Basically, what constitutes a commercial failure for a game that received high praise from critics upon release?
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I would not necessarily call it a flop, but Deus Ex: Mankind Divided received good reviews and was well-liked by fans. However, Square Enix typically sets their sales expectations very high and deemed it a disappointment, even leading to the dismissal of Eidos.
Prey (2017) is in a similar situation—praised by critics and immersive sim enthusiasts but failed to achieve widespread sales.
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In general, it appears to be the most immersive sim.
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I believe modern games from the Xbox 360 era have conditioned many players to simply follow objective markers and climb where the yellow paint indicates. As a result, players often feel confused or overwhelmed by games that require creative thinking and unconventional problem-solving, which is the core appeal of immersive simulation games.
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I think it is more about how these games shift the motivation to figuring it out yourself rather than being driven by character or story. They focus on mechanics and interactions, which is what you mentioned, and that is great for those who enjoy that approach. However, many players are drawn to games for their storytelling.
Yellow paint exists because even old-school gamers can get lost during playtesting, making it frustrating to search every corner of the world like in Doom. I am okay with being directed to where the fun happens.
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Just made me want to play Prey as someone who gets irritated with games that feel like they are trying to take me through a plot.
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The best game of the past ten years, without a doubt, is Prey, which is the real heir to System Shock. Execute it. 
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Deus Ex still offers a lot of interactions with various NPCs.
Prey is not entirely story-driven, but the interactions between the protagonist and his brother are central to the game.
If this type of game isn’t your preference, that’s okay, but many people do enjoy it. Yellow paint and large directional arrows are just the most obvious examples of this approach.
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I mean, Prey, System Shock, Bioshock, and Deus Ex aren’t exactly games I’d describe as lacking an interesting or engaging story.