I assume he is referring to the fact that Gothic is actually story driven and somewhat linear, with much stronger focus on such elements than in most open games. To me, Gothic is something of a hybrid (that works very well I might add).
btw G1-2 being two of my all time favorites I would still have liked a bit of branching beyond chapter 1. But that I believe would have been beyond PB's capacity (resourcewise)… One can always dream though that if they continue to grow they might someday push the envelope in that area…
No insults at all JonNik, quite the opposite in fact. In all the years of gothic related forum comments going back to the rpgdot days, nobody has ever expressed the viewpoint as in that selection you mention, it is spatially constructive, intelligent and accurately spot on - why? - because indeed, the thing you describe has already been done and implemented in the Gothics.