Feel the "Character" of Games Have Gone Down?

[Kriven]

I really don't think that indie games deserve a free pass on this though. Faux-retro for indie games has practically become what gritty brown-and-gray has become for mainstream games.

I don't know if this is directed at me or not because I mentioned Shovel Knight. Faux-retro is in right now, you're right, and that went a long way towards advising my opinion that large numbers of developers are using the same motifes. However, Shovel Knight is such a distinct character, which is why I mentioned him. But here's some other games from this generation and the one previous full of personality that I don't think fall into the faux-retro camp:

Armillo, Dillon, PushMo, A Kappa's Trail, Gunman Clive, Liberation Maiden, Lollipop Chainsaw, Catherine, Professor Layton, etc...