I think maybe you met the game mechanics too quickly and that might have ruined it for you. For me it was very non-gamey because I had no idea what the consequences of meeting one of the monsters was so I spent almost the entire game petrified. Once I had died a couple of times and learned how the monsters worked, the spook factor wore off quickly.

But I still far preferred that to the classic weapons based horror games where the spookiness is derived from how tough an openent is in combat.

You should really, really try SOMA though. They dialed in the non-combat spookiness and even once you figure out how the monsters work, the few there are, it's the story and atmosphere that drives the spookiness anyway so it doesn't detract from the experience. Much less gamey, and quite a good mystery mixed with some existential dread.