Whatever the reasoning may be, it was less apparent. The biggest issues were translation issues. Perhaps it was due to the technology and style being primitive enough to match. Technology and artistry has grown, but writing really hasn't in most cases. And I'm not even going to pretend that those games couldn't have been better. Sure they were good, but with a real writer even back then they could have probably been amazing. Baldur's Gate and Planescape Torment had real writing chops at the helm. Not entirely sure if the writers in question were published or technically professional, but they were definitely of equal caliber. So yeah, I'll single out the glaring examples, and the best examples

Baldur's Gate and Planescape were not pretty. The combat was clunky. The inventory was annoying. It was a chore to trudge through most places. And they're going to be remembered fondly by most people due to the writing. It is important