> well-developed, deep setting.
> And in the end you don't save the world or some such nonsense. You simply conclude your own story, and life goes on.
I guess I don't see those two as being at odds - I think it's entirely possible to have a well-developed and deep setting while still having a traditional "save the world" game.
For example, I don't think it's controversial to say that the Elder Scrolls series has a very deep and thoroughly developed setting, but in Skyrim you're the chosen one who stops a world-ending evil. In Dark Souls you're literally known as the "Chosen Undead", and people have spent months exploring the setting and lore of that game.
I'd even say that Mass Effect has a decently thorough lore and history if you want to look for it (the history of the Genophage or the Geth for example).
Rather, I think modern games do a great job of taking the "save the world" trope and inverting it slightly: you saved the world, but at what cost?
In Mass Effect you save the entire galaxy from robots, at the cost of forever losing the ability for FTL travel (and stranding a lot of people where they are in the galaxy). In Skyrim you can save the continent from the evil imperial invaders, but it's heavily implied that a third party wants exactly that in order to split the empire apart and invade while it's weak. Dark Souls pretty much bashes you over the head with the fact that saving the world is essentially fighting a losing battle.
> And in the end you don't save the world or some such nonsense. You simply conclude your own story, and life goes on.
I guess I don't see those two as being at odds - I think it's entirely possible to have a well-developed and deep setting while still having a traditional "save the world" game.
For example, I don't think it's controversial to say that the Elder Scrolls series has a very deep and thoroughly developed setting, but in Skyrim you're the chosen one who stops a world-ending evil. In Dark Souls you're literally known as the "Chosen Undead", and people have spent months exploring the setting and lore of that game.
I'd even say that Mass Effect has a decently thorough lore and history if you want to look for it (the history of the Genophage or the Geth for example).
Rather, I think modern games do a great job of taking the "save the world" trope and inverting it slightly: you saved the world, but at what cost?
In Mass Effect you save the entire galaxy from robots, at the cost of forever losing the ability for FTL travel (and stranding a lot of people where they are in the galaxy). In Skyrim you can save the continent from the evil imperial invaders, but it's heavily implied that a third party wants exactly that in order to split the empire apart and invade while it's weak. Dark Souls pretty much bashes you over the head with the fact that saving the world is essentially fighting a losing battle.