Did I miss it? Are there no Ability Race Traits? No +2 to Cha or Dex?
Orcs are still massively stronger than other races, it just isn't represented as +2 to strength, and you can still make an orc with +2 to strength by choosing a warrior background.
It is just now also possible to make an orc who grew up in a library and never benched a press in his life with a tiny 8 STR... But because of his racial traits he can still lift and carry as much as another race with 16 STR.
That is not a description being shifted because that trait is one which they already had, always had, and wasn't going anywhere. That trait, by virtue of always existing and still existing, has no bearing on the removal of the ability score propensity as part of defining the natural (I.e. natively biological propensity) strength of orcs as a species of creature, compared to other similar humanoids. They haven't conveyed that aspect of their being in a different way - they've just removed the conveyance of it.
Let's add to the list. In the new texts:
Dragonborn are still naturally, as part of their innate biology and growth, a very strong species of creatures compared to other humanoids... right? Only, not... They're not, because that propensity has been removed and it has not been replaced in any way. It is simply no longer conveyed as a thing.
Dwarves are still sturdy and resilient of constitution as an innate and natural part of their biology, making them hardier compared to other humanoids... Only, not... they're not, any more, because that propensity for higher constitution has been removed and it has not been replaced with anything else - it is no longer conveyed as a thing. Also, all the surface dwarf types have been homogenised into one with the features of both being lumped together; everyone's a hill dwarf, and mountain dwarves ceased to exist mechanically, despite the long, many-generational division of these peoples traditionally being pronounced enough to give them slightly different traits. No longer.
Elves still have a natural grace and balance, and a propensity towards fine and precise motor skills, comparative to other similar humanoid species... Only not... not any more, because that propensity towards dexterity has been removed, and it has not been replaced with anything else - it is no longer conveyed as a thing. Instead, all elf types now get spellcasting, increasing the mechanical homogenisation between the different subtypes of elves.
Gnomes, as a species, still have a propensity towards better detail recollection and information retention, comparative to other similar humanoid species... Only... no, they don't, not any more. That propensity towards a keener mind compared to other species averages has been removed, has not been replaced by anything else, and is simply no longer conveyed. (Forest gnomes can no longer innately communicate with animals - they must cast a spell to do so, and spend spell slots if they want to do it more than once. Rock gnomes lost their innate expertise for working out and understanding mechanical devices and such, which is/was an innate part of their naturally sharper minds, not of training)
Halflings, as a species, are still small, light and nimble and tend to be a little quicker of reflex and surer of foot, compared to other larger humanoids (with the exception of the graceful elves)... right? No, not any more. That propensity towards nimbleness and sure-footedness has been removed, and has not been replaced by anything; it's simply not conveyed as a thing any more. Stout/Strongheart halflings no longer exist; their natural-born resilience is not conveyed in any way any more. Liughtfoots lost their ability to hide in spaces where other creatures usually could not. These features were not replaced with anything new.
Tieflings, by their birthright and regardless of their other heritages, still evoke a certain sense of presence, owing to their fiendish traits, whether for good or ill... Only... No. They don't. Not any more. The propensity towards greater personal as a result of their fiendish traits has been removed, and it has not been replaced by anything else - it is simply not conveyed any more. Despite the fact that they've written in acknowledgement to other flavours of fiendish tieflings - giving us abyssal and Cthonic (I'm guessing the traditional 'lothic' was considered a bit too archaic or unrecognisable?), we've also gone down from nine variants with different spell choices, to only three. You want to be Infernal? Then your spells are Hellish Rebuke and Darkness - all those other lovely options, gone.
In short, don't pretend that they've just "shifted" these natural-born and innate propensities towards ways in which these different species of peoples are different - they have not been. They've just been erased.
It's easy to say "Sure, but you can still put your points in those places if you want to - they've only given you the freedom to put them elsewhere if you want", but that misses the point. We allocate our attributes ourselves, as a representative of our personal characters, and the things they've focused in and the lives they've led up to this point: we put the 6 that we rolled into Strength for our half-orc character to represent the fact that he's studied bookishly in a library his whole life and has never once pressed any benches. That is the choice that we, as players make to represent that. The ability scores that stand outside of our allocation of rolls/point buy choices are representative of innate propensities that physically and biologically make the race that we have picked different from other humanoids. This is what is being removed - and it's wrong.
Beside that, The "you can still put the scores in the old way" defence doesn't work - because the more recent races don't have those propensities listed at all. They do not exist. Suppose I want to make a Fairy, or an Owlin, or a Thir-kreen, or a Hadozee... Suppose I want to make the Fairest Fairy, the Owliest Owlin, the Keenest Thri-keen or the Dozeest Hadozee... Suppose they are truly representatives of the features of their individual race that make them different from other similar humanoids; how exactly ARE they innately, biologically different from other species; what propensities towards different abilities do they tend to naturally display? None. The answer is None. That's not a positive comment.
Don't get me wrong - a lot of the character-relate things they've done, shifting many things into background where they rightfully belong - a lot of that is great. Removing ability score propensities from races, however, is not a good move. It removes flavour and feel, and trends towards blandness. It's already visible in the more recent races; Wizards have grown so afraid of defining races and giving them unique presence and flavour that the newest ones don't even have physical descriptions that you can work with, and they certainly don't have even a tenth of the descriptive flavour of the original races.
