That’s mainstream games. A somewhat Zelda related, modern indie game that comes to mind is Hyper Light Drifter. It’s one of the best games I ever played, and I

That’s mainstream games. A somewhat Zelda related, modern indie game that comes to mind is Hyper Light Drifter. It’s one of the best games I ever played, and I have played a ton until about 5y ago. The features/content are orthogonal, minimal and extremely well balanced. There is almost no unnecessary fluff and stuff that distracts from the core, everything is designed holistically. The gameplay is challenging and varied, while building on a few well thought out primitives. Still you feel like you’re stepping into a world of wonder. The game has a distinct personality and encourages experimentation and exploration. It rewards you with actual gameplay and not with ego soothing tricks. Mainstream games that have this kind of polish and holistic design are very rare, even though they have access to humongous resources.