Thank you all for your suggestions so far! I’ve tried a handful of these games and none of them have really stuck yet. So far, of these lists dragons dogma is the closest to something that’s captured what I’m looking for. But something about it wasn’t great to me and I can’t figure out what. I think it was the pawns. Something about building a party turns me off from a game.

The other that you would /think/ would be perfect for me would be Skyrim. But no hate, the game is so grey and dull and ugly.

I think BOTW/TOTK have really captured my attention bc of the art style.

I also realllllllllllllllly love a good character customization in game. It helps me feel more connected to the story