Full disclaimer: i am ALSO not a Japanese speaker, so a lot (A LOT) of this info will be inaccurate. If there's any incorrect information in this article, feel free to inform me.

I've seen people often throw around the phrase "style over substance" when describing something shallow, but in my opinion a piece of media's presentation is just as important (if not more) compared to the underlying material itself. A great case of this is the series of games by the indie dev circle Nishiki Gatsuo.

The games found on their site all have short simple premises. Each game's runtime is also between 30 minutes to an hour at most. What makes their games so memorable to me however, is their excellence in presentation and atmosphere. An example of this, is the game Oimostfonwy. The game's whole objective is to explore an old rusty neighbourhood. Occasionally you'd also find music tracks that you can play while you walk, but aside from that, there is almost zero instruction on where you should go. What ties the game together is the ways it portrays the feeling of walking alone at night. From the harsh cold wind constantly reverberating, to the warmth of the fluorescent street lamps, to even just the sound of your character's footsteps, the game does an excellent job at making you feel completely immersed in the setting.

Another game i would like to highlight is Sparkling Bug. In the game, you play as a sea creature running around in what seems to be a small aquatic planet. Just like Oimostfonwy, the game just lets you go wherever you want, with the same occasional music tracks to pick up along the way. Albeit, now you with a rudimentary combat system and enemies scattered around the map.

If you pay attention to the enemies, you'd notice that the sounds they make are actually the same sounds and synths that's present in the background music. The BGM and ambience you've been hearing throughout the game is actually the ocean singing with you. This simple sound design choice really does make you part of this whole ecosystem of fish and other sea life.

From what i have seen, it seems like Nishiki Gatsuo has been inactive for quite some time now. It seems unlikely that they will return, but the impression their games gave me will always stick with me.