Narrative choice games

Astralis : Dawnblades

Blasphemous 2

A parry turns a tell into a spark, and the pilgrimage stays on the map you already walked.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Turn-based fights ask for a timed parry, then a chapter you finish in a world that is already fading.

Crazy Pocket

Dealer's Dice

Drunken Rogue

ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights

You collect ghosts and spend them as a kit while the ruin stays on the map.

Firewatch

The tower is a lookout, the radio is the other character, and then the summer is over.

Grim Dawn

A dual-class tree you respec, and co-op on a world that does not wipe when you fall.

Hollow Knight

Atmosphere does more work than a quest log. The combat is precise enough that clones which only copy the art direction fail in the player's hands.

In Stars And Time

The reset is a wound: the mechanic you use to optimise is the same mechanic grinding the main character down, and the writing keeps that tension.

Iron Bird

IT Startup: Tech Fodder

IT Startup: Tech Fodder keeps the focus on building a deck for the whole session.

Martha's Dolls 2

Monster Train

The train is a tower-defense axis most card games lack.

OMORI

The save is a story flag.