Games Like A Taste of the Past

Venba is a short narrative cooking game, where you play as an Indian mom who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s. Cook various dishes and restore lost recipes, hold branching conversations, and explore South Indian food in this story about family, love, and loss.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 22.7%, Emotional 18.6%, Visual Novel 16.9%, Hand-drawn 14.5%, Stylized 13.3%

Why You'll Like It: Like the seed game, this title beautifully blends cooking mechanics with a heartfelt story about cultural heritage and family.

When the Past was Around is an adventure point-and-click puzzle game about love, moving on, letting go, and the joy and pain of everything in between.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 24.4%, Point & Click 19.5%, Hand-drawn 15.6%, Cute 11.2%, Stylized 9.8%

Why You'll Like It: This game shares a similar surreal, emotional atmosphere and uses point-and-click mechanics to explore themes of love and loss.

In Midnight Ramen, you play as the owner of a late-night ramen stand and his apprentice. You interact with your customers, listen to their troubles, and help them out whenever you can. But as the bowls of ramen are cooked and served, troubles are beginning to brew in your own life as well...

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 21.6%, Visual Novel 19.2%, Emotional 17.8%, Immersive Sim 16.7%, Cartoony 13%

Why You'll Like It: It mirrors the seed game's focus on cooking and intimate, dialogue-heavy storytelling in a cozy setting.

Spiritfarer® is a cozy management game about dying. As ferrymaster to the deceased, build a boat to explore the world, care for your spirit friends, and release them into the afterlife. The Spiritfarer Farewell Edition includes the heartwarming base game and three major content updates.

Why similar: Emotional 34%, Hand-drawn 24.2%, Exploration 13.4%, Cartoony 10.5%, Atmospheric 9.7%

Why You'll Like It: It is the definitive game about navigating the afterlife, focusing on emotional goodbyes and management gameplay.

Old Man’s Journey, a soul-searching puzzle adventure, tells a story of life, loss, and hope. Interacting with the world around you, you'll shape the landscape to create the old man's path forward. Experience heartache and hope as you embark on a heartfelt journey through a sunkissed world.

Why similar: Hand-drawn 14.9%, Point & Click 14.9%, Interactive Fiction 14.6%, Walking Simulator 12.5%, Emotional 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: This game uses a beautiful hand-drawn art style to tell a reflective story about an elderly man's life and regrets.

A deep, interactive adventure about love and loss, beautifully depicted and offering an intense cinematic experience. What would you do to save the one you love?

Why similar: Walking Simulator 29.7%, Atmospheric 23.7%, Adventure 19%, Emotional 14.3%, Third Person 13.3%

Why You'll Like It: A deeply emotional narrative game about loss and the desire to change the past through interactive storytelling.

Florence Yeoh feels a little... stuck. Her life is an endless routine of work, sleep, and spending too much time on social media. Then one day, she meets a cello player named Krish who changes everything about how she sees the world and herself.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 22.8%, Visual Novel 16.5%, Point & Click 14.7%, Cute 11.6%, Stylized 9.6%

Why You'll Like It: A short, impactful interactive story that captures the highs and lows of life and relationships with beautiful simplicity.

A story-driven experience about two doctors traversing backwards through a dying man's memories to artificially fulfill his last wish.

Why similar: Emotional 43.6%, Interactive Fiction 33.2%, Adventure 10%, 2D 4.7%, Cute 4.6%

Why You'll Like It: This classic narrative experience focuses on reliving memories to help a dying man fulfill his final wish.

A thoughtful and deeply personal title with stripped-down mechanics. The lack of dialogue or text allows you to create your own narrative through your time with four characters. Each short story will allow players to be swept away by the haunting lyrics of over twenty original, nostalgic songs.

Why similar: Life Sim 16.4%, Interactive Fiction 15.5%, Walking Simulator 15.4%, Side Scroller 13.3%, Point & Click 13.1%

Why You'll Like It: A meditative, cozy experience that focuses on the small, quiet moments of everyday existence.

A fantasy tea-brewing adventure. Listen to your customers' worries and brew them the tea that they didn't know they needed.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 24%, Visual Novel 17.7%, Emotional 12%, Cartoony 11.8%, Anime 11.4%

Why You'll Like It: Features cozy shop-keeping mechanics paired with a gentle, dialogue-focused story.

Coffee Talk is a coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator about listening to fantasy-inspired modern peoples’ problems, and helping them by serving up a warm drink or two.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 29.2%, Visual Novel 27.6%, Emotional 18.6%, Anime 13.8%, Atmospheric 10.8%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the cozy, meditative act of preparing drinks while listening to the personal stories of diverse characters.

Forgotten Fields is a game about yearning and nostalgia. Play as Sid - a struggling writer who travels back to his childhood home one last time before it's sold off. Visit old friends, relive memories and play through sections of Sid's book in this warm game about the passage of time.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.9%, Walking Simulator 21.6%, Emotional 12.3%, Visual Novel 12%, Stylized 7.1%

Why You'll Like It: A narrative-driven game that captures the feeling of nostalgia and the struggle to find creative inspiration in daily life.

Unpacking is a zen puzzle game about the familiar experience of pulling possessions out of boxes and fitting them into a new home. Part block-fitting puzzle, part home decoration, you are invited to create a satisfying living space while learning clues about the life you’re unpacking.

Why similar: Life Sim 33.4%, Point & Click 23.8%, Cute 21.3%, Colorful 8.5%, Atmospheric 8.5%

Why You'll Like It: It tells a powerful, wordless story about a person's life journey through the simple act of organizing their belongings.

A Walk with Yiayia is a heartfelt solo-developed, bite-sized adventure game about taking your Greek grandmother on a walk after she's lost her confidence from a scary fall. Connect through engaging conversations, explore a relaxing environment, and complete microquests in this thoughtful adventure.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 21.5%, Interactive Fiction 17.4%, Visual Novel 14.7%, Cartoony 9.6%, Exploration 7.8%

Why You'll Like It: A gentle walking simulator that centers on the emotional bond between family members during a difficult time.

Embark on an emotional first-person narrative adventure where you control the story—and affect its outcomes—with your real-life blinks. With this innovative technique you will fully immerse yourself in a world of memories, both joyous and heartbreaking, as your whole life flashes before your eyes.

Why similar: Emotional 27.5%, Interactive Fiction 18.1%, Walking Simulator 16.6%, Hand-drawn 9.4%, Cartoony 9%

Why You'll Like It: Uses a unique blink-detection mechanic to tell a life-spanning story about memory and the passage of time.

This is a puzzle game that combines text and images. Players use visual illusions to piece together fragments of memories from Alzheimer's patients, in order to reconstruct the truth of the story and witness the passage of time for three generations.

Why similar: Life Sim 15.6%, Interactive Fiction 15.3%, Hand-drawn 13.7%, Point & Click 13%, Emotional 12.2%

Why You'll Like It: An atmospheric and emotional puzzle game that emphasizes a hand-drawn aesthetic and reflective tone.

A heartfelt story of ambition, struggle, and friendship told from the perspective of a young boy in fictional 90s rural India. Explore ancient palace ruins, set up your garden, cook Indian food, run errands for quirky characters, and learn about your history by making art.

Why similar: Life Sim 43.2%, Emotional 16.5%, Exploration 14.5%, Hand-drawn 13%, Adventure 7.9%

Why You'll Like It: Explores cultural identity and life-sim elements in a setting that emphasizes exploration and personal growth.

Guide brush strokes and solve a variety of puzzles to help an aspiring artist complete her masterpiece amid her brusque neighbor’s gaze and his pesky cat. As her painting starts to take shape, uncover an emotional tale of chance and artistry revealed behind unrelated yet familiar moments.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 22.3%, Point & Click 19.3%, Hand-drawn 16.2%, Anime 13.5%, Atmospheric 9.8%

Why You'll Like It: A visually stunning narrative game that uses art and memory to explore a touching story of passion and loss.

这是一个关于遗憾与成长的故事。男生的思绪不断回到17岁的夏天，在一次次回忆与抉择中徘徊，是去尝试弥补遗憾？还是在释然间体会成长的意义?回忆中的她会在那等我吗？

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 16.6%, Emotional 16.5%, Visual Novel 15.2%, Hand-drawn 14.5%, Stylized 9.9%

Why You'll Like It: A poignant visual novel that captures the atmospheric and emotional weight of childhood memories.

"Robot Hospice" is a 2D pixel art adventure game where beloved robots spend their final days in a hospice. As a new staff member, you will gently yet painfully bid farewell to these cherished machines that once lived alongside humans.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 25.6%, Emotional 21.2%, Visual Novel 13.3%, Point & Click 11.6%, Cute 10%

Why You'll Like It: An indie title that tackles themes of mortality and companionship through a unique, story-rich lens.

Gris is a hopeful young girl lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life. Her journey through sorrow is manifested in her dress, which grants new abilities to better navigate her faded reality.

Why similar: Hand-drawn 28.2%, Atmospheric 24.5%, Walking Simulator 12.3%, Adventure 9.5%, Colorful 9%

Why You'll Like It: An emotional side-scroller that uses color and movement to represent the stages of grief and healing.

A short, emotional visual novel following a grieving man who relives memories of days long gone. An exploration of loss presented honestly and kinetically.

Why similar: Visual Novel 22.8%, Emotional 22.3%, Interactive Fiction 22%, Hand-drawn 18.2%, Text-Based 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: A narrative-heavy experience that uses art to delve into emotional drama and mystery.

What if the physical objects of everyday life, the possessions we hold close, were actual windows to the past? Peer into distant memories and unseen futures in Hindsight.

Why similar: Point & Click 20.7%, Emotional 16.3%, Interactive Fiction 14.1%, Visual Novel 11.8%, Exploration 10.2%

Why You'll Like It: A reflective game about looking back at the objects of our past to understand the weight of our memories.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of strange tales about a family in Washington state. As Edith, you’ll explore the colossal Finch house, searching for stories as she explores her family history and tries to figure out why she's the last one in her family left alive.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 47.9%, Atmospheric 15.6%, Exploration 13.8%, Visual Novel 8.4%, Emotional 7.3%

Why You'll Like It: A masterclass in environmental storytelling that explores the history and loss within a single family.

Revisit and repeat the final moments of China's turn of the century in this narrative puzzle adventure. Play a 6th-grade student and greet classmates, explore secrets, play mini-4WD, or just wander around town. Make your choices to create a perfect day for everyone!

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.5%, Emotional 18.2%, Hand-drawn 15.7%, Atmospheric 10.2%, Stylized 9.5%

Why You'll Like It: A choice-driven adventure that captures the complexity of growing up and the weight of past decisions.

Embark on a heartwarming journey as a home cleaning specialist.

Why similar: Emotional 23.3%, Interactive Fiction 21.6%, Visual Novel 15.7%, Atmospheric 8.2%, Exploration 7.8%

Why You'll Like It: A narrative-focused simulation that emphasizes the emotional journey of returning home.

'Pieces of the Past' is a cute, sentimental adventure where you restore family keepsakes to uncover touching stories. Blend puzzle-solving with the joy of preserving memories in this delightful journey!

Why similar: Point & Click 29.6%, Emotional 22.1%, Cute 17.5%, Stylized 15.7%, Colorful 15.1%

Why You'll Like It: A relaxing simulation game that focuses on the gentle process of piecing together memories.

Narrative through Interact Button. In The Rural Village of Nagoro is a short, side-scrolling game with minimalist gameplay 'Interact button’ to tell a fate that falls on Nagoro village. Explore and press ‘F' button’ to greet all cheerful neighborhoods.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 29.7%, Immersive Sim 21.8%, Hand-drawn 14.7%, Anime 12.6%, Exploration 9.7%

Why You'll Like It: A quiet, immersive walking simulator that focuses on exploration and the feeling of solitude.

See the four spirits of Dampness, Heat, Cold, and Toxicity through Ah Song's eyes. Learn medicinal herbs, brew herbal tea, solve the townsfolk's troubles, and uncover the hidden mystery behind the warm, slice-of-life stories of Sap Jit Street.

Why similar: Life Sim 15.3%, Interactive Fiction 14.1%, Walking Simulator 12.2%, Point & Click 11.7%, Hand-drawn 10.7%

Led by her new friend, Mr. Voice, Misfortune ventures into the woods, where mysteries are unraveled and a little bad luck unfolds.

Why similar: Point & Click 43.6%, Interactive Fiction 18.6%, Cute 14.8%, Adventure 10.6%, Atmospheric 7.4%

Why You'll Like It: A side-scrolling narrative game that balances dark themes with a whimsical, emotional art style.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is a dreamy arcade game about riding motorcycles, skateboarding, dance battling, shooting lasers, wielding swords, and breaking hearts at 200 mph.

Why similar: Stylized 40.9%, Colorful 32.4%, Atmospheric 17.2%, Adventure 9.5%

Why You'll Like It: A surreal, musical journey that serves as a metaphor for heartbreak and self-discovery.

Don't Let Me Fade is an interactive adventure about memory, identity, and loss. Piece together fragments of a life - even if a simple teddy bear is the last symbol of connection to oneself in a world without time.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 24.7%, Point & Click 19.7%, Visual Novel 15.4%, Text-Based 10.7%, Emotional 10.5%

Welcome Tavernkeep! In this D&D-inspired visual novel you will run a cozy seaside tavern, meet adventurers, gather rumours and mix fate-altering drinks to stop dreams from twisting into nightmares.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 17.5%, Life Sim 17.2%, Visual Novel 15.1%, Emotional 10.1%, Anime 7.2%

A melancholic journey through the cemetery... and far beyond its gates.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 15.9%, Visual Novel 12.2%, Text-Based 12%, Hand-drawn 10%, Cartoony 8.9%

A simulation and RPG game with multiple endings, set in a Chinese restaurant. Play as the owner, and manage the restaurant, form bonds with characters, and explore the lively town. Uncover the secrets behind the restaurant’s mysterious downfall.

Why similar: Life Sim 28.5%, Visual Novel 18.2%, Hand-drawn 15.8%, Cartoony 9.1%, Anime 8.9%

本游戏主旨绿色健康阳光积极向上充满正能量，无不良导向。

Why similar: Walking Simulator 18%, Interactive Fiction 17.6%, Point & Click 15.3%, Visual Novel 12.4%, Emotional 8.6%

Until Oblivion is an atmospheric narrative game that follows 17 year old nobody Emma Wilson as she tries to rekindle a dying relationship in a dying world. Join her in an increasingly nightmarish Halloween party and find out if anything (or anyone) is worth anything at all.

Why similar: Text-Based 14.4%, Interactive Fiction 14.4%, Walking Simulator 13.7%, Side Scroller 11.5%, Visual Novel 10.3%

Alone in the forest glade he shared with his wife, a woodworker struggles to accept her passing. Help him hold on to cherished memories of their life together as he struggles to care for himself and his now empty home. Pine is a single-serving game focused on telling a beautiful, emotional tale.

Why similar: Emotional 17.5%, Interactive Fiction 17.4%, Hand-drawn 15.7%, Point & Click 14.9%, Visual Novel 12.7%

"Let’s make dumplings" carries that same unsettling vibe as Spring Festival Gala skits with intentionally happy endings?— it's about how family norms discipline the individual. It uses dumplings to explore love and pressure in families. In this scripted, collective narrative... what will you choose?

Why similar: Immersive Sim 18.4%, Visual Novel 16.1%, Point & Click 15.5%, Emotional 14.6%, Interactive Fiction 11.5%

A slice-of-life adventure game set in fictional 90s rural India. Explore ancient palace ruins, set up your garden, cook Indian food, run errands for quirky characters, and learn about your history by making art.

Why similar: Life Sim 27.9%, Hand-drawn 17.3%, Emotional 16.2%, Immersive Sim 14.3%, Exploration 9.7%

Anxiety Puppy is a 2D interactive narrative game that focuses on anxiety. In the game, anxiety is personified as a little puppy. Players will explore its story and try to coexist with it. Go find its traces and give it a hug.

Why similar: Text-Based 18.9%, Interactive Fiction 17.4%, Visual Novel 13.6%, Emotional 12.4%, Cute 8.8%

Musings on grief, moving on, and a life made and lived in the rural Midwest. Features a collection of lovingly hand-drawn panels and pixel art.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 24.6%, Visual Novel 23.2%, Emotional 21.4%, Hand-drawn 14.5%, Text-Based 11.1%

Relax in the world of Kemono Teatime, where animal ears are a normal part of everyday life. Here in Melodius, you can whip up whatever blends of tea you desire in your favorite cafe as you play through an adorable story. Come now and live out your bestest and cutest life—down to the last drop.

Why similar: Emotional 27.8%, Immersive Sim 24.3%, Visual Novel 23.7%, Cute 15.2%, Adventure 9%

Find friendship, love, and pastries in the most unexpected places in this cute visual novel about baking a home.

Why similar: Visual Novel 28%, Interactive Fiction 17.2%, Cute 16.6%, Anime 13.6%, 2D 7.9%

a short but incredibly touching experience.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 18.5%, Point & Click 16.8%, Side Scroller 16.7%, Visual Novel 14.1%, Exploration 7%

Single-player puzzle adventure with a beautiful, distinctive art style and a genuinely emotional story. As a lonely dog wandering the afterlife searching for his dead master, 'Don't Disturb' explores traditional Asian views on death and the underworld.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 16.7%, Side Scroller 16.5%, Point & Click 14.2%, Emotional 10.5%, Hand-drawn 8%

A pidgeon-doctor in a small town. A broken healthcare system. A heartfelt narrative game. Fall of Porcupine tells an emotional story about a young doctor who struggles to find his place. Accompany Finley in a lovingly illustrated world and uncover the darkest secrets of Porcupine.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 22.3%, Emotional 16%, Hand-drawn 13.4%, Cute 9.6%, Cartoony 9.2%

Beacon Pines is a cute and creepy adventure set within a mysterious book. Sneak out late, make new friends, uncover hidden truths, and collect words that will change the course of fate!

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 17.6%, Visual Novel 17.3%, Emotional 14.7%, Point & Click 10.3%, Hand-drawn 9.4%

The meditative journey game about a tram driver. He is a sincere but humble dreamer who loves his job. And he also knows how to show love and sensitivity, like reading other people's desires. But what to do about it?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 32.8%, Immersive Sim 26%, Hand-drawn 22.8%, Adventure 9.8%, Atmospheric 8.6%

Make up for lost time with Once Again, If you could travel through time, who’s the first person you’d meet? An interactive story about a boy who spends his summers wandering between past and present... After meeting her, summer will never be the same again...Who is she, and what journey awaits you?

Why similar: Visual Novel 24.2%, Emotional 21.4%, Hand-drawn 17.2%, Colorful 13.6%, Interactive Fiction 12.3%

A visual novel about figuring out life with the help of an AI. //TODO: today is a pastel colored slice-of-life story that let's you freely choose your pronouns and romantic preferences!

Why similar: Visual Novel 44.7%, Cute 19%, Adventure 13.5%, Colorful 12.7%, Anime 10.1%

memories is a sapphic visual novel dress-up game where clothes are linked to painful memories of a failed relationship.

Why similar: Visual Novel 35.3%, Emotional 32.3%, Cute 14.8%, Atmospheric 9.7%, Adventure 7.8%

A heartfelt game where you run a night market stall, cooking kaolengmian (grilled cold noodles). Customers come and go, stopping by to chat and share bits of their lives, joys, frustrations, and everyday struggles. At this little stall, you cook, listen, and keep living an ordinary person’s life.

Why similar: Life Sim 49.5%, Visual Novel 33.9%, Colorful 16.6%

The End of You is a short, emotional narrative game about love lost, the ghosts of the past, and the painful crawl towards closure.

Why similar: Life Sim 29.3%, Walking Simulator 22.4%, Emotional 22.3%, Immersive Sim 16.9%, Atmospheric 9.1%

A chronic illness simulator. You think you have a chronic illness, but you don't know what. All you know is you are always in some state of pain. You've been to too many doctors to count... but you still have to live your life.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 25.9%, Life Sim 24.4%, Visual Novel 17.5%, Emotional 8.5%, Cartoony 7.9%

Memory note is a slice-of-life visual novel with meaningful player choices, several endings to explore, and a story that will touch your heart.

Why similar: Visual Novel 42.8%, Adventure 25.7%, Cute 17.3%, Atmospheric 14.2%

From the creator of Coffee Talk and What Comes After, comes a slice-of-life adventure set in modern Jakarta about love, loss and finding your own way forward. Step into the shoes of Rama, a young musician struggling to move on with life after the death of his girlfriend, Cinta.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 20.3%, Hand-drawn 18.7%, Visual Novel 16.2%, Emotional 15.9%, Anime 10.5%

What Comes After is a side-scrolling adventure and a short heartwarming story about learning how to love yourself. Help Vivi in her journey on the train to the afterlife and back.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 53.1%, Cartoony 20.4%, Emotional 15.3%, Adventure 6.8%, Atmospheric 4.5%

This is the prologue chapter of "When the Past was Around", an upcoming adventure point-and-click puzzle game about love, moving on, letting go, and the joy and pain of everything in between.

Why similar: Point & Click 28.3%, Hand-drawn 23.7%, Emotional 20.9%, Cute 11.8%, Adventure 7.9%

A slice-of-death visual novel about making friends, cracking cat puns, and waiting for eternity to pass.

Why similar: Point & Click 29.3%, Visual Novel 28.4%, Hand-drawn 21.8%, Cute 14.8%, Adventure 3.3%