Been looking into that. Seems lovely, but I get a bit of a “If a game is beautiful, there is no need for gameplay vibe”, to which I don’t subscribe. At all.
Am I wrong?
You’re not entirely wrong. I enjoyed Gris, but there’s not a lot going on in terms of gameplay. Very simple game, but very relaxing for the same reason. It’s a bit like a video game equivalent to an ambient album, if that makes any sense 
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Beats me 
I mean lets be honest, playing video games is just a means of entertainment to escape our existential dread. A dopamine hit.
Boss battles dont trigger any dopamine production in my brain at all, for others it might well be juice time. We’re all different.
Gris was good, and i enjoyed it. But I got it on sale for 5 bucks. But yeah, its kind of ambient:p
I do enjoy a primal video game experience. I hate / love the Metroid boss fights, for example. Ambient games aren’t usually my thing. I want the equivalent of a mud-drenched, rain pouring, blood beating experience - but in my home’s comfort.
Hollow Knight felt more like just being pushed around 
like a taunt. I did enjoy the boss fights, but that “Jump between these walls to avoid the spikes or you’ll fall to your death and restart three screens away to try again and get better at a skill that exists only to extend gameplay time between the awesome moments.” I don’t know.
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That’s actually what I really liked about hollow knight. For most challenges, there is an alternative route, or so many other things to discover that it’s okay to leave some things be for later. Especially the harder platforming challenges, as there are upgrades later on that makes these significantly easier. But I do understand the potential for frustration.
I like the term “primal video game experience”. That’s a perfect description for hollow knight in my eyes. When I played it, I was fully immersed, not only due to the great world design, but also because the stakes of dying can be really high, depending where you are at the game. I remember the game giving me a warning before entering the deep nest and I thought to myself “well, how bad can it really be?”.
Then I fell into a deep black hole and everything went up to 11 really quickly. No way out the way I came, no idea where to go, lots of hard enemies, death pits, darkness and creepy spiders all over the place. The relief I felt when I found the first bench was incredible. And that was only the start, since I still had to find my way back. I found the tram pass and made my through the ancient basin to the edge of the kingdom and looped back around to the eastern end of the city of tears, areas which I all hadn’t discovered before. What a journey, that was one of my favorite video game experiences ever. The difficulty and the mechanics that you lose all your geo when dying played a huge part in that experience for me, I think, that made it all the more immersive. But yeah, if the diffulty turns to frustration, all the immersion is broken, so it’s a really delicate balance.
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Yeah, I can totally see that. I really did try to get good at it, because I could clearly see this was an immensely enjoyable experience if you clicked with it.
Got to the city, but then I caved. So I did try.
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No worries, I didn’t mean to come off as pushing you towards hollow knight. I can see that it’s not for everyone, but I hadn’t had such a good time with a video game since hyperlight drifter, which I know you also enjoyed.
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Did I ever. Still think back about that one. I’m sorry to see the sequel seems totally different. But maybe it’ll be great too, in its own way.
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Its interesting the different routes you can take.
Deepnest was the last area I found and completed.
My gf on the other hand, did deepnest well early on in the game.
Brilliant game, amazing world, fantastic music, wonderful art and graphics. But yeah, the relentless emphasis on boss fights… yawn.
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Five favourite Indie games on Switch so far (no particular order)
Celeste
Goose Game
Inside
Hollow Knight
Fez
Any suggestions based on those? Emphasis more on exploration / puzzle solving than fighting. Also interested to see anyone else’s lists for random inspiration…
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Haven’t played Fez and Inside yet, but the other 3 games on your list are also among my favorites. I didn’t get around to play Inside yet (but really enjoyed Limbo from the same developer) and I’ll get Fez also eventually. Not necessarily all indie, but I would recommend axiom verge, hyperlight drifter, ori and the blind forest and its sequel to you, since you are into celeste and hollow knight, although I’d say they are more combat- than puzzle-heavy, but offer great worlds to explore. Little nightmares might also be up your alley if you like games like Inside. I played the first one and enjoyed it, but it had pretty long loading times and felt a little sluggish.
A short hike is pretty short but very enjoyable and relaxing, no combat at all, but you can explore a whole island and solve small quests. These next two are third person, but I’d still recommend them, since they are really great indie games. What remains of Edith Finch is more of a story-driven walking simulator, very light in terms of gameplay, but takes you on a very well produced, unique, and memorable journey.
The Return of the Obra Dinn is a great story-driven puzzle game, which I enjoyed immensely and would recommend to anyone. A prime example of really making the best use of the fact that it’s a videogame and using exploration to tell a compelling story.
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No recs, but did you see the trailer for Cocoon, by Inside dev(s)? Looks unique and very interesting.
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Outer Wilds (when it’s released) is exemplary exploration / puzzle.
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I made the mistake of playing Inside before Limbo, so found it hard to have an objective opinion… Inside ruined the genre for me temporarily, in its epicness. Highly recommended.
A Short Hike is another favourite 
. Hyperlight Drifter is very much on my radar. Will check out your other suggestions. Thanks again
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Yeah, looks interesting for sure. Out next year apparently
Hadn’t heard of that - Great tip. Still no release date it seems. Also reminds me that No Man’s Sky is out this Summer… Might give that a go
Thanks both
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I’m sorry to hear that
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Yeah, fatal error. Likewise playing BOTW before almost everything. Still recovering from that.
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The ending-section of Limbo is still top notch
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Right. I’m shopping, and I’m getting one but only one of these -
Death’s Door (most likely)
Eastward (least likely)
Chicory
Which one should I get? No reasoning, just go
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Death’s Door is amazing. I bought it on discount for my PS4 and I love it. Got stuck in one mini boss and haven’t played it for weeks but it’s certainly worth buying anyways.
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