Lore is such a weird thing. We've had so many youtubers who explore Lore as a full time job it's hard to not look.

On the other hand, I remember in about 2002-2005 Nintendo talked about story being a big thing. They meant the feel of the exploration and level design stuff like Metroidvanias are fun because of the story being told as you play, not just the text boxes. The same with Phantasy Stars and old RPGs. The problem was they meant more than just cut scenes. Even today we have 'game designers' who basically have interactive cut scenes at best. Walking simulators and text readers abound. Many want games to be just like movies, but you press a button every now and then.

Breath of the Wild felt like perfect exploration storytelling in my mind. Same with many GTAs. It's not rh story of the creator, it's the story fo what you watched and did.