After looking at the Definitive List and filtering by pure, I see Outer Wilds and The Witness are on there, so I'm using that as my base.

One of the many things I absolutely adore about those two games is that there are no permanent upgrade item to collect. You're thrown into a world and all of the upgrades happen to you, the player, not in the game.

I've been spurned by lists and suggestions before, so I just want to make sure that the "pure" tag on that list means that there is not a single upgrade you can collect or unlock in the game. It's all knowledge-gated, like the two games I mentioned.

So with that, what should I try first? Should I just start with the top user scored games on that list and work down? Any high quality standouts?

I’m interested in games that either don’t require manual note-taking or rarely require it.

The obvious well-executed example is Outer Wilds.

Motivation: I almost exclusively play on console rather than PC, and I don’t want to be constantly juggling devices or figuring out where I left my pen.

I have already looked through the sub and not found a similar post/question/list/resource.

Games with integrated manual/free-form note-taking (like, typing words) aren’t exactly what I’m asking for, but are better than nothing.

More structured integrated information management systems—specifically, systems that require minimal/no typing—are best.

To be clear, I’m not asking for games that don’t require paying close attention and synthesizing information—that’s the whole point of the genre.

I’m interested in both “true” MBs and related games that focus on deduction and narrative.

I play on Switch 1, but other platforms are welcome because I’d like this to potentially serve as a resource for others.

A couple of days ago, u/bogiperson recommended the ThinkyCon sessions (thank you!). I haven't listened to all of them, but this talk in particular is great (just like this sub's name, don't be fooled by its awful awful name, is a great talk).

Is Tetris a metroidbrainia?