Before I started Pikmin 4 (which I’m in full swing right now) I checked out Diary of a Spaceport Janitor. This was a weird little game I saw on a thread of recommended steam games I decided to check out.
At first I didn’t like it — it was confusing, had a bunch of strange concepts, I had no idea what to do, and couldn’t seem to make any progress. But I stuck with it (and looked up some guides.)
Looking back I realize the confusion is by design as a way of atmospheric storytelling. You’re an alien working a minimum wage job at a spaceport, and you’re lost in a confusing map and a sea of vendors trading things you can’t afford and can’t use. There’s gameplay elements like gods, offerings, luck, food, and gender changing stations that aren’t clearly explained. To make any meaningful progress you need to cut yourself off from your needs, eat the most basic food, try to get lucky with what you pick up, and find vendors to sell it to so you can make a few more credits to lift the horrible curse of the annoying floating skull.
I was able to get through it and, looking back, I’m glad I played it. I don’t know if I’d recommend it to others, but it’s nice to see weird different little games.