@tarheel91
I think you are misunderstanding the meaning of intellectually stimulating. Solving any problem no matter how large, or how small is by default intellectually stimulating. Playing a game of catch with a ball is intellectually stimulating. There is no value based upon the difficulty of the task. Your simply using your mind to solve a problem. Doesn't matter if how trivial the task happens to be.
Once again your playing the wrong games. There are a great many games that are built around story, and developers have found a way to convey stories well through aspects of a game. There is a reason that Mass Effect the game is going on to be Mass Effect the Movie. Lost Odyssey incorporates a collection of short stories. The list goes on and on. You need to widen your horizons.
Speaking to art well that is entirely subjective being that beauty, or meaning for that matter is in the eye of the beholder. That said the art in this game doesn't appear to be any more or less meaningful then the art in other games. Honestly I do appreciate animation, but while it can be visually stunning is it really art with a message. Does every tree that is drawn contain a message. Beyond a attention to detail.
By the way I have watched most of the films from Ghibli, and frankly yeah misery can be sweet. The analogy was in reference to the potency not the disposition. That said a movie can both be incredibly moving, and also be very stimulating. For instance Forest Gump was a sugar sweet movie, and it did so through the good things, and the bad things. Why did it win a lot of awards, because even as it was potent it was also thought provoking. That just isn't the case with Ghibli films. They are fairly simple narratives.
By the way while we are on the subject of literary matters if you like Ghibli. You might want to look into some good mythological anthologies. I think that is something you might reall enjoy. I would suggest forgoing mediterranean mythologies first, and look into Native American Mythologies. Simple narratives do have a beauty.
