Other indie games that come to mind in the “challenging AAA dominance” category:
- hyper light drifter
- hades
- deaths door
- FEZ
- TUNIC
- journey
- FTL: faster than light
and more!
in my mind these are so much more memorable than any AAA game in the last 15 years. Another point too, there are so many indie games now, that there are easily a dozen more engaging indie games for every AAA game.