sometimes feel an excessive need to be useful to 'justify' their own place in a group).
I actually think the writing in this game is BETTER than you give it credit for. But the better written something is, the more reading skill it takes to understand it. Info dumps and filler scenes are super easy to consume and basically stop a narrative dead in its tracks. Whereas 'blink and you miss it' stories, where you have to actually THINK about what a character is doing or saying is much more difficult.
*She faces regular obstacles to her success, and yet always keeps trying, even when it pushes past her comfort zone.
** She is regularly excluded and many shots in the game have her sitting alone, in an isolated setting, or emphasize how excluded she feels.
*** She's expressed interest in social work, which is basically therapy. She wants to help other people as her career. She regularly helps or offers to help others with nothing in return.
**** She wishes she was as carefree as her brother. Wishes she had a loving parent like Josy.
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