Stupid term aside they are absolutely right. U4 pacing is even worse off than U3, it is a constant switch from action back to other activities of which a lot of it is either mostky automatic platforming or literally just walking around and pressing X on highlighted objects. There are entire chapters toward the end that have no action what so ever, when the action should be at its max intensity this game just slowly stumbles toward the end.
Now that does mean every game needs constant action to be good. I love games that mix gameplay elements but I want all elements to be good gameplay. As nice as some of the enhancements are to the platforming and exploration it's still hugely lacking in any real quality gameplay. Platforming is still mostly automatic with almost no test of skill or danger of death. The majority of exploration is simply there for a small story moment rather than the discovery of optional gameplay moments like the few extra gun battles you can find in Madagascar. Meanwhile the gunplay has improved and instead of focusing the game on the aspect that improved the most they spend most of the time doing the other stuff which isn't that great from a gameplay perspective.
I assume the reason for this is to emphasize story. I like a good story and the storytelling elements of U4 are off the charts. But at what point are you hurting the flow of the game when you constantly take away the best gameplay moments to focus on stuff that has little to no meaningful gameplay elements. This is a trend I see more and more off, the truth is it is far easier to please the masses when you create beautiful sequences that are not challenging, that almost have no player input but create a great story moment. People don't want to be frustrated and the deeper the gameplay mechanics the more open the game is for certain type of people to become frustrated with some elements.
U4 seemed to take that philosophy to heart. Action much improved everything else as basic as possible to make sure story is the main component. To me that is terrible for game flow. I was not satisfied with one gun fight at a time, I want hours of constant engaging gameplay, and the downtime segments did not deliver that. And there doesn't need to be a sacrifice of either, I don't believe simplistic gameplay is needed for good storytelling. TLOU had better balance to me and the downtime had actual gathering of material needed for the action, it kept you managing your character. For me U4 was paced too oddly, it never hit the constant highs of U2.
