game, game, game and again game
Games can do two things really well. They can be Fun, and they can be Not-Fun. Lots of games are Fun and Not-Fun in a mediocre way, and some games are amazingly good at being Fun. But when a game is great at being Not-Fun, the deep play of the mind comes tumbling down the mouse.
Like Ayiti: The Cost of Life, but in a totally different aesthetic, game, game, game and game again is not fun to a point of exquisite craftsmanship, but then turns around and surprises you with a sort of pleasure you didn't quite expect. The game combines the simple platform mechanics of Mario with sketch/crayon/scribble graphics (hanging together nicely) and post-post-modern lyric poetry. Great audio and video Easter eggs are scattered throughout.
Surreal does not adequately describe the buzz you'll get off this digital jungle juice. Belief systems are your enemies, storms of blue scribble with a chocolate center, patrolling in pre-programmed patterns. Levels are worldviews, representing addiction, religion, consumerism, Buddhism, and the design takes the psychological metaphors of Psychonauts down to 2D, leaving you charmed and bouncing to the subconscious rhythms of thought-space. If that sounds pretentious, you better just play game, game, game and again game.