I think it depends on the game, for example Fallout 2 kinda does this. The earliest 10mm pistol is found in a cave under Klamath just on the ground with which it blends in, but you can highlight it with a button press. Similarly some good shit is hidden in weird corners of KOTOR 1 & 2 but those games are linear enough that a random path teaches you that there’s probably something to do.
I think it depends on the game, for example Fallout 2 kinda does this. The earliest 10mm pistol is found in a cave under Klamath just on the ground with which it blends in, but you can highlight it with a button press. Similarly some good shit is hidden in weird corners of KOTOR 1 & 2 but those games are linear enough that a random path teaches you that there’s probably something to do.