Cant agree with that. "Man, what an awful game, those mechanics were terrible" or "what a truly awful take" isnt really the game's job. Thought-provoking isn't universal.
i don't often like to make comparisons like this, but when thinking of my top games this year, unbeatable overshadowed everything to such a degree that i forgot there was a deltarune drop back in june
(no but genuinely the story was really moving and introspective and I still have strong feelings about how I make art and approach life after it that are still rattling in my brain a week later)
unbeatable proves that hunt down the freeman was a successful game (made a lot of people think and feel things (angry things (about how to make games) ) )