CUCCCHI

No Artificial Intelligence... just pure man-made visual art. Hugs for Enzo Cucchi.

If I say "weird indie game" do you roll your eyes or do they become filled with stars? If you are in the latter group oh boy is this game for you.
Cuccchi describes itself as a videogame transformation of the work of the namesake artist (Enzo Cucchi). Who the game will tell you is a visionary neoespressionist of the Transavangaurdia movement who uses a canvas to display a frayed discourse with the invasive expression of gesture.
I describe it as a bunch of cool paintings to wander around in and a format I wish people would pick up and run with using other artists. I would pay a lot for Caravagggio or Sirannni. The exploration I can best compare to something like Myst in that there is no real interface, no explanation, you just sort of poke around and watch things change.
Why are there chattering skulls trying to steal the memories of these paintings from us if we play on harder modes? I have no idea. Why does bashing our head into a little hut floating in the dark sky make the map of Italy below come alive at night? Got me. Why did the dev just appear out of nowhere to update the game for free with two new maps, refuse to elaborate, and leave four years after the game came out? Again, I have no explanation. I just know I love it.
Easily worth the already cheap full price - unless you hate weird indie games in which case you should super-hard pass on this because it doesn't really get moreso than Cuccchi. But you should buy it anyway so that Steam will enable the profile features already.
Edit: Oh wow they actaully got enabled. Thanks.

There are 2 ways to approach this title: as a game or as an experience. As a traditional game, it’s awful. You dodge a single enemy type, pick up a single item type, and it gets old fast.
However, if you turn down the difficulty to “no enemies”, you can go through Cuccchi as an experience, walking around at your own pace. This makes it much more fun, interesting, and aesthetically mind bending. You travel through a world quite literally made up of paintings, with surreal locations, and weird animals. It’s a trip.
I suggest turning off the lights, putting on headphones, turning up the volume, and using your narcotic of choice before you play this “game”.

If you like abstract art and weird little steam games, I definitely recommend giving this a shot.
Its short and sweet and has given me so many beautiful screenshots.

Extremely visually inventive, full of wonder, and sounds great as well! It's amazing how everything is composed to feel like a 2D image but you walk though everything in first person. Each frame of this looks more like a painting than a game. The spaces this game create range from dreamy to dreary, but all of it was captivating. The extra levels are fantastic too.

This might be the coolest 1 hour experience on the internet. Incredibly impressive and immersive technical art. It gave me the same awe-inspiring feeling as walking through an actual digital art exhibit. The music and sound design are incredible as well.
I've never even heard of Enzo until this game. His stuff is slept on for sure.

Not for everyone, but scratches an itch few games do. For folks who love Flower, Journey and similar atmosphere-over-gameplay indies. I plan on using Cuccchi on more than a few first/second dates in the near future.