TLoUII hater here. Well, i guess, loved alot of things in that game.
But you couldn't be further from the truth, at least in my case. GoT is in my Top 10 of all time, regardless of what ND did.
I mean, Days Gone is completely unique. Which other multi region free roam survival horror can you think of in which every moment of traversal could turn to 0 to 100 in seconds, that also features 500 enemies on screen running towards you while climbing onto one another?
And GoT is indeed innovative, the wind guide instead of map is nowhere else and a pretty big deal given the impact it have on the way you engage with traversal. Also, how many free roams feature multi stance combat?
I think you're underselling both these games.
And Horizon as well, that kind of combat heavily based on removing parts, on those kinds of enemies roaming the map, was nowhere else at the time.
Oh man, I dont think that even Days Gone director would call it unique
"It's a post apocaliptic zombie story where you control a man searching for his wife, while he faces hordes and other survivors"
That sounds original to you? And AGAIN, I dont mean it in a bad way. If I read the synopsis of The Last of Us without knowing about the game, I would roll my eyes.
Execution is what matters. And the execution in Days Gone was ok, even good. Just not very original.
The horde thing was new, but everything else, was really by the numbers.
The GoT wind mechanic was amazing, but again, one mechanic. The rest was The Witcher 3 light with good combat.
Horizon had the cool mechanic of taking off parts from the dinos but, sidequests were as boring and mundane as ever. Climbing towering dinos just like FarCry towers...
I'll give you examples of what I'm trying to say: Death Stranding. THAT was a different, unique and innovative take on the open world formula.
Another one: The Last Guardian. Another amazing exclusive that you cant compare to anything else.
But for being different, these 2 games didnt sell very well. So thats why I cant blame Sony for sticking to the formula.