Ever since I signed up for PS+ Extra, I've had way more gaming options than I'm used to, a lot that are just there and a few that I had been looking for since long. One of those was Ghosts of Tsushima, Sony's AAA open-world samurai title. From the beginning the game felt like one of the earlier Assassin's Creed - and I mean that as a praise, from someone whose brain gets very easily pleasured by collectathons - with interesting (but not deep) combat, few stealth options, an array of tools and subweapons, climbing and running around in large areas, clearing out enemies and enemy camps.
And yet, I didn't feel anything pulling me towards playing more of it. There's nothing that made me dislike the game, mind you. No bugs, the story seemed harmless, both the exploration and combat gameplay schemes were solid, by all means it was a satisfying game. But as I finished the first part and opened a far larger map, the only thing I could think was "Oh, so its all over again but bigger?" and lose interest.
Few days ago, during the weeked, I tried Shadow of the Tomb Raider - likewise, an open-world game, though far less ambitious. Once more, there's nothing that would turn me off from it. Although Lara's adventures can be a bit offputting with the way it hands exploring countries, the gameplay is consistently solid. The jungles looked gorgeous, sneaking and climbing around was satisfying, and - as its a staple of the series - Lara was a remorseless killing machine.
Once again, I just didn't get into it. The story wasn't bad, but I didn't care for pushing forward. The different weapons, attires, skills, didn't feel useless but I also had no drive to try everything out. It just felt empty.
In both of those cases, there was genuinely nothing wrong with the games, at least IMO. They are functional. No bugs, glitches, no Pay To Win, no gated content, no scummy developers (That I know of), nothing that I would call negative aspects. However, they also didn't present anything that made me want to get deeper into them, and knowing AAA games I have no reason to expect any biting commentary or unexpected twist.
I don't know if there's any point in making a huge post about such a pointless thing, its just an thought that had been bouncing around my head for a while. These games that have no black marks, while still offering no high points, like a filling but tasteless meal.
(After uninstalling SotTR I tried Dishonored: Death of the Outsider and that has been a gripping ride so its not depression causing it)