The game is clever and well written but I'm not convinced the gameplay is generic on purpose. I've heard that before but never bought it.
Now yeah the devs put in things to make you uncomfortable, like the white phosphorus thing or how you can accidentally shoot civilians. And the game mocks you. But the gameplay is otherwise kind of typical for the time. It does get needlessly difficult at certain parts, and that's probably an aspect of the narrative, but the gameplay itself was probably intended to be functional and engaging.