I can't take anything negative away from this. It's pretty much Valve's philosophy. Don't put the player in a situation where he'll want to put the controller/mouse down.
It could be done in many ways. Valve will sometimes trap you in a room, but give you lots to do if you don't want to pay close attention. Obviously, this guy doesn't want that route. It also allows for a companion character who would just rattle on while you do your dungeon diving, as opposed to getting locked into a dialogue back-and-forth scheme. Then at some point you're given a choice, but not a social choice, a choice of action. It's not a bad design philosophy. I'd go so far as to say it can be a good one.