High energy cat - advice?

Our cat seems to be pretty high energy, but my wife and I have never had a cat before, so we're not sure what's normal. Our cat is a little over two years old, and we play with him for over an hour a day, in 30+ minute sessions before dinner and his late evening meal. He also has several toys he has access to all day that he can chase around and attack on his own. However, he seems to enjoy our playtime together much more than his solo play—even if he has toys set out for him, he will wander our apartment HOWLING, meowing, and scratching furniture until we play with him. Usually, this behavior begins around an hour or even two hours before we plan to play with him.

This is frustrating on two levels. First, we want him to be happy and have an enriching environment, and we feel badly if he is currently bored. Second, it becomes impossible to get work done—or even relax or do anything really—when he gets antsy for us to play with him. We have looked up what to do for restless cats, but pretty much every website suggests simply playing with your cat for 20-30 minutes a day, even for kittens. We are feeling a bit stressed and exasperated and are wondering if this level of energy/need for play is normal. Any advice you guys could give would be greatly appreciated!

Some info:

• This behavior was going on before quarantine started.
• When we play with him, he's definitely getting a good workout and getting a lot of energy out.
• He has two cat trees, but they're on the shorter side (taller one tops out around 40-43"), so we've been debating whether getting him a taller cat tree would provide more enrichment and decrease the incessant desire for us to play with him.
• He has several scratching posts, which he likes and uses.
• We leave toys out for him to play with on his own, which he does sometimes, but it has not changed his need for more play.
• We adopted him from a shelter, he is a little over two, and my wife and I are doubtful that anyone has played with him before, given that he seemed to have no idea what to do with the various toys we bought him when we first adopted him.
• He has been to the vet recently and been given a clean bill of health.
• We are incredibly consistent with his meal and play times.

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