Games Like Depression Quest

Emily is Away is an interactive story. Create a screenname and choose your path through the branching narrative.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 43.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 23.3%, Indie 9.5%, Visual Novel 9.4%, Text-Based 6.9%

Why You'll Like It: Uses a nostalgic chat interface to deliver a branching narrative about relationships and personal growth that feels incredibly intimate.

A narrative-driven hardcore RPG set in a gritty world ruled by real but unrelenting gods. Set out on a challenging lifetime journey, where every choice has a price and entails consequences. Will you become an inquisitor, a judge, or conspire against the old order? Dare to decide!

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 42%, Choose Your Own Adventure 27.5%, Visual Novel 11.6%, Text-Based 10%, Indie 4.6%

Why You'll Like It: A complex, choice-driven RPG where every decision significantly impacts the protagonist's life and mental well-being.

A short interactive story about love, depression and the corporation.

Why similar: Indie 50%, Dark 19.8%, Visual Novel 19.1%, Singleplayer 7.4%, Story Rich 3.6%

Why You'll Like It: A deeply personal and somber interactive story that mirrors the raw, unfiltered exploration of depression found in the seed game.

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 50.5%, Indie 19.9%, Visual Novel 16.6%, Singleplayer 5.1%, Emotional 4.7%

Why You'll Like It: A short, poignant interactive experience that captures the emotional highs and lows of life and relationships through simple, effective mechanics.

NIGHT IN THE WOODS is an adventure game focused on exploration, story, and character, featuring dozens of characters to meet and lots to do across a lush, vibrant world.

Why similar: Visual Novel 48.3%, Psychological Horror 28.2%, Singleplayer 14.4%, Story Rich 9%

Why You'll Like It: Explores themes of mental health, alienation, and the struggle of returning to one's roots with deep, character-focused writing.

Depression The Game is an interactive game simulating major depression. You are joining a young man on one of his really bad days trying to handle his thoughts and survive that day... Will he?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 42.4%, Psychological 19.5%, Visual Novel 13.2%, Psychological Horror 7.9%, Emotional 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: A direct thematic exploration of depression that utilizes an atmospheric, interactive fiction style.

When the Darkness comes is a walking simulator whose glitchy and dark tale tries to illustrate the hardships of depression and anxiety through a variety of imaginary digital landscapes.

Why similar: Psychological Horror 33%, Psychological 21.5%, Indie 21.2%, Dark 9.5%, Emotional 8.2%

Why You'll Like It: An atmospheric walking simulator that uses surreal environments to represent the internal struggle of mental health.

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: Interactive Fiction 45.5%, Emotional 19.7%, Psychological 15.1%, Indie 11.8%, Singleplayer 4.2%

Why You'll Like It: A unique narrative experience that uses blink detection to move through a life story, emphasizing the fleeting nature of time and memory.

If Found... is a game about going home, coming out and erasing everything.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 37.2%, Visual Novel 21.3%, Indie 17.6%, LGBTQ+ 11.6%, Emotional 6.9%

Why You'll Like It: An interactive narrative that uses the act of erasing a diary to explore themes of identity, memory, and personal struggle.

Set out on a cross-country journey to win back the love of your life and endure the hardship of making story-defining choices that affect your life and the lives of those around you.

Why similar: Indie 61%, LGBTQ+ 15.8%, Singleplayer 8.3%, Story Rich 8.2%, Visual Novel 6.8%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses heavily on the consequences of life choices and the emotional weight of past decisions in a grounded, realistic setting.

A psychological text-based game where each day you are tasked with executing someone based on the limited information provided until one person remains with their full story revealed.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 37.6%, Psychological 18.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 15.4%, Text-Based 12.6%, Psychological Horror 6.4%

Why You'll Like It: A text-based interactive fiction game that tackles complex personal themes through branching dialogue and choices.

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

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 42.9%, Indie 20.3%, Emotional 16.2%, Psychological 9.2%, Story Rich 6.5%

Why You'll Like It: A narrative-heavy experience that explores the life of a dying man through his memories, focusing on emotional resonance over complex gameplay.

Play as a farmer who struggles to manage a failing farm. You come to a point where there is no more hope, and you must do something.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 35%, Choose Your Own Adventure 33%, Visual Novel 16.2%, Dark 6.4%, Psychological Horror 5%

Why You'll Like It: A dark, interactive adventure that uses visual storytelling to represent the internal turmoil of a troubled mind.

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: Psychological 30.6%, Indie 27.4%, Emotional 13.6%, Singleplayer 9.2%, Story Rich 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: A meta-narrative that offers a psychological look at the relationship between creator and player, challenging the way we interpret stories.

A game about writing nice letters to real people. Write and receive encouraging letters in a cozy room. Trade stickers and listen to chill music. We're all in this together. Sometimes all you need are a few kind words.

Why similar: Psychological 41.2%, Emotional 28.6%, Indie 19.3%, LGBTQ+ 10.8%

Why You'll Like It: A gentle, supportive experience focused on mental well-being and the power of anonymous, empathetic communication.

One of the new guys in school tells you he’s going to shoot up the school if he doesn’t make friends in 5 days. Discover the decisions, people, situations you will encounter while playing and trying to make friends of your own and living your own life.

Why similar: Psychological 47.5%, Realistic 24.9%, Dark 22.5%, Story Rich 5.2%

Why You'll Like It: A relatable simulation that captures the social anxiety and daily struggles of navigating teenage life.

it's always monday - is a first person exploration game

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 38.3%, Indie 22.5%, Visual Novel 10.8%, Psychological Horror 8.6%, Emotional 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: A psychological-horror experience that captures the mundane dread and repetitive nature of a difficult life.

Some memories aren't meant to stay. We are our memories and our experiences. What happens if you delete some of them? If you change your past and, thus, your future?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 29.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 25.4%, Text-Based 13.6%, Visual Novel 12.3%, Psychological Horror 6.3%

Why You'll Like It: A text-based simulation that highlights the consequences of isolation and the weight of personal choices.

Guilt Free is a visual novel crossed with a point and click made to offer perspective on mental health and eating disorders. Navigate a couple's rocky relationship and encounter "flaws" or "quirks" that may actually be symptomatic behaviors.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 37.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 22.9%, Visual Novel 13.5%, Text-Based 12.2%, Emotional 7.3%

Why You'll Like It: A narrative-driven visual novel that focuses on the emotional aftermath of personal decisions.

A visual novel about cute melancholic girls!

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 31.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 21.7%, Visual Novel 20.7%, Multiple Endings 7.4%, Psychological Horror 5.1%

Why You'll Like It: A simulation game that focuses on the therapeutic process and the management of personal well-being.

YOU are a psychiatrist, trying to solve a murder whilst treating the unusual patients of the recently deceased Doctor Dekker. Type a question - patients reply in full screen video and have questions for you too but be careful what you say. Your words determine their eventual fates, and your own!

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 27.7%, Psychological 17.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.5%, Indie 8.6%, Psychological Horror 7.5%

Why You'll Like It: A psychological investigation game that forces the player to navigate complex dialogue to uncover the truth.

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 46.3%, Visual Novel 19.7%, Emotional 8.5%, Indie 7.3%, LGBTQ+ 6.1%

Why You'll Like It: An empathetic narrative game where you listen to the personal struggles of your patrons, emphasizing the importance of being heard.

Battle demons and undead attorneys, and win souls to pay back your student loans! At the elite demonic-law firm of Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone, you'll depose a fallen god, find romance, and maybe even make partner, if you don't lose your own soul first.

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 42.8%, Interactive Fiction 30%, Text-Based 17.9%, Indie 9.4%

Why You'll Like It: A classic text-based interactive fiction game that offers deep, branching narrative paths based on player choices.

A short non-linear narrative game about negative experiences after coming out as transgender.

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 25.1%, Text-Based 18.4%, Visual Novel 17.3%, Emotional 10.1%, LGBTQ+ 8.2%

Why You'll Like It: A personal, text-based narrative that explores the internal struggle of identity and self-acceptance.

OneShot is a surreal top down Puzzle/Adventure game with unique gameplay capabilities. You are to guide a child through a mysterious world on a mission to restore its long-dead sun. The world knows you exist.

Why similar: Indie 37.9%, Multiple Endings 18.6%, Singleplayer 14.8%, Psychological Horror 13.8%, Story Rich 11.8%

Why You'll Like It: A meta-narrative game that creates a strong emotional bond between the player and the protagonist through unique fourth-wall-breaking mechanics.

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: Indie 22.2%, Visual Novel 17.8%, Story Rich 15%, Psychological Horror 14.7%, Singleplayer 12%

Why You'll Like It: A collection of short, poignant narrative vignettes that explore the lives and deaths of a single family.

June 7th, 1995. 1:15 AM. You arrive home after a year abroad. You expect your family to greet you, but the house is empty. Something's not right. Where is everyone? And what's happened here? Unravel the mystery for yourself in Gone Home, a story exploration game from The Fullbright Company.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 33.5%, Indie 32.3%, LGBTQ+ 15.6%, Singleplayer 6%, Story Rich 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: A narrative-focused exploration game that uses environmental storytelling to reveal a deeply personal family history.

Congratulations. The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled. For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint. An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling.

Why similar: Indie 60.7%, Multiple Endings 17.5%, Singleplayer 16.9%, Story Rich 4.9%

Why You'll Like It: A high-stakes simulation that forces the player to make difficult moral choices under immense pressure.

Rule the world or die trying!Being a Princess is not an easy job. Being a Queen is even harder. Especially when you're only fourteen years old, and the reason you've inherited the throne is that your royal mother has just met an untimely end.Now power is up for grabs.

Why similar: Visual Novel 45.6%, Choose Your Own Adventure 27.5%, Indie 14%, Singleplayer 6%, Multiple Endings 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: A high-stakes, choice-heavy narrative game where managing the protagonist's emotional state is key to survival.

A short, linear story game of a random demon guy's life.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 47.3%, Visual Novel 14.1%, Psychological 13%, Text-Based 12.5%, Psychological Horror 8.5%

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: Interactive Fiction 37.2%, Psychological 17%, Text-Based 14.2%, Visual Novel 13.2%, Emotional 7.6%

You who are unqualified to drink Meng Po's soup, you have been chosen for the game of life. A horror yuri visual novel following a series of death games in the afterlife.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 35.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 25.5%, Visual Novel 12.2%, Psychological 10.9%, Psychological Horror 4.4%

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 64.4%, Visual Novel 19.8%, Emotional 6.1%, Indie 5.5%, Singleplayer 2.2%

A story about a girl named Lizzy living in a miserable world and her journey to its darkest depths. A free atmospheric horror visual novel where you navigate life-or-death situations. SEEK PARADISE OR DIE TRYING

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 37.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 27.3%, Visual Novel 13.6%, Psychological Horror 7.4%, Multiple Endings 5.1%

A long-form, choice-driven psychological horror and depression game in which the protagonist’s ending changes based on the choices made by “you,” the voice he hears in his head.

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 43.8%, Psychological Horror 20.5%, Visual Novel 16.8%, Dark 11.8%, Singleplayer 3.6%

In an AI-powered age where original authors have become largely redundant, play as a dejected writer on the brink of losing their creative drive forever.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 32.5%, Psychological 17.3%, Visual Novel 15.2%, Text-Based 13.2%, Psychological Horror 8%

TOMORROW DON'T COME is a contextual puzzle game about depression and how it feels to be stuck.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 33.6%, Psychological 15.8%, Text-Based 11.6%, Visual Novel 10.1%, Indie 10%

Pleh! is a short psychological horror walking simulator that tells the story of a depressed game developer, his intrusive thoughts and his dark mysterious secrets.

Why similar: Psychological 34.3%, Psychological Horror 19.4%, Emotional 16.8%, Dark 12.1%, Indie 8.3%

Befriend misfit deities and make a life for yourself in the Underworld! Can you escape your arranged marriage to the King? Do you want to?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 41.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 31.8%, Text-Based 11.3%, Singleplayer 4.8%, Indie 4.2%

A yandere psychological horror visual novel. Choose a sweetheart to romance, but beware the petals of obsession.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 37.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 26.5%, Visual Novel 12.9%, Psychological 12.6%, Psychological Horror 4.2%

This small Narrative Point & Click (Puzzle) game is about the mental health struggles of a adolescent high school dropout who's lost at life. Find out what they're struggling with, you might even recognize some things from your own life.

Why similar: Text-Based 23.3%, Visual Novel 19.1%, Emotional 13.4%, Indie 12.9%, Psychological Horror 11.3%

You're looking for a new apartment in Amsterdam. Your once-confident search is morphing into panic. Nothing is available. Anything will do. ANYTHING.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 37.5%, Choose Your Own Adventure 26.6%, Visual Novel 13.2%, Text-Based 9.8%, Psychological Horror 6.2%

Play as Alice who has just had an unsettingly life-like dream about the end of the world, and is retelling it to her friend. A single play-through might take as little as 20 minutes, but experiencing all the possible paths Alice can take through the ruins of her city will take you many hours.

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 40.3%, Interactive Fiction 37%, Visual Novel 22.8%

Ukraine War Stories is a set of visual novels about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Set in the early months of the war, it tells the stories of civilians trapped on Russian-occupied territory. All stories are based on real events and eyewitness accounts.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 33.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 24.6%, Visual Novel 10.8%, Text-Based 9.7%, Psychological 8.7%

Free Will is a 2D psychological puzzle RPG where the puzzles happen outside of the game. Dig deep into the system code to fix the corruption, and uncover information that might be better off hidden.

Why similar: Psychological 52.4%, Indie 19.6%, Emotional 7.7%, Dark 6.5%, Multiple Endings 6.2%

You are subordinate to the deranged dictator and must plan his doomed invasion in this text-based RPG / Visual Novel. Navigate the shark-filled waters of the Great Leader's presidential cabinet, try to save your family, and survive the purges in a world of power-hungry leaders and nuclear warfare.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 34.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 24.5%, Visual Novel 11%, Text-Based 9.7%, Psychological 9.5%

A small "horror" narrative game about isolation and depression.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 63.8%, Psychological 19.9%, Psychological Horror 7.2%, Dark 7%, Singleplayer 1.2%

Graveyard Girls is a halloween-themed yuri visual novel about complicated grief and overcoming hardships. Collect Elle’s “scribbles” to learn about her struggles, befriend a mysterious girl, and have a conversation about death.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 35.5%, Psychological 14.6%, Visual Novel 13.3%, Text-Based 9%, Emotional 7.6%

Destined to Die is a task managing game about depression, containing over 200+ pieces of physical and digital art. What's the point in life, if all paths lead to death. Choose your actions, and learn how to live. All paths lead to death, but how long can you live?

Why similar: Emotional 44%, Dark 35.6%, Indie 13.5%, Singleplayer 6.9%

Set over the course of roughly a week, you play as a young girl who has been living in a shelter all her life. The outside world is infected with a deadly disease. Society is in chaos. Fortunately, your papa is protecting you.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 53.4%, Psychological 16.9%, Psychological Horror 9.1%, Emotional 8.7%, Dark 6.7%

Go about your normal every day life and meet new friends in this short visual novel!

Why similar: Visual Novel 36.4%, Text-Based 24.6%, Psychological Horror 16.4%, Indie 10.2%, Dark 7.8%

A surrealist text-based RPG. You will explore an island, solve puzzles, and fight enemies, all in your attempt to get the Dark Egg.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 40.6%, Choose Your Own Adventure 31.3%, Text-Based 12.9%, Psychological Horror 6.6%, Indie 4.8%

DeafBlind offers an immersive sensory deprivation experience, simulating what life might feel like if you were both deaf and blind. This game invites you to navigate a world shrouded in silence and darkness, challenging you to adapt and explore in entirely new ways.

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 66.6%, Realistic 17.6%, Singleplayer 10.2%, Multiple Endings 5.6%

Wake up, watch tv, make a cup of cofffee and try to bear your own meaningless existence.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 35.4%, Visual Novel 14%, Psychological 13.6%, Text-Based 11.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 10.9%

Social welfare survival horror based on real events. Endure emotional pain and societal pressure. Stay entertained. Survive the routine and become the hero of your studio apartment—battle inner demons, hide skeletons in the closet, and most importantly… keep the bathroom clean.

Why similar: Indie 31.4%, Psychological Horror 26.9%, Singleplayer 16.7%, Multiple Endings 16.2%, Story Rich 8.8%

Follow Sybil in her pursuit for survival, having to sacrifice everything - her culture, her identity, her values - to achieve a single objective: escape from a place that is constantly trying to kill her. A short game about persecution and identity.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 27.7%, Visual Novel 23.9%, Emotional 17.2%, Multiple Endings 11.9%, Dark 11.2%

A story about a dead lamb walking.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 53.9%, Visual Novel 18%, Psychological Horror 8.6%, Psychological 6.8%, Multiple Endings 5.8%

"non-binary" is a video game that mixes text choices and bullet hell to tell the story of two non-binary people's journey of self-discovery. Make your choices. Dodge words. Go through things that hurt without breaking down. If you can.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 47.2%, Visual Novel 16.9%, Text-Based 9.6%, Emotional 9%, LGBTQ+ 7.3%

Introductory demonstration version. An interactive movie that combines a psychiatrist simulator, a detective story and unique fight sequences. Take on the role of a psychiatrist, encounter various psychiatric diagnoses, and investigate disappearances of various people.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 45.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 32.7%, Realistic 6.4%, Indie 6.1%, Multiple Endings 4.9%