I have seen arguments that "old lego was soulful because it was simpler and you could rebuild things easier. now things are too complex and it's really hard to build something on par with the box build."
I found that argument pretty compelling until I started paying more attention to the 4+ sets. They are simpler and look pretty fun. Would you say they meet that specific aspect of playability? Let me know if I should get one to check

>picrel set is $20 in my region