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Mass Effect. I know some will disagree, the third game has a lot of glaring issues, and EA really fucked up the ending, but as far as a fully fleshed out story and universe with a multitude of unique and independently structured species, characters, and cultures I think it’s one of the best. The writing and possible story outcomes and decisions that vastly and permanently affect the story from the first to the third game are insane.
Morrowind ?
Neither of these are popular enough to be on the scale of LoTR, but in terms of atmosphere and detail:
Hollow Knight - my absolute favorite thing about it is each NPC has its own voiced language recorded, babbling in the background as you read the dialogue.
Subnautica (the first one) - shitting myself with each new experience is something I'll always cherish. Highly recommend just playing without looking into the gameplay or plot. Has elements of exploring, resource gathering, base building, psychological horror (not graphic, just tense scenarios), sneaking.
The Persona series comes to mind. But probably more than anything Witcher 3, Skyrim, Disco Elysium, Stardew Valley, No Man’s Sky, Nier Replicant/Automata, Metal Gear Solid 3, there’s actually quite a few imo.
Edit: oh and dwarf fortress!
Skyrim is pretty bad compared to LotR, but pretty good compared to video games.
Witcher 3 may be the better pick from what I've heard, but I've barely played it.
The obvious choice, after reading other comments, is Baldur's Gate 3.
Add Hades in this list, too. Incredible game with so much love poured into it.
Undertale and Deltarune.
Dwarf Fortress.
Ultima 1-7 and 8 partially.
A genuinely heart warming story that deals with strong themes of love and friendship in a way that made a genuine impact?
Undertale.
Mass Effect. Even though it has its flaws, it was just an epic story, built up perfectly over three games. The ending is disappointing for some, but I really liked it. I was really excited for the sequels when the first one came out.
Witcher 3 is pretty good
The stanley parable
World of Warcraft, at least for the first 3 expansions. I think the people that made it back then were utterly devoted to the story and gameplay, as were the players. I'll remember playing that until I die, so many memories.
Downvote away.
planescape torment
BG I,II
Fallout I,II
I always felt like Breath of the Wild was Lord of the rings animated by studio Ghibli the videogame.
I feel like BotW has some fundamental design problems with lots of repetitive content, an unsatisfying weapon-breaking system, and of course it lacks dungeons. The dialogue has a lot of words but very little to say. Don't get me wrong, the open world is breathtaking, but a lot was sacrificed on that altar.
satisfactory
Clair obscur
Final fantasy 6 Chrono trigger Capcom vs SNK2 Soul Calibur 2 Super Mario Bros 3
These games all stand tall as giants of excellence decades after their release. Teams have already decent renowned executing at the peak of their genre with true craftsmanship and deep care into their design from mechanics to aesthetics to music to gameplay.
Has he not heard of Ocarina of Time?
Outer Wilds is this game.
Dark souls 1
Books are where it's at! Lord of the Rings all the way!
Deus Ex, if you ignore that it really is ugly as sin. Sounds amazing! Plays beautifully! But yeesh, Unreal Engine 1 humans.
Most immersive sims are arguably in the same boat. The people involved had enormous ideas. As commercial products, they were woefully underappreciated, until years later. And quite frankly they do look like shit compared to much simpler contemporaries. Some NoClip documentary about Looking Glass could show a major artist had muscular dystrophy that makes his shoulders work wrong, and I'd be like, oh, that explains things.
Cold Waters if you're hankering for some hot sub on sub action.
Transport Tycoon would still be a fun game even today.
OpenTTD is!
It's not a trilogy, but I gotta preach the good word of Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights. If you enjoy 2D metroidvania style games it's top notch.
The game just drips in atmosphere. The environments are beautifully drawn and designed, characters and enemies are animated well and the music just wraps everything up in a nice bow. It's a melancholy game and it literally made me cry at points and I'm not the type to tear up often when playing games.
The game can be challenging at times, but I wouldn't say significantly so. I would say Hollow Knight is more challenging than this game especially with some of the end game content that that game has.
The game is worth full price, but it goes on sale pretty regularly and probably is right now with the summer sale on Steam.
There's also a sequel out now called Ender Magnolia. I haven't played it yet but I will eventually.