Yes, there is a pretty deep crafting system. You basically have to plant seeds in any given level and killing enemies feeds the plant growth. You can grow fruit, sheep, yes sheep to restore health. You can also mix potions to make antidotes, cool drinks for hot stages, etc. So, aside from the brawling, there is that to play around with.
I've had my PC for quite a while and I'm still surprised that I can play new releases. I've certainly had my PC longer than this current gen of console PCs has lasted, so I'd say it was a good investment. I'm only now getting ready to upgrade, but I'm waiting to see how VR pans out a little, since it is affecting everything right now. There is also emulation, so you have basically a history of retro games to play through if you want. I'm glad to see more JRPGs on Steam now. Modding sports games sounds interesting? Playing soccer with a bunch of marvel heroes. lol
I think the wording might be the problem. I don't mind playing MMOs, or games like Final Fantasy 12, Xenoblade, Witcher 3, even Dragon Quest 9. But these games are filled with content, there is always something to do as you are playing along. They are more or less 3D JRPGs. I think I have issues with empty space. Shadow of Mordor was fine, and even Assassins Creed, but they were not endlessly open games, there were invisible wall there. Even as I play Dragon Age Inquisition, it feels more or less like a JRPG. It feels like Dragons Dogma, which is another game I enjoyed. Some of what I saw from Zelda looked like Monster Hunter, with the cooking and gathering. Ironically, I like gathering and crafting, which is why I enjoy Atelier games and MMOs. Gosh, I'm very picky. 
I think I need to change my mindset and approach regular games like short 300 page novels, and open world games like longer anthologies. Dragons Dogma, Dragon Quest 9, FF12, and Witcher 3 took forever for me to finish. Time resource might be another issue.
Im playing on PS4, but so far I've only really enjoyed Witcher 3 and Xenoblade in terms of open world.
Wait, did you finish Inquistion? What were your thoughts on it? How do you feel about open world games? Oh, and what is the 1GB multiplayer thing I downloaded for? Can you coop in this game?
"Off base on this one. PC’s can still play all the newest games for the most part. You just run them at lower settings. The issue with Consoles is they want to play PC games on consoles. PC gamers have to put up with dumb restrictions placed on games because they are being ported to consoles and you have to put up with some bugs because of porting PC games to consoles. The game companies do this so they can appeal to the broadest audience. I could go on but sufficed to say I think you are off base on this one." - commenter
Yes. Emily is Darkness now. Pretty cool. It does mosltly feel too much like the first game, except for a name change to the location. The time travel gimmick is interesting.
As for Zelda, I've already expressed my feelings about open worlds and how I don't want everything to be an open world. As much as I liked watching gameplay of new Zelda, it did look largley empty, and I had hoped that Nintendo would have imitated Witchers more populated open world instead of Skyrims empty one.
What did you think of Resident Evil 7? It seems the entire game will be a first person horror experience like Outlast or Amnesia as the director of the game mentioned these types of game when interviewed and said he was frustrated that he didnt have guns in these games. So Amnesia with guns? Also, people experiencing it with VR say it works well, so VR RE?
God of War feels too much like a reboot. The whirly blades is what made that game fun for me. I don't know about that axe. It felt kind of slow. It did have a very souls boss feel, and actually Zelda feels a bit soulsy too. You can walk to whatever you see far in the distance and the opening area feels like Majula.
The work is appreciated! Nice n spiffy up in here!
The thing is that in the past installing new software and all the required drivers was a hassle. Now apps like Steam and GOG make software installation much easier and usually games are optimized without any real technical know how required from the user. I think there is a misconception that PC gaming is really complicated and expensive, but you could make the same argument about console now. Like, I don't own an xbox because I chose PS4, but the xbox redesign might be inferior to the upgraded scorpio in the same year. I don't buy backwards compatibility seamlessly working on xbox. So I'll just play them on PC for now.
PC have a longer shelf life than console because you can scale down settings for performance. I've had my PC for much longer than any new console and I can still play a lot of games. Im only feeling the push now to upgrade because of the industry push to 4K and VR, but it's also affecting console. There is a whiplash effect going on here and its hurting wallets.
