PlzGivHugs

Heres a weirder one no one else has mentioned yet: I've heard art described as a way to express and emotion, and I really felt that with Hotline Miami. Its not done through the story or setting (in fact, the intentional ignorance there adds to it) but rather the contrest between the hyper-violent trance as you play through a level, and then the sudden cut of the music as you quietly walk past the mountains of bloodied corpses back to your car. I feel that shift, when you first notice it, really emphasises the pointless brutally of it far more so than many much more heavy-handed attempts in other games.

Currently two:

War Thunder - It has so many issues from the grind, to unadressed design issues (IE 10kg HE shells doing no damage on a direct hit), to balance issues including p2w vehicles. That said, under all the shit, theres a solid foundation, and no other game comes close to replicating it.

Super Auto Pets - Its an autobattler streamlined to the point where its the perfect casual game when I don't feel like anything else. It also doesn't have any of the normal f2p traps, and is monitized purely on cosmetics that can also be earned for free.

Edit: I guess Dota 2 counts too. I put a ton of time into that. I'm not a particularly good player, but its one of the best team-based games out there, so I enjoy playing it with friends.

IMO, Five is easier to learn and more straight-forward, while Six feels more convoluted, but Six gains some depth and variety from that if you put in the time to learn it.

Liking novelty and liking the core game aren't mutually exclusive either though. New updates can be what people want specifically because it gives them a new angle to approach the core game without changing core mechanics or thinking. In the same way, people like trying weird varients of chess, be it different timers, non-standard board layouts, added rules, or nonsense openings. That doesn't mean that they don't like chess, but it gives them a chance to explore the game from new angles, hone niche skills, and contiue to theorycraft about the game they love.