Games

Played through hifi rush recently. I can't think of a game that's done anything like it, I cannot recommend it enough. Was truely one of the best games I've ever played

The Witness is a good puzzle game where they give you the same kind of puzzle, but different areas have their own rules. They don't tell you how the rules work, but they're fairly intuitive and the ramp up in each area is good. Eventually you have to recall rules from previous puzzles. There are extra puzzles that go beyond the mold as well, but those are well hidden.

Other wilds as already suggested Is a must play. But a strong second contender for me Is cocoon. Logic/environment puzzles, with no hand holding in any way, you have to figure out everything but the level design Is sooo good.

Honorable mention for Tunic.

Forgotten City is another interesting game, that like Outer Wilds, has you piecing together a mystery. Hadn't seen it mentioned yet.

For an older classic in the mystery/no coddling space there is the Myst series. I've only played the first, but they're challenging puzzles/mystery point-and-click games.

The Painscreek Killings sounds like the open ended deduction that you're describing. You play as a journalist who goes to an abandoned town to try to solve a cold case murder. The game doesn't tell you where or what to do next, or how to do it. I liked it because it was just me trying to figure the story out and what to do, not the game telling me "Put x and y together. Oh, look, it leads you to z!" (Also it's currently on sale on Steam for like 5 bucks.)

Journey beyond the edge of the world.

It's not out yet, but there's a demo and it's really good!

The Talos Principle - It’s pretty much purely a puzzle game with a nice dose of philosophy to drive the story along. Some of the later puzzles can get pretty difficult, and some of the optional challenges will likely take you a good while to figure out without guides.

Patrick's Parabox - Single developer, unique idea, mind bending - think outside and inside the boxes inside boxes.

It's not difficult but I really enjoyed Super Liminal. Very short but fun.

Have you looked into the Rusty Lake series? Really odd

I enjoyed Carto and Paradise Killer, as far as "different and creative" goes.

Check out Fez if you haven't already. Also Tunic does a great job of starting out basic & breaking precedent.

There's 4 puzzle games called The Room that I found really interesting. It starts with a puzzle box that opens up with each solved puzzle to eventually reveal spaces within the box that are bigger than the box itself. There's something supernatural about these puzzle boxes and you get little clues about where it came from and who made it.

If you like Obra Dinn, you'll love Outer Wilds

The Case of the Golden Idol, can't believe no one mentioned that...

I heard good word about Paradise Killer, in which you're also a detective and must figure out the truth

The outer wilds is amazing. You should play it.

The Long Dark

Survival game set in the cold Canadian wilderness. Most "survival" games are actually just boring crafting games but TLD is very different for me as it is mostly about exploring in the freezing cold with natural predators around to keep you on edge.

I love Sam and Max

Personally, I really liked Papers, Please. You play as a customs agent checking people's paperwork as they seek entry into your country. The idea of the game is very simple but it's surprisingly good at telling a story and putting you in situations that are morally difficult.

Specifically similar to RotOD is Heaven's Vault in that its pretty nonlinear, not hand holdy and that you figure out (a foreign language in this case). But it is more adventure style than RotOD.

Another one already mentioned Outer Wilds (not Outer Worlds!) and I completely agree and recommend it as well!

In general I have to say I disagree that new games are more of the same. We are in a golden age regarding new games and game genres. It's just, that there are so many games, that there are also many similar ones. And the big studios are the worst in that regard, just bury AAA and start to love Indie games!

As example, games which are different from others and not already mentioned in this thread:

• Eastshade (you are a painter exploring a fantasy world, solving quests by painting pictures)
• Rain World (you are a small animal trying to survive a hostile simulated world, you need to learn how the interaction between you, NPCs and the world works)
• INSIDE (nearly pure atmosphere & no gameplay, but still great!)
• Papers, Please (you are a government worker who has to check people coming over the border)
• Her Story (you try to figure out what happened to a person via searching videos from her interrogation by the police)
• What Remains of Edith Finch (part game anthology, part great story to connect those "mini games")
• A Little To the Left (OCD in game form)
• Ancestors: Humankind Odyssey (you play a primate tribe and evolve it towards Homo Sapiens in an african tropical forest)
• Edit: and how could I forget: Disco Elysium, the greatest RPG! without combat, only social encounters and technical problems to solve in a wonderful world full of memorable and interesting characters.