Here’s a look at some of my favorite games. I must say pretty much anything from PS is my favorite. Ragnarok, Helldivers, Spider-Man, Ratchet and Clank, etc.
What I love: Primarily story-driven, third-person, high-fidelity, single-player games with solid fighting characteristics with simple upgrade paths. FPS are cool too. Anything with “power fantasy”.
What I hate: Anything complicated that I have to scower the internet just to learn how to play. Anything with classes or numerical attributes (Strength, Vitality, etc). I know this comprises many popular games, and if you like it, I’m happy for you, it’s just not for me.
Edit: no corporate trash. No Ubisoft, EA, Rockstar, Denuvo, or remote accounts.
You seem to like Character Action Games so why not give the Ninja Gaiden series a go? You can emulate Ninja Gaiden Black for free on Xemu and even enjoy using save states to save yourself some frustration with unnecessary runbacks (this was removed in later entries). I think NGB is an all time classic, although it leans a little bit more into the adventure game style than later titles, that are pure action. You have some exploration, platforming and even an almost Metroidvania-like hub area you backtrack back and forth through and unlock new branches of.
Or if you want something more modern and pure high octane action you can start with Ninja Gaiden 4. More free flowing combos as opposed to specific fighting-game style strings like in previous games, but still fun. I’m only a few chapters deep but any fan of DMC or CAGs in general would enjoy it I think.