It actually seems really lenient

[Golem]

[Yourself]

One of the reasons I've been writing out some of the missions is that I think structurally the game has much more in common with RPGs than adventure games. Progression through missions is often limited by your capability to explore rather than your grasp on a fixed set of pieces, and the missions are delivered in such a way that exploration is the primary solution tack. Thus managing supplies, gear, and the strength of your party in order to explore more dangerous territories is the real key to success, and the puzzles aren't really puzzles at all.

Beyond the mission structure, the leniency described above contributes to the sense that having been to the right place is what matters, not picking the right interaction. So does the fact that you can carry all your items at once, and that quest items often cost money.

While I think the text-heavy point-and-click interface is just a stylistic/conventional thing that doesn't say anything about the gameplay, there definitely are "adventure game moments" where the player has to solve a puzzle. Solving the Scranton League, Liberty Bell, and Wheel of Fortune quests all require doing things in a correct order and combining items from multiple locations.

Obviously, it's not like a game has to be adventure OR RPG. Hoboken definitely straddles - in a smart way IMO. It'd be a good subject for a podcast, even if we just concentrated on one aspect of it, like how the missions or the party-building or the items lean one way or another.