AAA has gotten worse because of bloated budgets and corporatization which was already getting in there during 7th gen but accelerated much further during COVID and is currently in the middle of collapsing, but what few AA devs that are still out there and a solid amount of indies absolutely pick up the slack. What you're lamenting is that the cutting edge doesn't feel worthwhile anymore.

>>717749350
There's been 30+ games in the 2020s I'd give an 8/10 or better and a good number more if you count 7/10s as worthwhile if you're already a fan of the genre/series (which you should). Here's some of my highlights:
>Streets of Rage 4
>Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
>Stranger of Paradise
>Shadow of the Ninja Reborn
>NG Ragebound
>Symphony of War
>Rollerdrome
>Ghosts n Goblins Resurection
>Metal Slug Tactics
>Magenta Horizon: Neverending Harvest
>Kirby & The Forgotten Land
>Astro Bot
>Bayonetta Origins
>Gravity Circuit
>Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
>Hi-Fi Rush
>UFO50
>Tetrachroma
>Evil West
>THPS 1+2 & 3+4
>NEO TWEWY
>Devil Blade Reboot
>Angel at Dusk
>Shadow Generations
>Final Vendetta
>Rogue Flight
>The Making of Karateka
>Slay The Princess
I could go on. I've got maybe 20 games I'm keeping my eye on that aren't out yet and a solid backlog of old and new games. In terms of current year I want to get around to Split Fiction and DK Bananza if I can while looking forward to Lumines Arise, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Absolum, Night Striker Gear, and a couple indies. I'll check on NG4, Sonic Racing Crossworlds, and Dispatch after launch to see how they come out.