\u201c\u2018Environmental storytelling\u2019 just means skeletons on toilets, and teddy bears next to drugs and a gun\u201d
Like ok that\u2019s specifically the Fallout 3 aesthetic and yeah it wore thin
But consider that making the gameplay need to provide lootable items work with the artistic drive to evoke an atmosphere or narrative at all was a step forward
Compare with how before they were in tension like the classic JRPG gripe \u201cwhy is the beloved chosen hero walking into your house and stealing stuff from your drawers\u201d
Or at best disconnected, healing items in practical medicine cabinets or as non sequiturs, the arbitrary wooden item-bearing crates that inspired the 2000 \u201cTime To Crate\u201d metric
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