Totally agree. And Octopus is one of my top three from the series.
I think when these simple mechanics just get thrown into a game as one of a hundred others, they obviously lose their import. Minimalism as a concept attempts to bring our focus back to maybe one thing at a time... as in one note, or one shape, or taste, etc. We have forgotten what's it's like to really taste something when we are cramming many flavour into our mouth at once, and quickly swallowing.
I kind of feel that only after we appreciate each note independently can we properly begin to build up chords and melodies and so on. Going back to the basics really opens up larger possibilities that we wouldn't see or appreciate otherwise.