10 Incredible Games With Only ONE Mechanic
2. The Ratshaker Meter (Ratshaker)
The best way to describe this game (and this is meant as a ringing endorsement) is that it's basically Silent Hill meets cartoon rat torture. Yes, really.
Ratshaker is a weird game that will stick with you if you give it a chance. It's a surreal horror title that places you in the shoes of a nameless protagonist as they explore a twisted version of their home, delving into the sins of their past as they do so. How do you navigate and impact this environment? Well, via the Ratshaker Meter, of course, a gameplay mechanic that lets you shake and choke a talking rat.
To do anything in this game - mostly opening doors but sometimes turning things on - you shake a little talking rat in your right hand, fill up your Ratshaker Meter, and then drain that meter to interact. Gameplay-wise, that's all you do, with the story slowly unfolding as you traverse the world.
While the game does have a derivative horror plot, the absurdity of the mono-mechanic gameplay makes it one you don't want to miss.