scrolling past your thumbnail in the list, you can't even tell what it is — it just blends in with all the other pixel-art stuff.
Oof! That's the pain a lot of independent small developers face, it seems. There are a LOT of games out there that use pixel art, so the game just... blends in and looks the same as everyone else's.
It's kinda like how most of us just wear t-shirts and jeans and blend into a crowd. I've lost my own family at a mall after coming out from the washroom... and they were just standing two meters in front of me. 😂 They asked if I needed glasses, but man, I tell ya, that ain't it.
On my end I make Visual Novels, so art style tends to be a huge part of what draws people in, and being in a game jam helps a lot. I got most of my initial views from a game jam I had joined. Lately they seem to be coming in from other VNs and games on Itch Io (Itch Io may have added some on-site advertising to help old, unknown games).
Some of my older VNs are still getting views from game jams I had joined years ago - people seem to browse past game jams to try stuff out too, especially those that are hosted annually and have links to the ones held the previous years.
Anyway, if it helps, have you considered using a mascot for your game, instead of just pixel art? For example, here's a mock of a farm game I modded quickly with my own sprite:
(Credits: Sample Pixel Farm from https://maevedevs.itch.io/farm-rpg)
Won't say it's the best, but maaaaaaaaaaaaybe it might help stand out from the sea of pixel art cover art? 🤔 Angry alpacas help too, but I'm just biased.