There are lots of mods you can get to improve TS4, but you’re right, it’s missing something fundamental. Even things like genetics are so dumbed-down as to be almost pointless
While it’s mostly about the stories you create yourself, there is actually a storyline you can play through! Each of the three default neighbourhoods has a specific order of events. You kinda need a walkthrough to know where to start and when to switch families, but it’s all there for the playing. I didn’t even realise that until last year, and I’ve been playing TS2 since launch
It’s good that developers make it easy to customize the soundtrack, although I didn’t feel the need to as I found the songs for Rebel Galaxy exceptionally good. Have not played Outlaw yet. I’ve read reviews that gameplay wise it wasn’t as good as the first one.
Undertale, love the Temmie Village song. The OST can be heard in all kinds of videos. Maybe since you liked ULTRAKILL (based on graphics), you’ll like Undertale.
NieR:Automata is an absolute banger. It has a banger of a soundtrack and a really great story. I personally love the park area and the forest.
Subnautica, the OST, really helps to create an immersive experience. It is sometimes mysterious, it can be dark but also adventurous. The music kind of guides you through the uncharted lands.
The Legend of Zelda: BotW I know, it’s a WIIU/Switch game, and I know TotK is out, but the design and the music of the game are fitting so well together. The OST is so incredible.
BOTW was my first Zelda game. Absolutely zero background needed. If I hadn’t heard of the other games, I would have thought it was the first one in the series.
Wonderful, complex, textured music. Fades in and out of the ambience as if just another sound of nature.
I would argue the gameplay falls short of revolutionary. Several parts are frustrating but 90% of the time it’s a decent balance of rewardingly challenging timing & platforming vs. “press X and just watch your character do the sickest flip, yo” dumb fun.
The killer tunes, kickass visuals (one of the best early cel shaded games), lighthearted but spunky lore and just overall vibe make it a genuine classic. If you’re on the fence about it opt for Jetset Radio Future, as its an entire console gen worth of polished vs. the original and imho the music is even better.
Caves of Qud doesn’t have a very big OST but I happened to absolutely love it. The game is similar to Rogue (or more directly Dwarf Fortress adventure mode), as in time only passes when you move and everything is represented by a tile, but it has pretty good controller support as of a recent update.
This is all going to be “great gameplay” rather than “great story”.
If you have a way to play 3DS games and a tolerance for punishment in your JRPG dungeon crawlers, the Etrian Odyssey series has some of Yuzo Koshiro’s best work.
Finally … Monster Hunter is an incredibly fun and addictive game series, and though it doesn’t center the music quite as much as a typical JRPG does, it’s got some great stuff. I particularly like the soundtrack of MH: World – although the newer game MH: Rise tried something new with its mostly choral arrangements, I think they are not quite as memorable overall.
Arena battle from Monster Hunter: World (it’s particularly impressive the way this theme, the small-monsters arena battle theme, and several of the town themes reuse the same melodies in different arrangements)
I see some Final Fantasy mentions, but I’m throwing Final Fantasy Tactics in particular into the ring.
Great gameplay (min-max to your heart’s content) that will let the player fail. Also will let the player soft lock themselves and require loading an earlier save if they didn’t have “optimal” builds for some encounters…
It has a story! That moves forward all of the time! Just let it happen and don’t think too much about it. You’re a mere mortal fighting up against gods at some point. Maybe?
Great soundtrack! My personal favorites are below.
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