Kairo

It's been a long time since I've played Kairo, but the sights and sounds and sheer atmosphere of the game still haunt me years later. The very minimal, almost Brutalist design of the 3D environments (all cubes and spheres and simple shapes) mix beautifully with stark, distinct colour choices and an eerie soundtrack (which I think was what got me into dark ambient) to create places that feel massive and alien - places that make you want to explore. The occasional puzzles you come across while exploring (which unlock new areas) also make use of your surroundings in often clever ways. The amount of times I felt an electrifying sense of Wonder wash over me upon entering a new area, or upon solving a puzzle, are probably too numerous to recount. It's the kind of experience that makes you understand, deeply and truly, what 'getting lost in a video game' actually means.

I will say though that if you're looking for, like, an actual story, or whatever... uhhhhh I guess it's there, but I had to look up an analysis to understand it. I mean who cares about that really, just play the game, it's cool.