There was a great video by Digital Foundry that discussed comparisons to OpenLara. I remember one point specifically was how the water physics on OL were better. I'd recommend giving it a watch.
Agree about the operatives. I played from launch until ~2020 iirc, and had an absolute blast back then but gave up partly because things got too far fetched.
I feel kinda greedy, but I can't help but compare the price point to Vampire: Survivors, and think it could be a bit cheaper than the asking price. Not to say that the hours aren't there, but I don't see the variety from my short time with it.
Personally I've been using Anytype. The free version includes I think 2GB of sync storage, which is pretty generous for text notes.