Sekiro did it pretty well (almost as a rhythm action game), but in everything else it’s a bit shit. Usually you have to press a button within a particular timing window, except the actual timing can either be incredibly obscure (necessitating trial-and-error) or insultingly transparent and generous (i.e. the Assassin’s Creed model).
New games have very little offer me, apart from higher specs I’d have to upgrade for. Just played through Prey and the two Dishonoreds, and they’re good but still just revamps of System Shock 2 and Thief, so I don’t regret not paying them at the time. The really groundbreaking games nowadays tend to be indie anyway.
Yeah, I just finished it and felt the same. I got low chaos pretty easily, but by replaying sections rather than by actually being able to react to situations on the fly. If you end up in a one-on-one with a guard your only non-lethal recourse is the combat sleep dart, whereas Solid Snake or Sam Fisher always have some kind of CQC takedown option to defuse the situation before more guards are alerted. You end up freezing time and running away a lot, or just save scumming.
Are you planning to skip AC1, play 2 and then get a couple hours into 3 before giving up entirely?