After all, large portions of IRL show no thoughts were given about making the environment interesting to traverse.

Even if the environment is interesting, it won’t be after 200 hours of walking.

I heard somewhere that the reason people want flying cars is the same reason they wanted flying horses.

You're allowed to fast travel, but only after walking there first.

You cannot fast travel with enemies nearby.

If there's enough offer to avoid overcrowding, public transport feels like that. You get into a special room, you have a loading screen where you can listen to some music, read a book, or even just have a small nap, and then you get out in your destination.

Anything to avoid the absolutely atrocious experience of flying I'm all for.

Drive while sleeping. Fast travel mode unlocked.

As a counterpoint, I like it in video games for the same irl reason: it saves time.

I do love games where it feels alive when traveling on foot/horse/etc. but I would rather fast travel if I've already explored it, generally speaking.