It's interesting how the concepts such as "rock climbing game" can be bland and uninteresting, execution matters A LOT in terms of the player experience. Other forms of media such as books and movies have the same issues, where interesting and imaginative concepts flop due to poor follow through, while other seemingly blander stories such as "2 guys take wine-tasting road trip" turns into the 97% rotten tomatoes rated Sideways, grossing 107 million USD.

the somewhat scary exploration game about water and inventory management has already been done with Subnautica, but although the concept is the same the execution changes the experience very drastically.

The concept and purpose behind 2D Mario games have been the same, with the only thing changing is the execution of the idea. I wonder how long this formula will continue to work with the advancements in tech and changes to the market. Especially when the new generation who didn't play 2d platformers growing up come to be the majority consumer group of the gaming industry.