As all other commenters before me, I can't praise enough the art and and the general ambiance. Everything is very poolished and feels professional. Also each new game is a step up in all departments and that adds a lot to how much I enjoy them.
Passed the initial frustration to not be able to actually read the story, re-reading the menu entries over and over again until i could finaly beat the game shaped an implicit story in my mind. I will now take my time to play without the timer and see how close it matches your words.