2 Windows programs that I've been using for ~15 years have done a great job at avoiding the abyss.
They would be IrfanView[0] (image viewer) and foobar2000[1] (mp3 player).
Both programs are very minimal and have stayed true to their vision. Using them today feels similar to how it was 5 or even 10 years ago, but at the same time subtle improvements have been made too. Both are still under active development, so it's not a matter of them not being updated for years.