Zelphium

This is one of those rare addictive, simple games that you keep coming back to. It's got a great balance of simplicity and complexity. It reminds me very much of the original elite in some ways, and shares some basic elements, the life of a freelance space pilot. Instead of the revolutionary 3D graphics that Elite introduced this is more like a bullet storm 2D, but doesn't rely on reactions or skills or punish you if you can't play well enough. You are immersed in piloting your little ship from planet to planet, but despite the action it's more of an adventure. I'm not sure quite how long one could keep playing this game, certainly as long as many AAA titles in it's basic state, but it does have the potential to have far longer amusement if one wants to download plugins from the nebulous Endless Sky modding scene which promises to be huge, or even to write one's own as a diversion from the endless search for gaming Nirvana, which this really is. Open source and free, it's a tiny download and will run on pretty much any PC. There is far less text in the game than the opening scene suggests.