Games Like Circus Saboteur

A humorous sci-fi text-driven adventure where you play a support engineer sent to fix system failures in a secret research complex. Explore strange labs, investigate bizarre incidents, solve absurd problems, talk to depressed robots, and make choices that lead to multiple endings.

Why similar: Nonlinear 15.8%, Investigation 11.9%, Interactive Fiction 11.3%, Dialogue Heavy 10.5%, Text-Based 9.9%

WHEN THE CROW SINGS is an adventure mystery game with a focus on exploration, characters, and world building, featuring a cast of diverse survivors trying to keep the status quo as their compound life grows more complicated and dangerous.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 12.1%, Investigation 11.8%, Nonlinear 9.8%, Choose Your Own Adventure 9.5%, Hand-drawn 9.5%

Relive the same day without remembering it. Your choices feed four inner alter egos (Shadow, Mad, Alex, and Bully) — shaping reality, glitches, and one of 16 possible endings. The day repeats. Your mind doesn’t. Or does it?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 15.9%, Nonlinear 15.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 12.5%, Visual Novel 11.3%, Dialogue Heavy 10.8%

Your job is to make humanity happy. Observe the people living in your assigned district and make the best choices to ensure everyone's happiness.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 17.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.4%, Dialogue Heavy 13.9%, Text-Based 11.4%, Visual Novel 10.2%

A Pentiment-like set in 19th-century Malaysia, featuring pirates, East Indiamen, headhunters, a locked-room murder mystery, a blade of meteoric ore, a tarot deck, a mountain of light, and a tiger. It’s time to put your thinking cap on; as for those voices in your head – probably best to ignore them.

Why similar: Investigation 16.4%, Dialogue Heavy 15.5%, Interactive Fiction 11.3%, Hand-drawn 10.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 8%

Stranded after a plane crash in a freezing wilderness, you must manage body temperature, injury, and sanity as every decision shapes your survival.

Why similar: Nonlinear 15.9%, Interactive Fiction 12.1%, Choices Matter 10.6%, Hand-drawn 9.7%, Visual Novel 9%

A School Prefect has been pushed out of a window, and everyone's blaming YOU. Can you find the culprit - or someone to take the fall - before you get EXPELLED? Mystery with a wicked twist, from the creators of Overboard!, 80 Days, Heaven's Vault and A Highland Song.

Why similar: Investigation 18%, Dialogue Heavy 15.1%, Interactive Fiction 13.5%, Hand-drawn 11.4%, Visual Novel 7.4%

《墨心》是一款将古代中国幻想元素和悬疑科幻相融合的国产视觉小说。男主（你）从昏迷中醒来丧失了记忆，发现自己和另外两女一男困于巨轮密室中。面对匪夷所思的船体变异，恐怖致命的巨型怪物，你们能否成功逃脱？而这超自然的现象，似乎跟一件千年前的战国墨家宝物有关......

Why similar: Investigation 16.8%, Dialogue Heavy 13.8%, Nonlinear 12.8%, Choose Your Own Adventure 9.7%, Visual Novel 9%

A detective game where you fiddle information to your advantage. As an owner of a small bar, listen to visitors of your establishment, overhear their gossiping, collect information and then use to manipulate their thoughts and actions.

Why similar: Nonlinear 12.5%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.1%, Dialogue Heavy 10.5%, Interactive Fiction 10.5%, Detective 9.6%

What do mirror reflections do once they have no one to repeat after anymore? Play as Iris, quite a sarcastic reflection torn between the urge to unravel the mystery of death of her “prototype” and the need to find her place in a mirrored world.

Why similar: Investigation 13.8%, Nonlinear 13.7%, Dialogue Heavy 13%, Interactive Fiction 12.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 10.7%

No criminal has ever been a match for you, and everybody is looking forward to a description of your brilliant deductions. There is just one small problem. One tiny detail that makes it different this time. A mere trifle, really. This time you have no idea who did it.

Why similar: Investigation 15.7%, Interactive Fiction 14.8%, Dialogue Heavy 14.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.3%, Text-Based 11.2%

Your name is Gary Patterson. After waking up in a strange facility with your work partner Victor Adams, you must make a choice: Play along with Victor's plans? Or go it alone and make an escape? Only YOU can decide.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 16.6%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.5%, Detective 11.8%, Lore-Rich 11.7%, Investigation 9.6%

Experience the triumphs and tribulations of two Caribbean immigrants in post-war Britain, in the world’s first Windrush video game, from the creators of the BAFTA nominated Before I Forget. How will you shape your story in this branching narrative interactive photo album?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 21.4%, Hand-drawn 16.5%, Choices Matter 10.4%, Dialogue Heavy 9.4%, Nonlinear 9.1%

A short literary mystery game set in Oxford and Borneo

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 16.3%, Investigation 12.1%, Text-Based 12%, Dialogue Heavy 11.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 9.4%

Chrongrid is an AI-driven narrative experience. Inside an author's story blueprint, you make your own choices and the world responds in its own way — every choice echoes, no two journeys alike. Built-in blueprints are the start; play others' stories or write your own, in any language.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 15.1%, Nonlinear 14.1%, Lore-Rich 12%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.7%, Text-Based 10.5%

Ein, a simple-hearted member of an expedition sent by mankind to distant planets, tries to get romantic with a pretty but cold co-worker girl. Unfortunately, he is not the only one trying to make contact as from the abandoned and desolate alien ruins, the girl receives a message in human language.

Why similar: Nonlinear 13.6%, Dialogue Heavy 13.5%, Lore-Rich 12.3%, Detective 9.6%, Text-Based 9.3%

Choose, explore, interact, fight, solve, gather, trade! Rise to rebel in this immersive text-based fantasy story that seamlessly merges the best elements of RPGs, choose-your-own-adventure stories, visual novels, and interactive fiction.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 13.9%, Nonlinear 13.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.1%, Text-Based 12.4%, Choices Matter 10.3%

A text role-playing game about the fate of a mercenary who finds himself in the strange village: Villienville. Investigate who benefits from the sudden appearance of “ghosts” and help residents protect their homes from a mysterious enemy. The main thing is not to make a mistake in your choice!

Why similar: Nonlinear 19.2%, Interactive Fiction 12.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.3%, Text-Based 11.1%, Choices Matter 9.1%

We are born, live through countless choices, and in the end, we die. Because death is not a choice, what you're given is the path, not its end. The ending is already written. Will you uncover the truth, or pretend not to know? REFORI: a mystery adventure where your choices shift the perspective.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 15.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 15%, Nonlinear 13.8%, Dialogue Heavy 13.4%, Lore-Rich 12.6%

Welcome to the Kabaret - where monsters from Southeast Asian myths and folklores dwell. Perform tea ceremonies, play traditional games, and question your humanity.

Why similar: Investigation 17.7%, Lore-Rich 14.3%, Interactive Fiction 13.5%, Hand-drawn 10.3%, Visual Novel 10.1%

Decide the fate of the son of a tailor and a witch doctor infected with an incurable disease in an interactive story with multiple endings depending on your actions.

Why similar: Nonlinear 20.9%, Interactive Fiction 13.7%, Choices Matter 12.3%, Visual Novel 12.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 10.6%

Your motel is busy for the first time in years. Antsy city-folk and dispossessed teens flood your rooms, and you can barely keep up. Now, after a week of all-nighters spent managing reservations, room service requests, and Yup! reviews, you begin to wonder… could you even fall asleep if you tried?

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 17%, Hand-drawn 13.5%, Interactive Fiction 10.9%, Choices Matter 9.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 8.9%

Paris, 1888. In this detective visual novel inspired by Ace Attorney and Golden Idol, play as a matchmaker-detective striving to keep her marriage agency open. Meet colourful characters, uncover their secrets, and spread love throughout the city!

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 18.9%, Investigation 14.1%, Interactive Fiction 13%, Detective 9.8%, Visual Novel 9.1%

One million dollars. Two sisters. Countless consequences. Experience everyday life in modern Vietnam while uncovering the truth behind a mysterious one-million-dollar debt.

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 18.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.2%, Visual Novel 13%, Choices Matter 11.7%, Investigation 11.2%

The star magician of Morgan’s Traveling Circus is missing, but the show must go on! In this non-linear detective visual novel, unravel the mystery from two different perspectives as you learn the varying stories of an entire circus of performers, each with their own lives... and their own secrets.

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 14.4%, Investigation 13.3%, Interactive Fiction 12.8%, Choose Your Own Adventure 10.9%, Detective 9.9%

Kamilia is a story-driven, choices-matter detective mystery. Follow a talented painter who finds himself wrapped up in an unsolved case, as he tries to unveil a hidden truth that has been buried for years.

Why similar: Investigation 15.3%, Dialogue Heavy 15.1%, Interactive Fiction 11.4%, Choices Matter 11.1%, Visual Novel 10.6%

Become an investigator in a dark fantasy story. People keep going missing in Maligree, before being forgotten by all who knew them. Will you solve the case before you forget?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 13.4%, Detective 12.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.6%, Hand-drawn 11.2%, Choices Matter 11.1%

Can you mix a cocktail while eye-to-eye with a criminal? Find out in Best Served Cold, a murder mystery set in a bustling speakeasy where you serve customers, make friends and enemies, and solve crimes. At the Nightcap bar, prohibition is a killer… and so are some of your customers!

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 17.7%, Investigation 16.5%, Detective 13.1%, Interactive Fiction 12.2%, Visual Novel 10.6%

Suhoshin is a 2D Visual Novel set in the medieval Joseon period of Korea. While investigating a series of mysterious murders, you will have to make choices that will lead you down different paths toward different endings.

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 12.2%, Investigation 11.4%, Interactive Fiction 11.3%, Visual Novel 10.8%, Text-Based 8.6%

Horny Academy is an adult visual novel that blends interactive storytelling with a deep, branching narrative. Every choice you make leads to steamy animated scenes or unexpected twists within the mysterious walls of the magical Academy

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 12.7%, Choices Matter 12.5%, Visual Novel 12.4%, Nonlinear 11.9%, Hand-drawn 11.7%

A story-rich coming-of-age experience told through a 2004 desktop, where friendships, music, and late-night conversations shape who you become. Explore chats, drama, mini-games, and the early internet in a branching story about growing up, making mistakes, and finding your place.

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 19.3%, Interactive Fiction 18.7%, Visual Novel 13.3%, Choices Matter 11.4%, Text-Based 10.3%

The Cold Cases: Remembering Jory is a story rich, investigative mystery game where your only tools are your contacts and the people you can find and get to talk to you. Read through old internet archives, pick out what is important, and solve the mystery of the 10 year old cold case.

Why similar: Investigation 18.3%, Dialogue Heavy 14.2%, Interactive Fiction 13.6%, Detective 10.3%, Text-Based 8.5%

You are Hidu, a beastman mercenary in a port city. You must survive one very bad day. How? That’s entirely up to you. There are countless ways for events to unfold — and 25 endings.

Why similar: Nonlinear 20.5%, Interactive Fiction 16.6%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.3%, Choices Matter 10%, Visual Novel 7.9%

The prequel to Road 96. Play Zoe and Kaito where it all started. Change their destinies!

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 15.5%, Interactive Fiction 14.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 12.9%, Investigation 12%, Visual Novel 9%

A philosophical interactive visual novel about everyday interactions

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 19.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.3%, Investigation 14%, Visual Novel 11.7%, Detective 10.2%

Can a Mage live free, when Magic can only come from Demons? Sylvain thinks so, but when he flees the Alchemical Institute, his old friend Celeste stops him, afraid for his life. 1 short conversation branches into 27 endings: each a kinetic short story. You choose what they say.

Why similar: Nonlinear 18.5%, Interactive Fiction 17.2%, Dialogue Heavy 15.5%, Lore-Rich 14.7%, Visual Novel 10.4%

The Mona Lisa is missing! Sleuth through a sprawling space museum, read the past through psychic abilities and unravel an interstellar art caper in this cosy, gas‑lamp mystery.

Why similar: Steampunk 14.3% ★, Interactive Fiction 13.8%, Dialogue Heavy 11.8%, Detective 9.6%, Investigation 8.9%

In this stop-motion inspired adventure, play as detective Ambroise Niflette in the thrilling investigation of the search for the stolen bell in a mysterious village.

Why similar: Investigation 17.8%, Nonlinear 17.3%, Dialogue Heavy 16.6%, Interactive Fiction 11.5%, Detective 11.4%

In most visual novels, you only read what characters say. In The Bastard Who Rewrote the Empire, you decide how deeply to read each line. Use Inner Voice, Sincerity, Appraisal, and X-Ray Vision to expose thoughts, lies, profiles, and secrets—then outwit conspiracies and rewrite a kingdom’s fate.

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 19.1%, Interactive Fiction 16.4%, Investigation 15.4%, Detective 11.1%, Visual Novel 10.9%

A horror visual novel where you take on the role of a spy delving into the memories of others to find dirt on a sinister biocorporation. Not for children or the easily disturbed.

Why similar: Investigation 15.1%, Interactive Fiction 12.8%, Nonlinear 12.7%, Lore-Rich 11.5%, Hand-drawn 10.3%

「ナカノ人格移植研究所」は、周回型ミステリー2Dアドベンチャーゲームです。 それぞれの周回でプレイヤーが憑依する対象の登場人物を選択することで、その登場人物を主人公としてストーリーを進めながら謎を解き明かします。 プレイヤーは本ゲームの中で 4 つのパートを行き来しながらストーリーを進めます。 ノベルパートでは、クリックしながら物語を読み進めます。 探索パートでは、画面上のアイテムをクリックしながら物語を読み進めます。 移動パートでは、再度ビューでプレイヤーを操作し、船の中を探索します。 会議パートでは、他のパートで集めた手がかりを利用して他の登場人物と会話します。

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 16.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 15%, Dialogue Heavy 11.1%, Visual Novel 10.1%, Detective 10.1%

Interrogate your own player characters in this six-chapter murder mystery! Your decisions determine how many clues are uncovered for the final player character, the detective. Explore each stage of grief: Chapter 1 stars Orven as he navigates the shocking deaths of his dream and his hero.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 14%, Investigation 11.5%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.1%, Hand-drawn 10.6%, Detective 9.2%

Adventure as Geralt through the ballads of Dandelion. Swipe right, swipe left, seek glory, find death! Will you hunt monsters, upset the locals, or run a hot bath? Compose an inspiring epic to claim immortality.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.5%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.2%, Choices Matter 12.5%, Visual Novel 11.3%, Hand-drawn 7.9%

A narrative RPG of medieval intrigue and war. As Karl von Aiden, shape your destiny through five chapters of choices that matter. Build attributes, forge alliances, navigate court politics, and face consequences across three story routes and multiple endings.

Why similar: Nonlinear 18.1%, Interactive Fiction 17.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.3%, Lore-Rich 10.8%, Choices Matter 10.4%

A dialogue sim about eternity and our minds.

Why similar: Nonlinear 14.2%, Abstract 12.5%, Text-Based 12.3%, Interactive Fiction 12.3%, Lore-Rich 11.2%

Unravel the secrets of the Bariton mansion! Take on the mantle of detective in the role of Lucas Usher, and solve the riddles plaguing the ghosts of those left behind! Uncover their secrets and help them find salvation … or damnation.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 17.6%, Steampunk 15.9% ★, Dialogue Heavy 13.7%, Detective 12%, Investigation 8.5%

Map a mysterious land during the Age of Enlightenment. Draw the border between two warring kingdoms. Meet the locals. Juggle their demands with the requirements of your mission. Ethical dilemmas, secret plots, strange phenomena… will you be able to bring peace back to the land?

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 19.8%, Investigation 19.3%, Hand-drawn 12.7%, Detective 10.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 9.3%

Liquids is a surreal adventure game. When Emma, the actress girlfriend of scientist Albert, dies strangely, police detective Todd investigates the unsolved case, and bizarrely Emma's body appears out of nowhere within many time and space.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 12.7%, Dialogue Heavy 12.6%, Abstract 11.4%, Detective 10.8%, Lore-Rich 10.2%

Return to a hometown that hasn’t changed the way it should have. A psychological visual novel focused on atmosphere, relationships, and a reality that slowly refuses to stay still. Can you uncover the truth before it consumes you?

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 17.3%, Interactive Fiction 16.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.2%, Visual Novel 10.3%, Choices Matter 9.9%

A psychological surveillance adventure. Observe 16 real-time CCTV feeds as TOBOR, a spy unit uncovering secrets in a dystopian bunker. Monitor suspects, collect evidence, and choose who survives. Multiple endings.

Why similar: Investigation 14.4%, Interactive Fiction 12.2%, Dialogue Heavy 12%, Text-Based 9.3%, Detective 9.2%

You will answer questions that will reveal things deep within. Some will be uncomfortable, but with great knowledge comes great sacrifice. Can you make it all the way through The Test, and are you SURE you want the answers you seek? For it is time to once again unlock "Secrets of the Soul..."

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 15.7%, Investigation 15.4%, Interactive Fiction 12.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 10.7%, Choices Matter 9.3%

Six witnesses, six suspects, and thousands of discoverable lines of dialog. You're the fantasy detective on the case of a stolen magical artifact, and in order to determine the truth you'll have to cross examine, interrogate, and reference all your resources to catch the thief before time runs out.

Why similar: Investigation 20.8%, Detective 15.3%, Interactive Fiction 14.3%, Dialogue Heavy 10%, Nonlinear 9.2%

A mystery game where you investigate a murder by searching the crime scene and interrogating AI-powered NPCs with unique personas.

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 17.8%, Investigation 16.6%, Detective 12.5%, Interactive Fiction 11.7%, Choices Matter 10.3%

A cinematic mystery visual novel about a vanished woman. You're the detective on the case. Twelve years ago, your sister disappeared the same way. Four investigations lead to four different answers about what really happened — and none of them is the wrong one. The truth is whichever one you find.

Why similar: Nonlinear 14.3%, Investigation 12.8%, Dialogue Heavy 12.6%, Interactive Fiction 12.4%, Lore-Rich 10.2%

Welcome to our wild neon flashing graphic adventure! Play as Tofu 🐹 a little hamster with a big attitude and experience his misadventures through a frantic college night in a city brimming with parties and mystery. Packed with humor, terrible jokes and tons of dru— I mean, SUGAR!

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 23.8%, Interactive Fiction 16.2%, Visual Novel 12.9%, Hand-drawn 11.9%, Detective 8.8%

Follow the story of Blanca Silverurn—a strix entangled in a murder mystery. Explore the Grimstrand campus and learn about its unique magic. Delve into the secrets of students and faculty members. Affect their relationships, including a spicy romance between Blanca and her enigmatic mentor.

Why similar: Investigation 18.3%, Dialogue Heavy 16.8%, Interactive Fiction 15.1%, Nonlinear 10.8%, Choices Matter 8.9%

The Spirit Weaver is a narrative-driven visual novel where you use the power of Tarot to guide lost spirits through their grief, and maybe figure out your own. Explore a mystical spirit realm, help its denizens, and restore balance in a bittersweet story of love, loss, and empathy.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 19.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.3%, Visual Novel 10.8%, Hand-drawn 10.3%, Investigation 9.9%

Holy Deadline is a surreal, story-rich adventure about a demigod lawyer working in the Heavenly Office. You have exactly one week to investigate the sudden divorce of John and Lilith. Take on mortal petitions, level up your logic and flair to eventually uncover who sent you back to Heaven!

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 15.3%, Nonlinear 15.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.3%, Detective 10.7%, Choices Matter 10.4%

Deep Copy is a top down point-and-click literary adventure set in a hand-painted science fiction world. Awakened with no memory, you must solve puzzles and navigate a branching story to piece together the dense, interconnected mystery at the heart of the lab.

Why similar: Nonlinear 18.6%, Interactive Fiction 11.5%, Dialogue Heavy 11.1%, Choices Matter 10.7%, Lore-Rich 10.6%

Three eccentric ghosts have kidnapped Alice's dog, Dinah! Help Alice free her dog, solve the mysteries of Monster Mansion, and make the annual Monster Party a success in this hand-drawn, point-and-click-inspired comedy adventure!

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 16.8%, Nonlinear 15.5%, Investigation 13.8%, Hand-drawn 13.2%, Choices Matter 9%