What I meant is that they follow the same template, right down to the UI that only gets a new coat of paint but generally consists of the same elements. The career mode is the same, the online features are the same, it has the same cosmetics, cars, driving model, radio stations, etc.
I don't mind this at all because the original blueprint is still fun as hell, but I get why it could've been ignored. It feels like they're barely iterating on the formula, and save for the new map to drive around in, there's barely anything new in each subsequent game. You could probably mash those last 3-4 games into one giant live service game where you can jump around the globe to different locations and it would still feel like a cohesive product.
And I would agree that it's a similar situation for games like Horizon Forbidden West or Assassin's Creed Whatever, but I strongly disagree about games like Doom Eternal or The Witcher 3. Those last two made a significant leap compared to their predecessors, and in a lot of ways redefined their own genres so they're far more deserving of a special recognition.
But yeah, at the end of the day, a lot of these criteria seem knda arbitrary and a lot of it is based on how people simply feel about certain games, and it's difficult to quantify something like that.