Halo Infinite
As a component of fractal geometry and a programming technique, recursion has been a fundamental part of games for a long time – though it’s only in the past few years that creators have started to really explore how it might work as a core mechanic. Manifold Garden’s infinitely repeating architecture is one striking example, while Innerspace VR’s escapepuzzler A Fisherman’s Tale presented worlds nested within worlds, like a particularly complex Russian doll. The concept was recently explored by game developer and YouTuber Sam Hogan, who released free 16-level puzzler Game Inside A Game on itch.io (available at bit.ly/ hogan_recursive): here, you jump into and out of square rooms to grow and shrink, with gravitational twists, infinite staircases and double recursion enabling you to make multiple copies of yourself.