Xcom and Morrowind have high degrees of dicerolling in the gameplay. Progression has a lot to do with controlling or improving your odds. You can have a whole lot of different outcomes based on adapting to each roll.

Souls games usually lack that level of randomness, at least in the calculations phase of gameplay. That's how you see speedrunners standing still and circling around all these explosions and attacks without repercussions, etc. You either know the steps or you don't.

Stalker games are a bit different in that they're FPS games. I think when you can stealth headshot snipe something, the whole dynamic changes. (Which probably also flows into Elder Scrolls a fair bit.)

Well, that's three different genres of game.

XCOM balances strategy and turn-based tactics in a way that's a bit unusual. Games like Civ or Crusader Kings let you do the strategy, but you've not much influence in battles. Something like Hard West or Invisible Inc. let you do the turn-based tactics, but are fairly light on the strategic choices.

The STALKER games are survivalist FPS; although you combine looting and shooting, they aren't looter-shooters. As Strelok, your role-playing choices are quite limited - you can 'get out of here, stalker' if you wish - and you've no stats. I wouldn't have described the world as particularly reactive - the 'bad ending' in the first one depends on what you've been doing.

Morrowind and the Souls games are both Western RPGs; you fight enemies with weapons and magic, it's not obvious what's going on, certainly at first; and the world changes as a result of your decisions. DS doesn't generally let you know when you're making a decision, which makes it quite tough to progress some storylines. But as to how the fighting plays out, they're about as different as can be.

So I wouldn't worry about it. Wish there were more XCOM-like games, tho, since I love the mix.

Should we blame the government?

Or blame society?

Or blame the images on TV?

No! Blame stamina

Blame stamina

With all their empty little bars

And flailing hands so full of flaws

Blame stamina, Blame stamina