I’d say the horror games like Until Dawn come pretty close. Sure, lot’s of QTEs but at the core the decisions matter.

Maybe Detroit: Become Human is a better contender.

The Life is Strange games also come close, although their budget is still far away from AAA.

I’d love for the AAA scene to be so diverse that we get point and click from them too.

Not really a dig to the Indies working on them (heck, I’m working on one) but more diversity in games would be awesome!

AAA just means it cost a shitload of money. That only happens when people figure there’s a market for it. Publishers don’t spend one bajillion dollars unless you can promise ten bajillion with a straight face.

The best bet for that is probably comedy? Same as it ever was, I guess. Disco Elysium is a modern point-and-click game with some dice-rolls tacked on, and the draw is your absurd inner monologue. Full voice-acting was definitely the right move.

What’d fascinate people nowadays is an explosion of interactions. Have a Monkey Island level of inventory and NPCs, and have some unique stupid thing happen for every possible combination. If some of that accidentally implies alternate solutions to obstacles, great, roll with it. It’s like an immersive sim! A famously profitable and stable genre.

Classic point-and-click (in the style of the 80s/90s) will never be released as AAA.

The closest would be Quantic Dream or Telltale style releases.

That being said, I don’t think this is bad thing. While AAA offers a level of scope and polish, it also has its own drawbacks.