I'll agree that Diablo is just more of the same 2013+ version of the gaming market, the kind that leaned heavily toward monetization with zero competition to improve game loops or increase depth.

That being said, back in the day you didn't have a mini map and a compass to point you to every single place on your Ubisoft fetch quest open world "chore list disguised as a videogame" nonsense. You had to figure out the game and read the manual, etc.

Elden Ring is meant to be "Hey, we know you're sick of playing the 593857th reskin of Assassin's Division: Ghost Cry, try out something that respects your intelligence."