What I liked about the older, simpler Arduino was that you could move an ATmega328p project from an Arduino board to a chip on a breadboard then to a custom PCB with minimal complexity - with just hobbyist-level skills.

But the boards and modules just seem to be getting ever more complex, with lots of tiny SMD components, removing that path.

There are modern MCUs that require a total of 5 passives and a dream. Sure, they're still QFN at best, but they're within that "hand soldering" range.

Not to mention that both factory made custom PCBs and pre-assembled PCBs are cheaper than ever nowadays.

Sometimes you get lucky and the smd components have larger packages you can hand solder, but the price for assembly in a Chinese pcb shop is so cheap I don’t think I want to hand solder

Robotic pick and place board assembly means through-hole components are going the way of the dodo. Sorry.

Adafruit sells breakout boards for various SMT packages so that with a little solder reflow work you can adapt that shiny new chip to your breadboard. https://www.adafruit.com/category/475