In the 8th installment, the issue isn't the lack of a narrative bottleneck, but rather the overall simplicity of the game – in the early stages, the monsters aren't particularly strong, and in the later stages, you can join forces with well-developed characters. If you had to complete the 8th game with a party of level 1 characters (or starting level 5 mercenaries), it would be a very challenging experience. Therefore, in the 7th game, the narrative bottleneck is more of a plus for comfortable gameplay – while waiting for Judge Gray to die, you can take your time, level up, complete necessary quests, etc. The frantic pace is only present at the beginning and end of the playthrough. In the 6th game, the playthrough is the shortest, although the game is the most difficult. It's completed by exploiting bugs and glitches, which isn't entirely immersive. For all these reasons, the 7th game is the most enjoyable of all the installments – it's moderately challenging, not buggy, and has branching storylines.