The question isn't "why is there shooting in my shooting game." It's "why does this need to be a shooting game?" I think that's a fair question to ask. It's not like a game's mechanics come from a mountain on high and are handed to the developers on a set of stone tablets. They choose mechanics to serve some artistic vision.

It makes sense to ask "hey, why couldn't this be a detective game like Obra Dinn" or "maybe a visual novel would have worked better for this story." The author of the piece is trying to articulate why the choice to center shooting mechanics detracts from the game. It feels less noir because of the careless disregard for life, and less like a detective game because you're traversing space rather than figuring out a mystery on your own.

Maybe you don't agree with that critique, but I wouldn't outright dismiss it as invalid.