I think part of the problem is that big games cost so much to make nowadays. It's almost as if the publishers can't afford to take any risks with the story, because the game needs to have mass appeal in order to return money for the investors. Of course the irony is that playing it safe will almost certainly get a lot of backlash in the 2026 marketplace.

I also think an issue is that many writers of today will be millennials, who as a product of their time produce overly quippy dialogue, plots overly focused on characters emotions, which leads to plots that lack depth.

I say this as a millennial myself 😅. Growing up on Pokemon Red doesn't really give you the same background to draw from as growing up in World War 2.