I love immersive sim RPGs... but they seem to be cursed, with companies going under after finishing these magnum opus's. I'd love to know what people's favorite immersive sims are, see if there are any I am missing as well.
For context: An immersive sim is a game where you have many ways to approach a problem. Immersive sim RPGs usually address this via skills of some sort. Examples of immersive sims include:
Deus Ex (1, 2, HR, MD)
Arx Fatalis
Prey
Vampire the Masquerade : Bloodlines
To a lesser extent, some more well known Western RPGs would fall close to the category:
Skyrim, Fallout, etc.
But while skills allow you to kill X person with an arrow, a knife, your fists, a fireball, etc.... you still need to kill X person to progress. Which is why I want to acknowledge them, but separate out what I feel are true immersive sims.
Of course, you all may disagree. If so, what does immersive sim mean to you?