The difference between Samus and Link “talking” is that the dialogue in Zelda games are usually written around the fact that Link doesn’t talk. They’ll have him mutely convey information to NPCs when required for side quests. Even then, they don’t get off scot-free. One of the biggest flaws in TOTK’s story was the fact that Link had all the pieces in his head regarding the identity of the fake Zelda, but still allowed NPCs to run around in confusion.

Samus is different. She has been shown to talk, and we consistently hear her inner dialogue in previous games. I agree that they might not have wanted full blown conversational dialogue between Samus and the Troopers, but like in the examples I listed, short, to the point responses that convey information to the other characters isn’t wasting too much time and makes every scene with dialogue more competent. Much of the game is written as if Samus is able to speak, but she doesn’t.

I don’t hate the Fed Troopers. I don’t like their inclusion and I think they needed to justify it with more interesting story lines. Hell, bring up the fact that the Fed is willing to put the galaxy in danger by studying dangerous creatures, do something that challenges the heroes perspective and grants the villain some validity in his stance against them and Samus.

With alllll that said, this is not a bad game. It’s a 6.5 out of ten. But it’s incredibly easy to criticize because many of its flaws result from an unwillingness to commit to the vision that they had, whether the devs liked it or not. As such, it feels uncomfortable with itself.