I phrase my dislike of dogs differently: I do not care for 99.9% of dogs. If a (human) friend has a dog, I will dutifully engage with it on a limited basis. I may even enjoy myself a bit, too.
But a random person walking their dog in the park? Please keep it away from me. I don’t care how much of a “good boy” you think your pup is, I don’t know or trust them.
Octopath Traveller is a game I should have theoretically liked because I have so much nostalgia for SNES RPGs. Unfortunately, it felt more like a proof-of-concept demo stretched to a full-length game than a complete experience in its own right.
I’ve heard that the sequel is better, but I haven’t tried it.
One huge advantage Larian had was years of experience making games in this genre, and I doubt many other studios have that sort of corporate knowledge. Obsidian may be the only sizable one that comes close. Maybe Beamdog too, as they are responsible for the Enhanced Editions of all the old Infinity Engine games, including some original content.
They are mostly a toy store now. Last time I visited a GameStop I was told they don’t even stock new games at release, except for pre-orders. There doesn’t seem to be a point in going there anymore.