I'm still having trouble chugging through it.

On the one hand, the story fascinates me. Absolutely.

On the other hand, I only play it every now and again, in small bursts. I've been tackling it like a novel. As a result, the clunky quest mechanics really get in the way of me enjoying the story. My quest log says "Find Pharrod" and gives very little else, and checking through my journal log only reveals small glints as to where I should go. Exploring the world often reveals unique characters but since I've left the mortuary I've had very little momentum aside from these small interactions that usually appear to have no implications on the plot.

Does it just start slow? I think I've been in the first city for like 2-3 hours and it's made it hard for me to feel compelled to re-launch the game. Especially since the last time I did I had to re-load a save after realizing I had missed something and the whole game crashed.