The Treehouse Man

You die quite often but use your collected currency/xp to upgrade your boat and your skills for the next run; it's a really satisfying and addictive gameplay loop.

There's good ideas, good ambiance, and a vague, short but somewhat interesting story themed around beliefs.

As you venture deeper into the swamp, the encounters and bosses become harder, but you're always able to grind up a few more levels and items or to try different combinations of weapons/companions/skills to experiment; there's a lot of room for creating your own style of play.

The game works to his strengths, with a great, ethereal soundtrack, gloomy (and sometimes beautiful) graphics, and genuinely interesting world building, which leaves you wanting more but does the clever dance of not QUITE telling you what's going on.

Like Gloom, creates a perfect atmosphere with minimalist visuals and incredible sound design.