3 big ones recently, this year was God of War Ragnarok, FF7 Rebirth and Jedi Survivor
Back when 3d games were new, tomb raider, prince of persia etc the traversal was the challenge, the gameplay.
Eventually they got watered down and simplified, now they are cleverly disguised choke points while the open world or boss ahead loads.
You’ll notice the squeezing between narrow walls to separate 2 areas or a simple climb against a flat wall just before a boss. I think Uncharted was the first to do this as they moved away from climbing and focused more on combat and puzzles.
There is no reason to actually have the characters climb anything if it’s not fun or there are better ways of traversal, GoW being the biggest offender here
Jedi Survivor embraces traversal more but still locks you out with invisible walls and floors that kill you
I think I might prefer the elevator loading screens from Elden Ring, at least you get to stretch out your fingers when waiting
I think God of War is fine since the entire experience is supposed to be one that does not get interrupted, there are never any camera cuts, and they hid a few loading screens behind portal effects.
I liked the Jedi Survivor style as well, it feels natural and doesn’t interrupt the gameplay. Much like Outlaws using cleverly hidden cutscenes to go from planet to space and other planets. It all keeps you in the immersion and experience. Climbing and other parkour stuff don’t feel out of place in these games, it would be quite boring if everything in games existed only on a flat plane and you’d never ever have to turn corners or climb anything, takes away the idea of exploration and discovering new things.
I much prefer the modern solutions over elevators and loading screens. Nothing is stopping anyone from just hitting pause and stretch their fingers if you feel like you need a break lol
God of War always struck me as the wrong game for that gimmick. Sure, there are no camera cuts, but you need to pull up your menu constantly to check the map, change gear, etc. It ends up feeling like there are hundreds of cuts.