People now prefer pretty faces and cinematics. THATS the <<new>> immersion that sells at PG13. Without these pretty faces and cinematic dialogues (which in their own right MANY feels stiff and funny as hell...just check youtube...lol) what is left is a LSPGW : lifeless static pretty game world.
I assume by PG13 you mean age of the intended audience, not games rating. I don’t think it’s age related anyway. Pretty games sell well - that’s just how it is.
I don’t think that systems like day&night are required for “immersive†experience. Players don’t buy into BG3 fiction, because Larian isn’t interested in crafting believable settings and situations.
Game doesn’t have a tangible feel of time passing? Fine, don’t put in story beats revolving around ticking clock. You have one map? Great, design one continues are which could conceivably exist. I can see the same “structure†work really well in hands of someone who cared about this stuff a bit more. They are not storytellers.
