I've been revisiting anno 2205, infamously the ugly duckling of the Anno series of RTS games. I don't mind so much the fact that it's different, lacks customisation and random map generation - I'm bothered because the game is so slow to progress through on challenge settings, and it feels like a game designed just to artificially waste your time; in other anno games, you can always pull tricks to dig yourself out of economic crisis - selling off assets and surplus goods, completing quests for other parties, or taking loans. 2205 is very very confined in terms of what you can do to financially recover in the early game and forces you into a lot of military events.
This sounds like my experience. I bought a PS5 for FFXVI thinking FF had grown up. The only word I can use to describe this game is "homework." It felt like I was doing homework the whole time. Boring, repetitive, bloated, and coasting on the FF name. I wanted FFXVI to bring those feelings I had back in my youth. It only reminded me of homework. I finished the game and have wrote off FF since.
As you point out the story was stupid despite a cool world and what seemed like interesting and deep backstory. I liked Clive, Jill, and Cid, but the others characters where one-dimensional. Some of the NPCs were more likable.
Whole heartedly agree with you that gaming journalists have zero integrity. I am all for people liking and enjoying different games/genere/etc. but a 9/10 means almost perfect. This game is far from that.