I've always read a ton of books, and frankly video games rarely make an impression on me in terms of world building (there are many other aspects that I love)

One reason is that our imagination sort of work against us, when it comes to video games.
In Harry Potter I just need to read a few paragraphs about muggle society and Hogwarts, and my mind will automatically fill in the rest.
But the agency in video games allows me to explore. And then I quickly discover that the city in GTA is not actually a city. It's a backdrop to the scripted story. Most doors and houses are just graphics I can't interact with.

But one game in particular, made me believe that everything wasn't just setup to be part of my Hero's Journey.
That the inhabitants of that world had life's and stories of their own, that was happening whether I came by to notice it or not.

I'm talking about:
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.