Warframe was really janky as an action game but as people broke the game and would basically speedrun through levels Digital Extremes decided to lean into the style of game it was naturally turning into rather than whatever they were probably originally intending. It’s really hard for a new game to compare to a mature GAAS contemporary because generally the mature game is going to have so much content and also a better grasp of its identity.
Warframe is also more about it’s movement and it’s stat systems than it is about your ability to slash and shoot, so I always feel it’s more in line with Path of Exile than something like Destiny. What Warframe and POE do really well though is how they’ve established a very strong seasonal pace for new content. Maybe emphasizing the stats more than the combat help build an audience that you can satisfy in a less resource intensive way than than an audience who need major new levels and enemies. By allowing you to minmax your stats in extreme ways, the game can churn out seasonal updates whose new content require less new assets because a large part of the appeal is how the season is going to change the meta via some sort of seasonal upgrade mechanic or due to tweaks to item drops and their stat bonuses.
Path of Exile in particular is like playing with Armored Cored regulations. It’s a game designed around replaying the campaign over and over again with different game balances and builds. It’s not like the game is trying to aim for some sort of conceptual perfect balance of all mechanics. Instead it’s like “this season we’re making curse spells really good. Also we’ve got some new seasonal content that you can occasionally futz around with.”
Marvel’s Avengers is in a hard place because not only is it more about combat than it is about loot, but also the devs have to work withing the confines of Disney and Marvel management who undoubtedly were the ones who said the loot cannot affect how characters look because it would interfere with the iconic looks they want for their brands.
BACK IN THE GAME: Invulnerability
