How do indie games use world design to evoke a sense of mystery?

[killamch89]

World design in indie games can evoke mystery through layered environments, cryptic collectibles and minimal hand-holding. Titles like Hyperlight Drifter, Hollow Knight and Return of the Obra Dinn masterfully tease secrets tucked into every corner. How do level layouts, visual motifs and environmental storytelling combine to spark curiosity? What approaches to map design like hidden passages, ambient audio cues or unscripted NPC behaviors heighten the sense of discovery? And how do these worlds encourage self-driven exploration over explicit objectives?

[Scorpion]

Indie games often employ intricate world design, featuring hidden paths, layered environments, and atmospheric details to evoke mystery. This encourages exploration and curiosity, inviting players to uncover secrets and stories, enhancing immersion and engagement with the game’s narrative and themes.

[killamch89]

Hollow Knight masterfully employs negative space and architectural incompleteness to suggest a civilization far larger than what's directly shown. The ruins you explore hint at purposes you can only guess at, with environmental details that raise questions the game deliberately leaves unanswered. This restraint in explanation creates a lingering curiosity that outlasts the gameplay itself.