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If XY showed half the city in darkness and had crowds of people at blockades with a the guy telling everyone they can't go through, people wouldn't mock it. You could even have NPCs in the crowd saying "But that's where I live..." or "But what about where I work? I need to be able pay my rent!" You can even put some firetrucks, ambulances, and police cars with the only flashing lights past the blockades. Players would accept that easily, even if they understood it was to control a player's progression. If they made it obvious that the player's direct actions in the plot were to restore the power as a way of giving them the feeling of agency and allowing them to progress further on their adventure, that would be even better. It's like getting Surf in Gen II. You know that you can get it from the dance house for beating the Kimono Girls, but the plot doesn't require you to get it until you need to visit Cianwood City and the Lake of Rage. But you can get it long before those points, and it gives the feeling of you taking pre-emptive action rather than being railroaded into doing a specific thing just because someone says so. It's a way of making you feel like you have agency and your adventure is your own.
