The riddle is now solved. The reason videogames are terrible today is effectively because, though the players are now adults, the games no longer share bonds with their simplicity.
This video makes no sense. It is a mess thematically and directionally, but the music shares that loose connectivity and frenetic quality. Effectively, the piece is whole in its simplicity. Players can no longer connect with that simple quality, because focus testing has been perhaps the greatest downfall of the videogame industry. Essentially, when testing a game was a small part of making a game, many things slipped through the cracks and created interesting situations through which players could express themselves upon the game world. Game designers and developers have decided to lead players by the hand so much that players never feel connected with the game, because developers become cynical of the game world itself. That is to say, the developer develops an uncertainty, develops doubt over whether or not the player will “find a way.” Underestimating the player disrespects them, even intangibly, and what the player feels is disconnected. Linearity is all about imagination. If a player imagines a game to be linear, then it is is. The corridors look limited and constricting. Final Fantasy in its early renditions had brilliant ways of making mazes extremely tempting to explore by hiding goodies throughout them, and it created a sort of unspoken bond of reward for a trial by fire.
Since we know that the player will chase these rewards, why not vary them? If we want the player to explore the world, a better item is not the only thing that can be put at the end of such tunnels. Story bits, further exploration, narrative descriptions of areas. Even a fantastic view is now a plausible reward. When rewarding a player, think creatively, not numerically. The designer and the player become richer for it.