You played Half Life 2; and part of the appreciation for it comes from how well it tells the story via showing without telling. There’s no intro monologue which outright says “humanity is under the boot of alien invaders and Gordon Freeman is the only hope for humankind,” instead you hear Dr. Breen welcoming you to City 17 over large screens, see everyone wearing plain blue jumpsuit, watch them get their food from a dispensary, see a massive creature accompany troops down the street.
The second reason that game is beloved is the source engine physics puzzles, which were revolutionary at the time.
Maybe it’s not your thing? IDK, I had a blast playing though those games (HalfLife 2 Episodes 1 & 2 as well,) they’re actually still installed on my PC because I revisit them once a year or so. It’s recommend giving it another spin if you can, there’s a decent story in there.