Breath of the Wild
I have grown to detest the "open world" type of games because of it. It is fantastic that so many new people started to play the series because of it. But I long for another game using the old formula. I want to feel the urge. Like collecting chickens is a detour I almost feel bad spending time with rather than just another of the interchangeable make your own adventure objectives. The game I spent the most time in without finishing it. The success pretty much secured the future of the series being one I won't join.
Diablo 2
When it comes to Diablo. For me nothing beats the original. When I play that game I actually feel afraid and the design of going further and further down till you reach the very burnings of hell is un matched for me in the series. Diablo 2 expanded sideways instead. And I get it, but I did not like it as much. The despair and almost hopeless aura of impending doom is not there. And what totally breaks the games feel for me is the respawning of enemies, something pretty much every action rpg does, and I hate it. Units, bosses and even levels respawning gives the player grinding abilities, but for me it takes away any meaning behind the act. Killing units does not matter since they are still there if you leave and return.
I even prefer Diablo 3. They took a different route, emphasizing the run through same levels over and over. A completely different experience. Less systematic and more running through as much as possible. And it works for what it is. While Diablo 2 is somewhere in between, for me not excelling in either. Diablo 4 is the worst of the main line by a large margin. Maxing the things I dislike and removing the more childish aspects in Diablo 3.
