Games Like Californium

Rediscover gravity and explore an Escher-esque world of impossible architecture. Witness infinity in first-person and master its rules to solve physics-defying puzzles. Cultivate a garden to open new paths forward, where an eternal expanse awaits.

Why similar: Experimental 22.4% ★, Psychedelic 19.3%, Surreal 15.4%, Abstract 12.4%, Puzzle Platformer 8.6%

Why You'll Like It: This game features non-Euclidean geometry and reality-shifting mechanics that perfectly mirror the psychedelic exploration found in the seed game.

An original puzzle/adventure game inspired by the writings of Franz Kafka.

Why similar: Experimental 37.4% ★, Surreal 27.5%, Point & Click 10.5%, Psychedelic 9.2%, Atmospheric 6.3%

Why You'll Like It: It shares the same surreal, puzzle-heavy, and dreamlike atmosphere that defines the narrative experience of Californium.

Smuggle contraband VHS tapes across the border. Discover the remnants of illicit industry. Prepare for an assassination. This is Paratopic, an atmospheric retro-3D horror adventure through a cursed fever dream.

Why similar: Experimental 43% ★, Surreal 33.9%, Atmospheric 7.8%, Indie 5.5%, Adventure 5.3%

Why You'll Like It: Its low-poly aesthetic and unsettling, fragmented narrative style capture the same sense of dread and reality-distortion as Californium.

Antichamber is a mind-bending psychological exploration game where nothing can be taken for granted. Discover an Escher-like world where hallways wrap around upon each other, spaces reconfigure themselves, and accomplishing the impossible may just be the only way forward.

Why similar: Surreal 33.6%, Abstract 16.1%, First-Person 14.1%, Psychedelic 10.8%, Exploration 10.6%

Why You'll Like It: The game challenges your perception of space and reality through mind-bending puzzles that feel like a direct extension of the seed game's reality-warping themes.

The goal of the game is to find your favourite room in the catacombs.

Why similar: Psychedelic 36.6%, Surreal 19.8%, Abstract 16%, Exploration 7.5%, Colorful 5.5%

Why You'll Like It: It focuses on the psychedelic and abstract nature of observation, making it a strong thematic match for the investigative gameplay of the seed.

Hyperbolica is a whimsical Non-Euclidean adventure with mind-bending worlds full of games, puzzles, mazes, and secrets! Immerse yourself in reality-warping geometries where lines can never be parallel, horizons are curved, and space grows exponentially.

Why similar: Experimental 25.3% ★, Psychedelic 23.3%, Surreal 19%, Sci-fi 10%, First-Person 7%

Why You'll Like It: This game uses non-Euclidean geometry to create a surreal, exploration-focused world that feels like a natural evolution of the seed game's visual style.

The Beginner's Guide is a narrative video game from Davey Wreden, the creator of The Stanley Parable. It lasts about an hour and a half and has no traditional mechanics, no goals or objectives. Instead, it tells the story of a person struggling to deal with something they do not understand.

Why similar: Experimental 31.2% ★, Surreal 19.4%, Abstract 17.5%, First-Person 11.2%, Atmospheric 9.5%

Why You'll Like It: It explores themes of identity and the creator's psyche through a meta-narrative lens that resonates with the writer-focused plot of Californium.

Rememoried is an independent video game, a virtual place where memories change to dreams and the only possible way is forgetting, which becomes a mechanism for proceeding to the next layer of dreams. The Surrealist explorative first-person adventure game.

Why similar: Psychedelic 21.4%, Experimental 21% ★, Surreal 16.7%, Abstract 12.3%, Adventure 5.7%

Why You'll Like It: It is a surreal, abstract adventure that focuses on memory and reality, mirroring the identity-searching journey of the seed game.

CUCCCHI is a game where you explore beautiful dioramas and go through dangerous and trippy labyrinths, in a journey inside the paintings of Enzo Cucchi.

Why similar: Experimental 25.3% ★, Psychedelic 19.3%, Surreal 14.2%, Abstract 11.8%, Hidden Object 9.9%

Why You'll Like It: It is an experimental, abstract, and highly visual exploration game that shares the psychedelic art style of the seed game.

Will you be able to break the vicious circle? Can you regain control? Experience the surreal adventure filled with many puzzles and psychedelic visions.

Why similar: Psychedelic 27.9%, Surreal 21.2%, Point & Click 15.5%, Hidden Object 12.1%, Exploration 5.9%

Why You'll Like It: This surreal adventure game focuses on dream-like exploration and puzzle-solving, aligning closely with the psychedelic tone of Californium.

Perception is reality. In this mind-bending first-person puzzler, you escape a surreal dream world through solving impossible puzzles using the ambiguity of depth and perspective.

Why similar: Psychedelic 30.7%, Surreal 27.5%, Puzzle Platformer 11.9%, First-Person 10.7%, Exploration 7%

Why You'll Like It: The perspective-shifting mechanics create a dreamlike, reality-bending experience that aligns well with the surrealist tone of Californium.

Locals whisper of a roadside diner that’s lost its color. You are sent to investigate.

Why similar: Surreal 21.2%, Point & Click 18.3%, Hidden Object 15.1%, Sci-fi 11.3%, Exploration 9%

Why You'll Like It: It uses color-based puzzle mechanics to alter the world, which is a core gameplay loop shared with the reality-shifting nature of the seed game.

NaissanceE is an obscure and magical first person exploration game, a philosophical trip and an artistic experience. The adventure takes place in a primitive mysterious structure and the game mainly consists to explore and feel the deep and strong ambiance of this atemporal world.

Why similar: Abstract 21.5%, Surreal 21%, Exploration 13.9%, Psychedelic 9.8%, First-Person 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: The game features vast, abstract, and surreal architectural spaces that evoke the same sense of isolation and wonder found in Californium.

You're stranded at a cathedral-like train station in the near future, searching for a ticket out of town. Explore the secret passageways, interact with strangers, dig for records, and get hypnotized by the soundtrack – a batch of original music courtesy of the band, Archie Pelago.

Why similar: Surreal 58.5%, First-Person 11.4%, Adventure 8.3%, Indie 7.4%, Atmospheric 6.6%

Why You'll Like It: This surreal, atmospheric exploration game captures the same sense of being trapped in a strange, dream-like reality as the seed game.

Explore the mysterious Hotel Norwood in this surreal first-person adventure. Curious characters, forgotten secrets, and head-nodding music await your arrival.

Why similar: Surreal 25.3%, Psychedelic 21.1%, Investigation 17.5%, First-Person 9.9%, Exploration 9.5%

Why You'll Like It: It offers a bizarre, music-infused, and surreal world that rewards curiosity and exploration in a way very similar to the seed game.

You must explore the labyrinth of riddles and investigate the apocalyptic event at the research facility following the experiments with the Higgs boson, or “the God particle”.

Why similar: Investigation 28.8%, Sci-fi 26.5%, Exploration 10.9%, Adventure 10.2%, First-Person 9.8%

Why You'll Like It: A sci-fi adventure that explores themes of simulation and reality through a unique, experimental lens.

Atmospheric first person adventure game focusing on immersion and exploration. Meet strange characters, discover secrets and try to unfold the mystery of the Fragmentation.

Why similar: Investigation 29.1%, Exploration 19.2%, First-Person 18.7%, Atmospheric 13.5%, Adventure 10%

Why You'll Like It: An immersive, first-person exploration game that focuses on atmospheric storytelling and surreal environments.

A first‑person cyberpunk horror detective story set in a decaying, neon‑scarred future. As an Observer who invades minds to hunt for clues, you will sift through corrupted memories to track down a mysterious killer and confront your own dark past.

Why similar: Investigation 48.5%, Surreal 35%, First-Person 16.5%

Why You'll Like It: This sci-fi thriller dives deep into the psyche and reality-bending scenarios, capturing the darker, more investigative side of Philip K. Dick-inspired fiction.

SELF is a suspenseful Kafkaesque text-based adventure game with simulation and puzzle mechanics. Could you seize the opportunity to find your father and your SELF back in this introspective journey?

Why similar: Experimental 54.1% ★, Adventure 20.2%, Indie 14.5%, Atmospheric 8.5%, Singleplayer 2.7%

Why You'll Like It: A nonlinear, psychological mystery that deals with identity and internal struggle, echoing the narrative core of Californium.

A surrealist indie first-person adventure game based on art and derealization. Explore the idea of a mind losing its grasp with reality, as reality turns into a dream, and that dream turns into a nightmare.

Why similar: Experimental 28.1% ★, Psychedelic 24.2%, Surreal 18.3%, First-Person 6%, Colorful 5.5%

Why You'll Like It: A first-person, surreal adventure that leans heavily into psychedelic visuals and abstract storytelling.

Be the Universe in this epic, award-winning reality simulation game - featuring thousands of playable characters, endless exploration, an extraordinary soundtrack and narration from Alan Watts.

Why similar: Experimental 53.4% ★, Exploration 13.6%, Casual 10.8%, Atmospheric 9%, Indie 7.9%

Why You'll Like It: This philosophical experience allows you to explore the nature of reality and existence through a surreal, ever-shifting perspective.

P·O·L·L·E·N is an atmospheric, suspenseful and highly interactive first person sci-fi exploration game set on Saturn’s moon Titan. Delve into the richly detailed Station M, and try everything you can get your hands on to uncover the mysteries that lie beneath the moon’s crust.

Why similar: Psychedelic 33.3%, Sci-fi 22.2%, Exploration 12.8%, First-Person 12.6%, Atmospheric 9.7%

Why You'll Like It: This sci-fi exploration game captures the atmospheric, first-person investigative feel of the seed game within a mysterious, isolated setting.

'Chasing Light' is the story of the seven days of exploring the physical properties of a game and uncovering an inner world of human beings and society. Have a weird trip!

Why similar: Experimental 46.4% ★, Adventure 27.3%, Indie 20%, Atmospheric 6.2%

Why You'll Like It: An experimental, story-rich adventure that uses surreal visuals to convey its narrative themes.

Uncover secrets, experience history, solve puzzles and understand one another. Immerse yourself and explore a surreal and colorful world in this short, first-person adventure.

Why similar: Surreal 23.9%, Psychedelic 22.5%, Abstract 14.5%, Investigation 9.8%, Exploration 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: A short, surreal, and puzzle-oriented adventure that captures the experimental spirit of the seed game.

Ilamentia is an experimental abstract puzzler where you must first discover the level mechanics before solving them. Delve into mysterious mind-bending levels that each have unique mechanics to explore that will test the limits of every facet of your cognitive faculties.

Why similar: Psychedelic 30.7%, Surreal 20.8%, Abstract 11.9%, First-Person 8.6%, Exploration 7%

Why You'll Like It: This first-person puzzle game features surreal and psychedelic environments that challenge the player's perception.

Morphopolis is about transformation and discovery. Morphopolis takes you on a puzzle adventure through a fantastical insect world. Starting as an aphid grub, you embark on an epic journey of metamorphosis toward your spawning ground.

Why similar: Hidden Object 25.2%, Point & Click 23.2%, Psychedelic 23.2%, Colorful 8.7%, Casual 4.6%

Why You'll Like It: This game offers a unique, hand-drawn, and surreal point-and-click experience that fits the experimental nature of the seed game.

Explore a unique and connected world. Understand its fragile balance, uncover its deepest questions, and find more than just the answers.

Why similar: Surreal 20%, Sci-fi 16.1%, Colorful 15.3%, First-Person 15.2%, Exploration 12.1%

3D first-person walking simulator with a side of exploration/interaction with the environment. The game tells the story of the Space Lemmings from Space who, after running many experiments with breakfast alphabet and the space-time continuum, got blocked between dimensions (or something).

Why similar: Psychedelic 28.8%, Interactive Fiction 15.9%, Surreal 14.4%, Abstract 10.7%, Colorful 7.4%

Go on a voyage of discovery following the traces of a mysterious culture. Discover diverse landscapes, investigate abandoned artifacts, and wake strange machines from their slumber.

Why similar: Sci-fi 21.3%, Exploration 16.7%, First-Person 15.6%, Colorful 15.2%, Atmospheric 11.5%

Why You'll Like It: A puzzle-adventure game that features exploration of mysterious, ancient, and surreal environments.

You wake up in a spaceship with no memories. In this escape room with a sci-fi setting you will have to investigate your past solving different puzzles. Will you be able to discover what happened to you and how did you get there?

Why similar: Investigation 26.8%, Point & Click 21.9%, Hidden Object 20.6%, Sci-fi 16.2%, Adventure 5%

Step into a radiant dimension where souls reboot as data. Recover your reincarnation machine from alien terrorists and explore glowing temples of memory, logic, and light. A surreal odyssey through death, rebirth, and the beauty of being lost.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 18.7%, Surreal 18.1%, Psychedelic 17.6%, Experimental 10.6% ★, Abstract 10.2%

NORCO is a dialogue-focused point & click adventure that immerses the player in the sinking suburbs and industrial swamplands of an increasingly surreal and distorted South Louisiana.

Why similar: Investigation 25.2%, Point & Click 22.9%, Surreal 20.9%, Colorful 9%, Atmospheric 8.1%

Endless subway rides, void probes, cosmic gardens and the fate of a planet, fiction.colors is a series of short atmospheric experiences to explore at leisure.

Why similar: Psychedelic 22.9%, Abstract 14.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.2%, Surreal 8.7%, Exploration 7.8%

A new sci-fi adventure from Cyan, the creators of Myst. Abducted far across the universe, you find yourself on a broken alien landscape with odd pieces of Earth. Explore, uncover, solve, and find a way to make it home.

Why similar: Surreal 27.5%, Exploration 16.7%, First-Person 13.2%, Adventure 12.6%, Point & Click 10.7%

Aleph is an enigmatic cube, a repository of human lore and simulacra. After the fall of human civilization, as a traveler, you depart from the space station and eventually reach the ruins of the dilapidated city, searching for scattered cubes to read the images and texts left behind by humanity.

Why similar: Experimental 25.4% ★, Hidden Object 16.3%, Surreal 15.1%, Abstract 14.9%, Exploration 9.4%

Discover what lies beyond our reality with Alchemy. A portal-like experience that will challenge you to think with potions while trying to solve the mysteries of this strange new place.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 28.7%, Abstract 22.1%, Puzzle Platformer 19.6%, Sci-fi 14%, First-Person 9%

The Multi-Medium is a visually unique 2D puzzle platform adventure in which you play as an interdimensional explorer lost in the multiverse. Travel to diverse worlds, each drawn or painted by hand in a different medium and style, in search of your place in the cosmos.

Why similar: Puzzle Platformer 25.8%, Sci-fi 21.2%, Colorful 14.9%, Exploration 12.6%, Atmospheric 9%

a ~2 hour long graphic adventure novella. Tasked with disrupting the end of the world, you explore, investigate and produce your way through a strangely familiar world.

Why similar: Psychedelic 24.5%, Interactive Fiction 15.7%, Point & Click 14%, Abstract 13.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.2%

An interactive horror experience of exploring a missing woman’s phone.

Why similar: Point & Click 49.2%, Sci-fi 30.6%, Atmospheric 13.2%, Adventure 7%

A strange journey throughout an elaborate labyrinth awaits, featuring hundreds of characters and happenings as you try to gather items that once brought happiness to others.

Why similar: Psychedelic 40.3%, Abstract 25.9%, Colorful 11.1%, First-Person 9.8%, Adventure 6.5%

Control history in Decade - a groundbreaking indie adventure. Explore an alternate past. Discover how its ideas develop, distort, and disappear. Seed new movements, destroy others. Subvert the rise and fall of empires, art, ideologies, and individuals in this experimental narrative game.

Why similar: Psychedelic 33%, Sci-fi 20.5%, Investigation 19%, Interactive Fiction 17%, Atmospheric 3.5%

Transcender is a brief interactive experience that takes place in a surreal sci-fi setting. Figuring out how to play and what to do is the main attraction of the experience. It will hopefully leave you thinking "Hmm, that was interesting"

Why similar: Experimental 41.1% ★, Choose Your Own Adventure 19.7%, Surreal 15.7%, Sci-fi 10%, Exploration 9.6%

When the truth is buried, go underground. Step into this new take on text-based adventure from the award-winning team behind Thomas Was Alone and Volume. A short story that hands you the fate of the world above, as a detective looking for answers on the Subsurface Circular.

Why similar: Investigation 42.1%, Sci-fi 22.5%, Point & Click 22.4%, Adventure 5.6%, Casual 4.7%

There are things that often fail on nothing but themselves. Is there even a way out? Playing Kafka is a narrative adventure full of impenetrable schemes, insidious plot twists and conversations that slip out of hand. Based on Kafka’s life and his work, developed with Kafka experts.

Why similar: Surreal 26.8%, Interactive Fiction 21.7%, Point & Click 21.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.9%, Atmospheric 6.4%

Andarin Weppes is a first person puzzle experience of a man with ever advancing dementia...

Why similar: Psychedelic 28.2%, Surreal 17.9%, Abstract 15.8%, Puzzle Platformer 15.3%, Atmospheric 6.3%

Reflections is a real-world adventure game where every action you take has meaningful consequences that radically shape the experience. Each action you take is punctuated by flushing the black and white environment with color, illustrating your progress and providing clues to what your future might hold.

Why similar: Experimental 51.9% ★, First-Person 11.4%, Exploration 9.6%, Adventure 8.2%, Point & Click 7.7%

A Surreal Puzzle Shooter Adventure Fueled By Madness!

Why similar: Psychedelic 24.9%, Surreal 20.1%, Abstract 19.1%, Colorful 7.9%, First-Person 7.9%

Chapter II of an extremely unusual trans-media franchise with game and short film chapters. Players influence the plot of the chapters and can leave their real-life items in the chapters. Game+Short films+visual novel. Ultra-deep meaning, nostalgic references, vibe mysticism.

Why similar: Psychedelic 33.7%, Abstract 19.1%, Hidden Object 18.6%, First-Person 8.9%, Atmospheric 7.9%

Descend through absurd layers of history as a rat-dog-witch trying to escape employment and transcend reality. Explore weird museums, cosmic hallways, and your own bad dreams in a chaotic mash-up of art, humor, and a playable existential crisis.

Why similar: Experimental 24.3% ★, Psychedelic 19.4%, Surreal 14.1%, Abstract 9.9%, Puzzle Platformer 9.9%

On the corner of July Avenue and Yam Street, all is not what it seems. What role will you play in a city's fate?

Why similar: Surreal 25.1%, Psychedelic 21.3%, Investigation 18%, First-Person 9.9%, Exploration 8.8%

The ability to discern hidden connections is both a gift and a curse. The covert mechanisms of reality do not reveal themselves to any and all, and there is a price to pay for this knowledge…

Why similar: Sci-fi 21.4%, First-Person 16.8%, Adventure 15.8%, Exploration 12.5%, Indie 12%

Chromatic Conundrum is a first person puzzle game where you manipulate light. Combine different colors and form shadows to illuminate your way through an enigmatic world.

Why similar: Puzzle Platformer 20.2%, Sci-fi 19.8%, Abstract 19.1%, First-Person 13.1%, Colorful 9.3%

Can you trust your own mind? Immerse yourself in a psychological thriller of a new kind, playing with the limits between reality and fantasy. Freely inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s universe.

Why similar: Investigation 38.2%, Interactive Fiction 33.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.2%, Adventure 8%, Exploration 7.3%

BLACKSHARD is a first-person exploration game. Wander through a strange megastructure, the Labyrinth, to unravel its mysteries... Your behavior within the Labyrinth will define the outcome of your journey. What path will you choose to take?

Why similar: Surreal 23.6%, Hidden Object 16.8%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.8%, Sci-fi 14.6%, Exploration 9%

A psychological interactive novel about a floppy disk with a mysterious program. Help Elliot cope with his mental issues and uncover the secret of the floppy disk.

Why similar: Psychedelic 57.7%, Interactive Fiction 28%, Atmospheric 9%, Indie 5.4%

Lose yourself in Phoenix Springs – a modern point-and-click set in a mysterious neo-noir world. It begins with an investigation: find your brother Leo. You already know where it ends.

Why similar: Investigation 26.3%, Point & Click 22.5%, Comic Book 19.7%, Sci-fi 18.8%, Atmospheric 7.2%

Discover a world where life is cheap, identities are bought & sold, & a quest for redemption can change the fate of a whole galaxy.

Why similar: Point & Click 49.9%, Sci-fi 28.3%, Adventure 10.8%, Atmospheric 5.5%, Indie 4.2%

Another Tomorrow is a first-person point and click game. Trapped without your memories you’ll explore abandoned apartments, airfields, temples, and underground facilities to search for clues, solve puzzles, and unlock secrets to answer the question; who are you?

Why similar: Point & Click 32.6%, First-Person 17.5%, Adventure 11.6%, Exploration 11.3%, Atmospheric 11%

It’s 2065, and you are an interrogator-model android tasked with rooting out deviants among your own kind. You must probe for lies, monitor and exploit emotional spikes, earn the trust of your subjects, and make the final call: release, or destroy?

Why similar: Experimental 33.2% ★, Investigation 26.1%, Point & Click 11.3%, Sci-fi 11.2%, First-Person 5.8%