They were also wise to not have revealed the Switch 2 any earlier, because it would have jeopardized sales of the Switch 1. Enough companies have made this mistake in the past.
You can hide chat and you’ll barely even notice it’s online. And I don’t see how it’s grindy - in fact they made the base game so easy your companion can kill everyone for you.
If you just play the base game content from 2011, it’s 8 completely voice acted stories that are interconnected into one big story. And it’s free.