[crdrost]

Another game worth mentioning here is Cultist Simulator. Usually the text is not directly informative but atmospheric, nevertheless it is the point of the playing... it is where the listlessness and excitement and Lovecraftian grossness is communicated and those are kind of the only reason to play.

Now, this is atypical from the other examples in the OP. You will read the same piece of text many times, it's just the flavor on a card that you are trying to activate, or maybe it's the outcome. But it has some similar aspects, like that every card is identified by one word, you get the remaining info in sort single paragraphs when you focus the card, etc.

[SommaRaikkonen]

I've played Cultist Simulator too! I remember winning (ascending) just once after quite a few hours. The aesthetics and sound design in that game fit together real nicely, and I always suggest to my friends to play that game blind

[jon-wood]

Does it ever become clearer? I've tried playing it a few times and never managed to get anywhere, like I'd maybe acquire a single follower, and then shortly afterwards die of malnutrition or something. Its a game that feels like its probably got some amazing depth to it which I'm not quite reaching.

[lmkg]

Do you mean mechanically or the setting?

Mechanics-wise, a big part of the gameplay is figuring out for yourself what to do. Everything is discoverable, but you have to be willing to take a few jumps without seeing where you'll land. The early experience feels like you're just trying to keep a bunch of plates spinning; with some practice, that gets comfortable enough that you have bandwidth to also make forward progress.

Settings-wise, yes but also no. You find out more, which all seem to be part of a coherent whole, but the entire whole is not revealed.