- #1 Emily is Away Too
97% matchVery Positive93% of 6,144 reviews2017
Dev: Kyle Seeley
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.2 hrsMean: 15.1 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Emily is Away Too is a brand new story featuring new characters and multiple different endings. Message your friends, surf the web and choose your path through this branching narrative.
Why similar: Choices Matter 21.5%, Dating Sim 13.4%, Story Rich 12.3%, Simulation 10.9%, Text-Based 9.5%
Why You'll Like It: It expands the original's nostalgic AIM-style format into a fuller branching relationship story while keeping the same awkward, heartfelt chat-based choices.
- #2 Emily is Away <3
96% matchVery Positive91% of 6,586 reviews2021
Dev: Kyle Seeley
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.3 hrsMean: 4.9 hrs≥1hr: 79%
Emily <3 is a brand new story set on an old-new social media. Customize your facenook profile, send some friend requests and determine the outcome of your senior year.
Why similar: Choices Matter 23.3%, Dating Sim 14%, Story Rich 12.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.6%, Simulation 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: This is the closest match in structure and tone, translating Emily is Away's branching online conversations into a later-era social-media interface.
- #3 missed messages.
96% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 15,420 reviews2019
Dev: Angela He
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 36 minMean: 3.1 hrs≥1hr: 18%
‘goth gf’s iPhone’ airdrops you - accept or decline? A love/horror story about life, death, & memes.
Why similar: Choices Matter 31.6%, Visual Novel 21.3%, Romance 18.9%, Story Rich 11.6%, Simulation 5.7%
Why You'll Like It: Like Emily is Away, it's a short, emotional choice-driven story where what you say in digital conversations can deeply affect another person.
- #4 Left on Read
95% matchMostly Positive80% of 5,286 reviews2020
Dev: Weston Bell-GeddesPub: Spookulele Games
Windows · Mac
It’s March of 2020; you were just sent home from college because of the coronavirus, you have a few small regrets, mainly not telling someone how you really feel.
Why similar: Choices Matter 22.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 17.4%, Romance 17%, Interactive Fiction 12.8%, Simulation 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: It turns texting into the core gameplay, capturing the same tension of reading signals and choosing replies in a modern relationship story.
- #5 VIDEOVERSE
94% matchVery Positive96% of 235 reviews2023
Dev: Kinmoku
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.7 hrsMean: 4.9 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Relive the days of the early internet and dive into this fictional video game era, where the 'Kinmoku Shark’ gaming system and its online social network 'Videoverse' were still popular…
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 19.3%, Choices Matter 14%, Story Rich 12.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.1%, Retro 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: Its retro online-community setting and bittersweet focus on digital friendship feel like a natural evolution of Emily is Away's internet nostalgia.
- #6 Secret Little Haven
94% matchVery Positive98% of 487 reviews2018
Dev: Hummingwarp Interactive
Windows · Mac · Linux
An adventure game about old computers, community, creativity, fandom, gender, and the internet. Alex Cole is a teenage trans girl in 1999 who has yet to figure herself out. She spends much of her free time on the internet, browsing a fan forum for her favorite magical girl show, and chatting with her friends.
Why similar: Indie 49.2%, Visual Novel 25.3%, Adventure 16.1%, Singleplayer 9.5%
Why You'll Like It: Its retro desktop UI, teen coming-of-age themes, and deeply personal online conversations make it one of the strongest non-sequel alternatives.
- #7 Over The Phone
93% matchVery Positive84% of 93 reviews2021
Dev: Ramify Games
Windows · Mac
A short talking sim with choices. Get to know Harper over a handful of voice-acted calls and text chats.
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.5%, Choices Matter 16.4%, Dating Sim 14.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.7%, Romance 12.7%
Why You'll Like It: This is almost entirely about steering a relationship through branching conversation choices, mirroring Emily is Away's talk-first storytelling.
- #8 Drinks With Abbey
92% matchMostly Positive79% of 400 reviews2019
Dev: Ramify Games
Windows · Mac
Drinks with Abbey is a short, slice-of-life visual novel about a first date.
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 22.7%, Choices Matter 17.2%, Dating Sim 14.5%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.4%, Romance 13%
Why You'll Like It: It delivers another compact, dialogue-led relationship story where the appeal comes from reading tone and picking responses carefully.
- #9 The Average Everyday Adventures of Samantha Browne
91% matchVery Positive82% of 1,224 reviews2016
Dev: Lemonsucker Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 48 minMean: 44.0 hrs≥1hr: 35%
An interactive story about a painfully introverted college student who must find a way to make some oatmeal in the communal kitchen of her dorm. One simple task, can you help her complete it?
Why similar: Visual Novel 30.1%, Choices Matter 26.1%, Indie 18.3%, Casual 11.9%, Simulation 8.1%
Why You'll Like It: This choice-heavy coming-of-age story similarly finds drama in ordinary life, uncertainty, and the things people do or don't say.
- #10 Our Life: Beginnings & Always
90% matchOverwhelmingly Positive99% of 13,335 reviews2020
Dev: GB Patch Games
Windows · Linux
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 25.8 hrs≥1hr: 55%
A twenty-dollar bill, four summers, fifteen years, and a one of a kind life. Create an experience that’s all your own in this near-fully customizable visual novel where you grow from childhood to adulthood with the lonely boy next door.
Why similar: Choices Matter 19.3%, Romance 17.5%, Dating Sim 15.2%, Visual Novel 14.9%, Interactive Fiction 14.3%
Why You'll Like It: While more visual-novel-like, it shares the same strengths in tender relationship development, player-shaped conversations, and growing up alongside someone.
- #11 We should talk.
91% matchMixed57% of 163 reviews2020
Dev: Insatiable CyclePub: Whitethorn Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 42 minMean: 4.0 hrs≥1hr: 46%
It's not what you say, it's how you say it. We should talk is a short-form narrative game that will make you think carefully about the words you choose. Can your relationship survive the night?
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 20.2%, Choices Matter 18.7%, Story Rich 13.2%, Text-Based 11.5%, Romance 11.4%
Why You'll Like It: Its entire design revolves around choosing dialogue in messy, personal conversations where subtle wording pushes the story toward different outcomes.
- #12 Perfect Tides
88% matchVery Positive97% of 311 reviews2022
Dev: Three Bees
Windows · Mac
Perfect Tides is a point and click adventure game about the agony and anticipation of being a teen. Set in the year 2000, you follow Mara, an internet-obsessed young writer who lives on a so-called island paradise.
Why similar: Text-Based 21.4%, Romance 18%, Retro 17.4%, Story Rich 15.1%, Pixel Graphics 11.3%
Why You'll Like It: Its late-90s internet-era coming-of-age writing and focus on awkward adolescence make it an excellent thematic match even with a broader adventure structure.
- #13 SIMULACRA
87% matchVery Positive90% of 4,596 reviews2017
Dev: Kaigan Games OÜ
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 7.7 hrs≥1hr: 71%
An interactive horror experience of exploring a missing woman’s phone.
Why similar: Choices Matter 37%, Story Rich 25.1%, Visual Novel 21.4%, Simulation 14.6%, Adventure 2%
Why You'll Like It: This leans horror, but its phone-interface storytelling and emphasis on piecing together a person's life through messages will appeal to players who liked digital narrative immersion.
- #14 Cibele
89% matchMixed51% of 1,272 reviews2015
Dev: Star Maid GamesPub: N/A
Windows · Mac
Median: 54 minMean: 1.8 hrs≥1hr: 44%
Cibele is a game about love, sex, and the internet. You play as a 19 year old girl who has become close with a young man she met in an online game. Her relationship with him heats up, becoming more and more intimate with each phone call and private chat.
Why similar: Romance 30.4%, Indie 24.9%, Story Rich 24.2%, Visual Novel 14.6%, Singleplayer 5.9%
Why You'll Like It: It explores online intimacy and young-adult vulnerability through a computer-screen presentation that feels very close to Emily is Away's emotional core.
- #15 Carpe Diem
86% matchVery Positive89% of 8,560 reviews2015
Dev: Moonlit Works
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 12 minMean: 9.1 hrs≥1hr: 13%
Seize the day
Why similar: Visual Novel 42.7%, Dating Sim 24.7%, Indie 7.9%, Singleplayer 7.3%, Casual 6.2%
Why You'll Like It: Its short, free, romance-focused branching structure makes it a lighter but still relevant pick for fans of quick choice-driven stories.
- #16 one night, hot springs
84% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 3,091 reviews2018
Dev: npckc
Windows · Mac · Linux
Haru is invited by her old friend Manami to spend a night at the hot springs. All Haru wants to do is enjoy the hot springs like everyone else, but she doesn't want to cause any trouble...
Why similar: Choices Matter 24.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 22.3%, Story Rich 16.2%, Visual Novel 15.8%, Simulation 8.7%
Why You'll Like It: Its short length, branching dialogue, and gentle focus on a vulnerable personal experience make it a strong fit for Emily is Away fans seeking something intimate.
- #17 If Found...
84% matchVery Positive90% of 2,276 reviews2020
Dev: DREAMFEELPub: Annapurna Interactive
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.9 hrsMean: 3.5 hrs≥1hr: 89%
If Found... is a game about going home, coming out and erasing everything.
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 27.9%, Visual Novel 22.4%, Story Rich 21.1%, Indie 12.8%, Casual 9.3%
Why You'll Like It: It offers another deeply personal interactive story about identity, relationships, and choices, with a strong sense of melancholy and emotional honesty.
- #18 Florence
83% matchVery Positive93% of 15,716 reviews2020
Dev: MountainsPub: Annapurna Interactive
Windows · Mac
Median: 1.2 hrsMean: 5.2 hrs≥1hr: 63%
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 22.4%, Romance 19.1%, Story Rich 18.7%, Visual Novel 10.2%, Indie 8.6%
Why You'll Like It: Though more linear, it captures the same bittersweet relationship arc and quiet emotional beats that make Emily is Away resonate.
- #19 Border of her Heart
85% matchMixed67% of 73 reviews2018
Dev: Tuomo LainePub: Tuomo's games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 48 minMean: 5.3 hrs≥1hr: 43%
Border of her Heart is a VN about Border control.
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 19.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.9%, Choices Matter 13.1%, Dating Sim 11.2%, Romance 9.3%
Why You'll Like It: It keeps the focus on direct dialogue choices and romantic branching paths, making it a decent match for players who mainly want more interactive relationship storytelling.
- #20 Eliza
82% matchVery Positive91% of 1,720 reviews2019
Dev: Zachtronics
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.3 hrsMean: 5.5 hrs≥1hr: 73%
Eliza is a visual novel about an AI counseling program, the people who develop it, and the people who use it. Follow Evelyn Ishino-Aubrey as she reconnects with people from her past, gets to know the people of Seattle who use Eliza for counseling, and decides the course of her future.
Why similar: Visual Novel 36%, Story Rich 25.4%, Choices Matter 23.2%, Indie 10.3%, Singleplayer 5%
Why You'll Like It: Its conversation-centric structure and focus on human connection through screens give it a similarly intimate, dialogue-driven feel.
- #21 A YEAR OF SPRINGS
81% matchOverwhelmingly Positive99% of 925 reviews2021
Dev: npckc
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.6 hrsMean: 3.3 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Experience the stories of Haru, Erika, and Manami, a trio of friends navigating their feelings of love, connection, and just wanting to belong.
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 22.2%, Choices Matter 17.1%, Story Rich 15.3%, Visual Novel 13.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.6%
Why You'll Like It: Like Emily is Away, it uses simple presentation and meaningful dialogue choices to tell sincere, personal stories about connection and vulnerability.
- #22 LoveChoice
80% matchVery Positive92% of 35,756 reviews2021
Dev: Akaba Studio
Windows · Mac
Median: 1.8 hrsMean: 5.5 hrs≥1hr: 74%
"What is love?" We try to answer that with this game. The game encourages people to have a warm, soft, and understanding heart.
Why similar: Choices Matter 21.7%, Romance 18.7%, Dating Sim 17.2%, Story Rich 14.3%, Visual Novel 10.1%
Why You'll Like It: This compact relationship anthology is all about branching emotional decisions and the consequences of saying the wrong thing.
- #23 Arcade Spirits
81% matchVery Positive92% of 622 reviews2019
Dev: Fiction Factory GamesPub: PQube
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 7.2 hrs≥1hr: 93%
Arcade Spirits is a romantic visual novel that follows an alternative timeline where the 1983 video game crash never occurred. It's 20XX and you've just started a new job at the Funplex game arcade. Who will you meet along the way? Will you find the romance you're seeking?
Why similar: Choices Matter 16.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.6%, Dating Sim 12.9%, Story Rich 12.2%, Romance 12%
Why You'll Like It: It is more overtly a visual novel, but its strong relationship writing and player-shaped conversations scratch a similar choices-matter social-story itch.
- #24 LongStory
82% matchMostly Positive73% of 104 reviews2017
Dev: Bloom Digital Media
Windows · Mac
In LongStory you can be and date who you choose. Play as the gender of your choice and date the cutie you like best! LongStory is is based on real stories - things that have happened, if not to us, to people we know and love. We hope it is funny, sad, perplexing and wonderful… Just like life.
Why similar: Dating Sim 20.4%, Romance 17.8%, Visual Novel 16.1%, Simulation 13.9%, Story Rich 12.3%
Why You'll Like It: This teen-focused branching romance emphasizes texting, identity, and small interpersonal choices in a way that overlaps strongly with Emily is Away's appeal.
- #25 a new life.
79% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 2,375 reviews2020
Dev: Angela He
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 48 minMean: 1.2 hrs≥1hr: 37%
When your loved one hurts you, what do you do? A classic love story about letting go.
Why similar: Romance 29.2%, Visual Novel 23.4%, Choices Matter 22.8%, Indie 14.5%, Story Rich 7.5%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a brief but potent branching relationship story with the same interest in how small choices can reshape an emotional bond.
- #26 Doki Doki Literature Club!
78% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 219,150 reviews2017
Dev: Team Salvato
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 38.2 hrs≥1hr: 74%
The Literature Club is full of cute girls! Will you write the way into their heart? This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.
Why similar: Visual Novel 26.6%, Dating Sim 25.8%, Story Rich 19.3%, Romance 18.2%, Singleplayer 4.7%
- #27 Neo Cab
79% matchMostly Positive80% of 2,781 reviews2019
Dev: Chance AgencyPub: Fellow Traveller
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.8 hrsMean: 7.4 hrs≥1hr: 66%
A visual novel about emotional survival in an automated world. Play as Lina, the last human cab driver. It’s your first night driving the lonely streets of Los Ojos, and your best friend has just disappeared. Stay on the road. Stay on the search. Stay human.
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 32%, Choices Matter 27.5%, Story Rich 19.4%, Visual Novel 16.1%, Singleplayer 3.5%
Why You'll Like It: Its gameplay is built around reading people, managing tone, and making dialogue choices under emotional pressure, much like the best moments in Emily is Away.
- #28 Loading Screen Simulator
78% matchVery Positive87% of 8,618 reviews2017
Dev: CakeEaterGames
Windows
Median: 48 minMean: 31.5 hrs≥1hr: 42%
A game about never-ending problem of loading screens. We've all experienced it while playing games, while downloading something, while installing an operating system ect. And now you can experience it once again in Loading Screen Simulator: Steam edition
Why similar: Simulation 40.4%, Indie 17.2%, Casual 13.7%, Singleplayer 13.7%, Funny 9%
- #29 Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
77% matchVery Positive93% of 10,059 reviews2015
Dev: Crows Crows Crows
Windows · Mac
Median: 42 minMean: 2.5 hrs≥1hr: 41%
A 15 minute heist game by Crows Crows Crows & Directed by William Pugh (The Stanley Parable). Slip into the soft-soled shoes of the mastermind responsible for the greatest heist- oh god I can’t do this any more, i’m joining the strike. good luck writing the steam description. -tina
Why similar: Story Rich 30.6%, Indie 25.7%, Singleplayer 18.2%, Funny 16.1%, Casual 6.6%
- #30 AdVenture Capitalist
77% matchVery Positive88% of 59,967 reviews2015
Dev: Hyper Hippo Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.0 hrsMean: 67.9 hrs≥1hr: 81%
Welcome, eager young investor, to AdVenture Capitalist! Arguably the world's greatest Capitalism simulator!
Why similar: Simulation 39.5%, Casual 16.7%, Singleplayer 16.5%, Funny 13%, Adventure 7.2%
- #31 OmOneko
74% matchVery Positive100% of 62 reviews2025
Dev: TaleChaser
Windows · Mac · Linux
“A story about cat girls … with bite.” Nekos have evolved in the shadows of human society. Beautiful. Mysterious. Chaotic. And now, three of them live with you. Will you be able to get past the stigma and grow closer to them? OmOneko is a tale of cat and mouse... and rats.
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 18.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.7%, Choices Matter 12.5%, Romance 10.8%, Dating Sim 10.6%
- #32 The Plan
76% matchVery Positive92% of 23,443 reviews2014
Dev: Krillbite Studio
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 12 minMean: 2.4 hrs≥1hr: 5%
A fly ascends to the skies, pondering the pointlessness of its brief existence.
Why similar: Indie 40%, Simulation 25.3%, Casual 17.7%, Singleplayer 12.1%, Adventure 2.5%
- #33 A Date in the Park
76% matchVery Positive88% of 1,998 reviews2016
Dev: Cloak and Dagger Games
Windows
Median: 48 minMean: 3.1 hrs≥1hr: 36%
A short and mysterious free point and click adventure game, inspired by the feeling of oddness in an everyday situation.
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 43.5%, Story Rich 24.3%, Romance 23.3%, Singleplayer 4.1%, 2D 2.8%
- #34 Missing Translation
75% matchVery Positive88% of 3,303 reviews2015
Dev: AlPixel GamesPub: GamesBoosters
Windows · Mac
Median: 1.1 hrsMean: 3.6 hrs≥1hr: 55%
Lost in a weird city in the middle of the desert and surrounded by strange creatures that keep staring at you. This is a game about exploring the unknown and solving puzzles... lots of them! Don't be fooled by the looks, this isn't a point & click adventure.
Why similar: Pixel Graphics 41.3%, Indie 26.2%, Casual 12.8%, Singleplayer 8.7%, Adventure 7.6%
- #35 Antenna
75% matchMostly Positive76% of 2,715 reviews2016
Dev: LWNA
Windows
Median: 30 minMean: 146.3 hrs≥1hr: 18%
A machine ponders its loneliness. It scans the radio spectrum for an answer to its question.
Why similar: Indie 37.4%, Casual 30.3%, Singleplayer 19.8%, Adventure 7.1%, 2D 5.5%
- #36 Emberfate: Tempest of Elements
72% matchVery Positive98% of 140 reviews2023
Dev: Wind Chimes Games Limited
Windows · Mac · Linux
An immersive MMORPG-simulation chatroom based romance / otome visual novel. You are the leader of a raiding guild in the world's hottest MMORPG, Emberfate. Will you lead your guild to success in the newest raid — and perhaps find love along the way among your guildmates?
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 19.5%, Choices Matter 14%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.3%, Dating Sim 12.2%, Visual Novel 9.3%
- #37 Angel Wings
73% matchVery Positive88% of 645 reviews2021
Dev: RumR Design
Windows
Upon answering a mysterious phone call, you awaken in an unfamiliar place filled with new faces… Through intricate relationships and thoughtful introspection, will you be able to unravel the reason you are here?
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 19.5%, Choose Your Own Adventure 15.2%, Dating Sim 13%, Choices Matter 13%, Romance 11.8%
- #38 Elisa: The Innkeeper - Prequel
74% matchMostly Positive79% of 802 reviews2016
Dev: Neoclassic Games
Windows
Median: 36 minMean: 4.7 hrs≥1hr: 30%
This short Visual novel can be considered as a little introductory episode of the game Elisa the innkeeper. Enjoy our Art and Soundtrack as you begin to shape Elisa's destiny for the better or the worse!
Why similar: Choices Matter 30.7%, Romance 20.1%, Visual Novel 19.2%, Dating Sim 12.3%, Indie 5.9%
- #39 The Way of Life Free Edition
73% matchMostly Positive74% of 6,195 reviews2016
Dev: CyberCoconut
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 18 minMean: 1.8 hrs≥1hr: 14%
The Way of Life makes the player relive the same life's experiences from the point of view of three characters of different ages: an adult, an old man and a child.
Why similar: Simulation 27.9%, Story Rich 26%, Indie 21.7%, Singleplayer 16.5%, Adventure 5.7%
- #40 Crush Crush
71% matchVery Positive89% of 27,908 reviews2016
Dev: Sad Panda Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.1 hrsMean: 96.3 hrs≥1hr: 80%
Welcome to Crush Crush - the Idle Dating Sim! Meet, flirt, and fall in love with a motley cast of girls in this heartfelt and hilarious game.
Why similar: Dating Sim 54.5%, Romance 18.6%, Visual Novel 12.6%, Singleplayer 5.2%, Casual 3.8%
- #41 Sepia Tears
72% matchVery Positive88% of 991 reviews2016
Dev: Scarlet String Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 30 minMean: 5.7 hrs≥1hr: 32%
A visual novel about a memory that a boy named Mark tries very hard to forget, and a girl named Myra who unearths it.
Why similar: Romance 19.4%, Dating Sim 18.1%, Story Rich 18%, Visual Novel 16%, Text-Based 15.9%
- #42 Trick and Treat - Visual Novel
71% matchVery Positive90% of 3,613 reviews2016
Dev: Eternal Night StudiosPub: Alberto Herrera
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 42 minMean: 5.1 hrs≥1hr: 41%
Trick & Treat is a Visual Novel that test your instincts by making choices that can get you out from the cursed forest or drive you to death… or maybe just maybe your choices can guide you to something more?
Why similar: Visual Novel 34.9%, Romance 17.1%, Dating Sim 11.7%, Story Rich 9.7%, Simulation 8.6%
- #43 Only If
73% matchMixed62% of 5,958 reviews2014
Dev: Creability
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 42 minMean: 5.4 hrs≥1hr: 40%
Only If is a surreal first person adventure-puzzle game. It takes idiom into reality.
Why similar: Indie 32.7%, Singleplayer 23.4%, Simulation 18.1%, Adventure 16.1%, Casual 7%
- #44 A Date with Death
67% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 13,259 reviews2023
Dev: Two and a Half Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 7.9 hrs≥1hr: 72%
Fight against & romance the one hunting for your soul in A Date with Death, a romance chat simulator where you date(?) the Grim Reaper himself. Create your own character, decorate your apartment, and chat away with the charming yet dangerous Grim Reaper through text and video calls.
Why similar: Dating Sim 27.7%, Romance 16.5%, Visual Novel 15.5%, Choices Matter 12.1%, Interactive Fiction 8.6%
- #45 Clicker Heroes
70% matchVery Positive90% of 61,916 reviews2015
Dev: Playsaurus
Windows · Mac
Median: 10.5 hrsMean: 164.2 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Click your way through hordes of monsters, earn gold, and recruit quirky heroes with powerful skills. Progress even while you're idle, and watch the numbers climb into the absurd. It’s a never-ending journey of clicks, crits, and colossal damage.
Why similar: Simulation 21.1%, Indie 20.9%, Casual 18.1%, Funny 13.7%, Singleplayer 8.8%
- #46 Dev Guy
71% matchMostly Positive79% of 1,786 reviews2015
Dev: Daniel Jonathan BourkePub: Project Tranquil
Windows
Median: 48 minMean: 4.2 hrs≥1hr: 31%
With your final build missing, and only till the end of the night to publish his game, Warren must take up the difficult adventure to make a new build before the end of the night through whatever means necessary. Join Warren's quest to publish his title before the end of the night and become an indie dev.
Why similar: Indie 46.8%, Funny 16.3%, Singleplayer 15%, Adventure 13.3%, Casual 8.6%
- #47 MANDAGON
69% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 5,723 reviews2016
Dev: Blind Sky Studios
Windows · Mac
Median: 36 minMean: 3.3 hrs≥1hr: 23%
Explore Mandagon, a world inspired by Tibetan theology and philosophy. With a focus on life and death, discover what it means to make a true sacrifice . . .
Why similar: Pixel Graphics 27.7%, Story Rich 25.5%, Indie 19.9%, Singleplayer 7.2%, Adventure 6.9%
- #48 The Sad Story of Emmeline Burns
70% matchVery Positive90% of 893 reviews2016
Dev: ebi-hime
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 30 minMean: 4.9 hrs≥1hr: 37%
A short lesbian / yuri visual novel set in England. Our heroine, Toma Andrews, meets a ghost girl wearing an old-fashioned nightgown in a graveyard who calls herself Emmeline. Just who is she, and how did she die?
Why similar: Visual Novel 27.3%, Romance 19.8%, Story Rich 18.8%, Text-Based 10%, Indie 8.2%
- #49 You Have to Win the Game
69% matchVery Positive93% of 5,714 reviews2014
Dev: Minor Key Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 42 minMean: 3.6 hrs≥1hr: 43%
You Have to Win the Game is a free exploration platformer with a retro 1980s PC aesthetic.
Why similar: Retro 55.3%, Indie 15.6%, Pixel Graphics 14.6%, Singleplayer 8.1%, 2D 4.2%
- #50 Marie's Room
68% matchVery Positive93% of 6,612 reviews2018
Dev: Kenny Guillaume
Windows
Median: 54 minMean: 14.9 hrs≥1hr: 42%
Marie's Room is a short story exploration game about an unconventional friendship between two classmates. You play as Kelsey, remembering Marie's room as it was twenty years ago. But something’s off. What happened to Marie?
Why similar: Story Rich 64.6%, Indie 14.2%, Singleplayer 9.1%, Casual 8.3%, Adventure 3.9%
- #51 Elisa: Seduce the Innkeeper
70% matchMostly Positive72% of 194 reviews2017
Dev: Neoclassic Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.1 hrsMean: 3.3 hrs≥1hr: 78%
The player doesn't impersonate a simple man, but a powerful, rich and famous nobleman who seems to be able to obtain whatever he wishes for. But will this be enough this time?
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 20.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16%, Choices Matter 15%, Dating Sim 12%, Romance 10.4%
- #52 Iron Snout
67% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 17,426 reviews2016
Dev: SnoutUp
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.2 hrsMean: 4.9 hrs≥1hr: 55%
Iron Snout is a fast, colorful and brutal fighting game in which you will be helping a piglet fight for its life against hordes of wolves.
Why similar: Funny 28%, Indie 25.6%, Singleplayer 21.8%, Casual 13.8%, 2D 10.8%
- #53 404Sight
69% matchVery Positive85% of 1,762 reviews2015
Dev: Retro Yeti Games
Windows
Median: 48 minMean: 7.2 hrs≥1hr: 37%
404Sight is a free game made in support of net neutrality. It’s a 3D playground runner influenced by parkour running with the addition of a special ping ability that reveals areas that can speed the player up or slow them down.
Why similar: Indie 81.1%, Singleplayer 18.9%
- #54 Speed Dates Summer Edition
66% matchMixed64% of 87 reviews2025
Dev: Icarus Interactive Entertainment
Windows · Mac
Summer's here and hearts are heating up! Meet five different beauties, hang out, flirt a little... and maybe even find your summer romance. Your choices matter — and the story’s all yours.
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.2%, Choices Matter 17.8%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.6%, Dating Sim 14.3%, Romance 12.4%
- #55 Mr. Rightaway
64% matchVery Positive98% of 380 reviews2024
Dev: 开水工作室Pub: NVLMaker
Windows
古风多结局乙女向文字冒险游戏，完全免费
Why similar: Interactive Fiction 26.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 21.1%, Story Rich 19%, Choices Matter 13.3%, Visual Novel 12%
- #56 the static speaks my name
68% matchVery Positive82% of 5,722 reviews2015
Dev: the whale husband
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 18 minMean: 15.3 hrs≥1hr: 7%
A dark/sad/weird/funny first person exploration game. You play a man on his last night alive as he obsesses over a mysterious painting. More of a story game in that it emphasizes mood and character over gameplay. Takes ten minutes to play and has "next-gen" features like a shrimp tank.
Why similar: Indie 60.7%, Singleplayer 25.5%, Adventure 13.8%
- #57 Romance Club - Stories I Play
66% matchMostly Positive79% of 988 reviews2023
Dev: Your Story Interactive
Windows
Median: 54 minMean: 8.4 hrs≥1hr: 49%
Immerse yourself in romantic visual stories where you control what happens!
Why similar: Choices Matter 20.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 20%, Romance 18.9%, Visual Novel 15.4%, Simulation 11.9%
- #58 One Thousand Lies
67% matchVery Positive89% of 1,129 reviews2016
Dev: Keinart Lobre
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 36 minMean: 6.6 hrs≥1hr: 36%
One day, Ciarán starts receiving enigmatic emails from a mysterious sender, turning his everyday life into a mess of a romantic comedy with psychological themes mixed in. What lies beyond the mystery he's been presented with? In the words of Harry H.: "If you want to know the truth, go find it".
Why similar: Visual Novel 30.6%, Story Rich 23.3%, Romance 21.2%, Simulation 13.8%, Casual 6.5%
