a maddeningly excellent example of a game that tells its story through its mechanics--despite also having many, many words to read.
    
    when you begin, you'll have little to no idea what to do, much like the player character stumbling into the bewildering occult world.
    through experimentation and poring over every new scrap of information you come across, you'll gradually develop some ideas of what to do,
    some possible goals and intentions, and an increasing sense of what all these strange words might be talking about.
    this shaky competency will soon evolve into a consuming obsession, a compulsion to unravel one more tangle of mystery.
    eventually, your sleeves will be stuffed with tricks and strategies, 
    and you'll intuitively understand which parts of the dense lore are being referenced by new terms.
    
    when you walk away (if you can), this once-impenetrable curiosity will have unfolded 
    into a masterfully written, atmospherically potent, engrossingly elegant interactive narrative universe. 
    my feelings went from, "huh, interesting, don't think i get it though" 
    to "this is one of my most favorite pieces of art of all time, 
    and i can barely wait for the next thing Alexis Kennedy and Weather Factory come out with".
   
    the soundtrack is perfect as well, though after many hours it can't help but wear on you.
    so here are some of my choices for an 'extended soundtrack' of mysterious music i find pairs well with the game:
    
    

(this one especially recommended for the 'Dancer' DLC)