Woah guys, I was looking at my Analytics page to see what odd places people discovered my game from , and one of the origins was the url to this post (another was people searching itch for Starship Troopers???). Anyway, just wanted to say your comments just blew my mind and huge thanks.
Also wanted to give props to a few games that I thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely not exhaustive - starting with the one that has the mechanics tied the most to its theme (IMO):
https://fibula.itch.io/entangled - Extremely well put together package with style and well balanced puzzles...and really great cat sprites.
https://waijee.itch.io/gift-train - For those that like Katamari Damacy, Snake, and /or last-minute gift shopping.
https://gigaelk.itch.io/mr-gen - A chill, weird oldschool 2D transformation of the Sims, but also a certain Spelunky-type mechanic to keep you on your toes.
https://r3dleg.itch.io/village-vista-a-charming-2d-village-simulator - Probably the dumbest groups of villagers of any village I've built, but they're my dumb villagers.