even more psychotic: the real world but you get to kill anyone you want, and violence and death is basically the main focus of everything that happens in the world.
All I can think of are sports games like FIFA, or side quests in Red Dead Redemption. Any other suggestions?
I am interepreting great visuals broadly to include great art direction, but there are some very nice looking realistic 3D games in that list
Some other ones that I don't particularly care for but that many people love: Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, Return of the Obra Dinn
There are also many great games that feature combat as a core mechanic but are no more "about it" than The Odyssey or The Seven Samurai are. For example: Yakuza 0, Kenshi, INSOMNIA: The Ark, Vampyr, Valakas Story, Pathologic 2, Ghost of a Tale, A Plague Tale