I have noticed that many of the publishers on GOG like '2D list games'. I would define these as games that contain a large volume of text content, displayed in the form of a list. These lists are central to the gameplay in said games.

To give an example, "The Westport Independent" requires the player to select between three distinct narrative options when choosing how to present any given news story. This constitutes much of the gameplay (it's a quirky simulation game).

I suppose my question is, has anyone else noticed this tendency: 2D list games?

You mean every sports management game ever?

What you describe as "2d list" sounds a lot like "multiple choice" to me and has been around "forever" in terms of gameplay.

Oh yeah, I know the ones. They're pretty much just lists of, often, licensed content. They could definitely be relevant.

Otherwise, what I'd be thinking of is games like EU4, which can devolve into a mass of spreadsheets without warning.