Bridging the gap between an abstract and a thematic player

This is a bit of an impossible quest by definition, but I'd be happy to read any ideas you might have

I love big, thematic, complex games (e.g. war of the ring, fury of dracula)

one of my best friends loves straightforward (simple, not shallow) abstract games (e.g. splendor, chess)

We could both enjoy a lot Heat!, Quacks of Quedlingburg, pandemic series stuff, el dorado
They all tickled my thematic bone but were also not too convulted rules wise, and are all good games I reckon

what could be the next game on the list we could both be happy to bring to the table?