Flow and Flower are both games, however, both games aren't designed for 'fun'.
It's more about the concept of relaxation, I myself can't wait until Flower because it looks like an experience and experience is what keeps us doing things. Sometimes over and over again and never be bored, this can eventually sink deep in the brain and nostalgia will be triggered making the brain think it is fun, because it is remembering the experience of the colours and sound you experienced the first time around playing the game.

That's the way I see it anyway.
Another type of example is REZ.

First of all, that article was pretty poorly written. I couldn't tell what the author was trying to say from one paragraph to the next.

Second, he thinks watching Shindler's List is fun, so already it's difficult to understand what distinction he makes between artistic games and regular games.

Finally, why should we limit reviews to "fun" when games can offer so much more than that? If we do that, than we are not presenting the entire experience, which is what a review should do.

Games are all about the experience - whether it is fun, emotional, relaxing, or whatever.

So every 'game' should be reviewed on it's own merits. The best reviews are those that are objective and unbiased - the worst are those that pre-judge a game or enter the review with nothing but comparisons against a supposed 'market leader'.

For example, reviewers compare every sandbox game to GTAIV - but in my view GTAIV is not a good game. The last thing I want is a narrow minded journalist reviewing a game in this way - it tells me nothing.

I don't think that artsy games should be given a free ride, but I think journalists need to re-evaluate their review mechanisms and 'teach' readers to actually read and evaluate the review text rather than simply take the score at the end as the defining factor.

For me a score out of 5, 10 or 100 means very little to a game with interesting nuances.

An example would be Prince of Persia. It mostly garnered average scores, but reading the reviews very few seemed to have major issues with the game. I bought it and immensley enjoyed it from start to finish.

And if you take something like Linger in Shadows, it's impossible to attribute a score - but it's a game/experience that demands a thoughtful and open minded review.

We're moving towards an age in gaming where it's going to be harder to define games by their core mechanics such as FPS, RPG etc etc.

Going back to Prince of Persia, I can see that it's a bit flawed in it's mechanics and execution, but the combination of art style and story compelled me to keep playing and in many ways ignore the flaws. I don't care how it compares to Warrior Within, or Sands of Time as it's a game on it's own merit.

I don't know who would think artsy games should get a free ride, but they certainly need to be looked at differently that a game like halo.

This is greatly appreciated right now. Gotta fight this cabin fever ;b

Great recommendations, I love all the games listed that I've played so far. Going a bit stir-crazy with the constant WFH during this time. Thanks!!