Games Like Locke(d)

Thanks to next generation AI technology, BUDDY SIMULATOR 1984 simulates the experience of hanging out with a best buddy! Your buddy learns from you, constantly adapting to your interests and personality. But most importantly, your buddy can play games with you!

Why similar: Psychological Horror 45.9%, Interactive Fiction 24.1%, Atmospheric 7.4%, Adventure 6.9%, 2D 6%

Why You'll Like It: It features a sentient AI that evolves and manipulates the player, mirroring the core themes of digital consciousness and psychological unease.

A reverse-detective adventure, where you control your character's face

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 25.9%, Point & Click 23.8%, Psychological Horror 23.5%, Visual Novel 23%, Casual 3.8%

Why You'll Like It: This game utilizes a unique facial expression system and meta-narrative elements to explore mystery and psychological identity.

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: Psychological Horror 32.8%, Visual Novel 28.5%, Anime 23.1%, Dark 11.7%, Singleplayer 1.8%

Why You'll Like It: A seminal meta-horror visual novel that subverts player expectations through psychological manipulation and fourth-wall breaking.

A short story about what sort of challenges everyday little things can be. Help the girl buy milk, be the first not to disappoint her.

Why similar: Experimental 23.9% ★, Visual Novel 20%, Psychological Horror 17.1%, Philosophical 15.8%, Interactive Fiction 12.2%

Why You'll Like It: A surreal and highly psychological visual novel that captures the feeling of navigating a fragile, fragmented mental state.

"What if you're born into this world without your permission?" DIVINATION is a very short visual novel where you act as a fortune teller in a futuristic world. Talk and listen to people's stories, then foresee their future using the runes they had drawn.

Why similar: Philosophical 26.9%, Experimental 20.2% ★, Conversation 15.7%, Visual Novel 12%, Point & Click 10.9%

Why You'll Like It: A short, philosophical visual novel that focuses on conversation and the moral weight of predicting the future.

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: Philosophical 31.4%, Experimental 30.2% ★, Atmospheric 16%, Dark 7.9%, Psychological Horror 6.5%

Why You'll Like It: An intensely philosophical and meta-narrative experience that examines the relationship between creator, player, and the game itself.

A visual novel about what it means to be human. A story about loneliness, self-identification, and the meaning of existence.

Why similar: Philosophical 28.4%, Artificial Intelligence 22.1%, Visual Novel 11.8%, Conversation 11.8%, Interactive Fiction 10.3%

Why You'll Like It: This title explores artificial intelligence and emotional connection through an atmospheric, text-heavy narrative.

Stories Untold is a compilation tape of four experimental adventures, including a remaster of the original hit episode “The House Abandon”.

Why similar: Psychological Horror 34.5%, Point & Click 27.5%, Atmospheric 19%, Adventure 9.9%, Mystery 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: This episodic collection uses text-based interfaces and atmospheric mystery to create a sense of creeping dread and digital isolation.

A short psychological adventure about a stressed girl who wants to explore her ceiling.

Why similar: Point & Click 18.1%, Mystery 14.8%, Visual Novel 13.9%, Psychological Horror 13.6%, Anime 12.6%

Why You'll Like It: A short, psychological point-and-click adventure that captures the feeling of being trapped in a singular, existential space.

You've moved to a new house where the previous owner was murdered. They never found his head. But, it has found you.

Why similar: Philosophical 22.1%, Experimental 20.8% ★, Visual Novel 12.4%, Interactive Fiction 11.7%, Psychological Horror 11.2%

Why You'll Like It: An experimental visual novel that leans into psychological horror and unsettling, intimate storytelling.

Inscryption is an inky black card-based odyssey that blends the deckbuilding roguelike, escape-room style puzzles, and psychological horror into a blood-laced smoothie. Darker still are the secrets inscrybed upon the cards...

Why similar: Experimental 43.1% ★, Dark 25.9%, Point & Click 22.3%, 2D 5.1%, Adventure 3.6%

Why You'll Like It: It blends card-based gameplay with a dark, meta-narrative mystery that forces the player to question the nature of the game world.

Alone in the dead of night, you find yourself sent on a simple errand to check on a quiet gas station on the outskirts of town. But nothing here feels right. You can’t outrun this place. It wants you. And it will keep you.

Why similar: Philosophical 22.5%, Conversation 18.6%, Visual Novel 12.3%, Psychological Horror 11.8%, Interactive Fiction 9.9%

Why You'll Like It: A psychological horror visual novel that uses surreal imagery and branching choices to explore themes of error and repetition.

A classic survival horror experience set in a dystopian future where humanity has uncovered a dark secret. Unravel a cosmic mystery, escape terrifying creatures, and scavenge an off-world government facility as Elster, a technician Replika searching for her lost dreams.

Why similar: Psychological Horror 35.3%, Mystery 24%, Dark 17%, Atmospheric 16%, Adventure 4.6%

Why You'll Like It: An atmospheric psychological horror game that deals with existential dread, memory, and the nature of the self.

A short point & click narrative adventure inspired by the real life experience of a struggling solo indie game developer. A story about everything and hence nothing at all. Discover what truly matters to you.

Why similar: Philosophical 23.4%, Interactive Fiction 15.3%, Point & Click 13.9%, Psychological Horror 11.2%, Visual Novel 11.1%

Why You'll Like It: A minimalist interactive fiction game that tackles nihilism and psychological introspection through simple point-and-click mechanics.

There is no game. So don't go messing things up by clicking everywhere. You don’t want to be kicked out of your video game world, do you? Of course not!

Why similar: Point & Click 47%, Interactive Fiction 20.9%, Adventure 11.4%, Casual 9.2%, 2D 7.2%

Why You'll Like It: A clever, meta-narrative point-and-click adventure that constantly plays with the boundaries of the game interface.

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is an expanded re-imagining of 2013's The Stanley Parable. You will play as Stanley, and you will not play as Stanley. You will make a choice, and you will become powerless. You are not here to win. The Stanley Parable is a game that plays you.

Why similar: Psychological Horror 41.1%, Mystery 26.7%, Atmospheric 10.7%, Adventure 8.4%, Singleplayer 6.7%

Why You'll Like It: The definitive meta-narrative experience that explores player agency and philosophical choice through a satirical lens.

A short atmospheric adventure game about finding meaning in a meaningless world.

Why similar: Philosophical 59.1%, Point & Click 14.4%, Atmospheric 12.1%, Adventure 9.6%, 2D 2.7%

Why You'll Like It: A philosophical, atmospheric indie game that uses its setting to reflect on the futility and repetition of human existence.

A free 5-minute visual novel. A security concern demands your attention.

Why similar: Experimental 47.6% ★, Visual Novel 27.6%, Interactive Fiction 9.9%, Adventure 5.6%, Atmospheric 4%

Why You'll Like It: An experimental visual novel that focuses on branching paths and the consequences of choices in a surreal environment.

This is a story with illustrations. You have to choose your destiny. You are obsessed with the idea of creating an ideal society. One day you come up with a genius idea, and you create a society that could live forever, BUT HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!!?

Why similar: Philosophical 32.3%, Artificial Intelligence 15.9%, Visual Novel 12.6%, Interactive Fiction 12.4%, Dark 8.8%

Why You'll Like It: This game offers a deeply philosophical and dark narrative experience that resonates with the tone of existential mystery.

You wake up in a mysterious place, alone and freezing to death, the only person around seems to be a weird girl with a long sleeve soviet jersey.

Why similar: Philosophical 37%, Visual Novel 20.7%, Conversation 13.3%, Atmospheric 9.3%, Anime 9.2%

Why You'll Like It: A noir-inspired visual novel that uses atmospheric storytelling to explore dystopian and psychological themes.

A short visual novel about finding your name and a girl in the fog.

Why similar: Experimental 39.6% ★, Visual Novel 21.4%, Psychological Horror 19.5%, Interactive Fiction 14.1%, 2D 3.2%

Why You'll Like It: A psychedelic and abstract visual novel that challenges the player's perception through experimental narrative techniques.

A horror channel browsing game where each channel holds a different nightmare to experience, explore them and find out the truth about what has happened in a small town where the inhabitants have disappeared.

Why similar: Visual Novel 19.1%, Psychological Horror 13%, Mystery 12.2%, Anime 11.8%, Point & Click 11.6%

Why You'll Like It: A story-rich, pixel-art visual novel that explores psychological horror through a series of surreal, dream-like sequences.

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

Why similar: Visual Novel 37.3%, Psychological Horror 28.3%, Dark 12.1%, 2D 8.1%, Casual 7.9%

Why You'll Like It: A psychological horror visual novel that focuses on unsettling, casual-style interactions to build tension.

Sci-Fi Mystery Visual Novel. Nine people are trapped in an underground research facility, forced to play a game of life and death. Check your log to find the truth that connects those apparent strangers - if you even want to, that is.

Why similar: Philosophical 28.4%, Visual Novel 17.1%, Interactive Fiction 16%, Mystery 15.9%, Anime 11.3%

Why You'll Like It: A sci-fi mystery visual novel that directly questions the nature of the self and physical existence.

High school girls have been disappearing from Abbotsford. Unravel the mystery before all things wash away in a tidal wave of deep despair. An interactive visual novel with psychological and lovecraftian undertones.

Why similar: Philosophical 35.5%, Visual Novel 17.1%, Mystery 15.9%, Anime 14%, Conversation 9.4%

Why You'll Like It: A Lovecraftian visual novel that uses mystery and anime-inspired aesthetics to explore dark, supernatural themes.

A short story point-and-click visual novel about the afterlife.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 22.8%, Visual Novel 22%, Philosophical 14.1%, Linear 12.9%, Adventure 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: An interactive fiction game that uses a 2D aesthetic to deliver a focused, atmospheric, and philosophical story.

UNFORGOTTEN – a story-driven, non-linear visual novel, where you can immerse in the ethnic ambience of Northern myths and horrors. Can you solve the riddles of the past - without ever losing yourself in the present? Your fate is in your hands!

Why similar: Conversation 17%, Visual Novel 15.1%, Mythology 14%, Psychological Horror 13.9%, Mystery 12.5%

Why You'll Like It: An atmospheric visual novel that blends casual gameplay with a lingering sense of mystery and emotional weight.

Shut your teeth is an absurdist mystery visual novel inspired by Thai culture, folklore and traditions. The complex plot full of dark atmosphere, vivid characters and psychological tension will keep you guessing until the very end.

Why similar: Philosophical 30%, Mythology 21.6%, Visual Novel 16.9%, Mystery 13.3%, Psychological Horror 11.5%

Why You'll Like It: A story-rich investigation game that uses mythology and conversation to drive its psychological narrative.

A short, interactive visual novel set in the mid-19th Century, in which a poet fights against time as she's writing the most important work of her life. Poetry is the answer, but what is the question?

Why similar: Visual Novel 15.4%, Psychological Horror 14.1%, Mystery 12.9%, Interactive Fiction 12.6%, Conversation 12.3%

MOOD is a short visual novel combining horror, dark humor, and dialogues on a wide variety of topics, from old movies to ancient wars. You were the one who summoned your new companion, there is no backing out now!

Why similar: Philosophical 33.2%, Visual Novel 16.5%, Psychological Horror 14.4%, Anime 10.7%, Dark 10.5%

"Life sometimes feels like it’s going in circles." Little Girl On Earth Asking Why She Asking Why is a short pixel art Visual Novel about a girl who tell herself this, forever. Maybe you can try to help her ?

Why similar: Philosophical 33.7%, Visual Novel 16.9%, Psychological Horror 15%, Interactive Fiction 12.2%, Point & Click 11.3%

A short, twisted tale about a smuggler and a late night encounter in the English Channel. Control the camera and make tough choices, will you escape with your life?

Why similar: Philosophical 29%, Conversation 18.6%, Interactive Fiction 14.9%, Visual Novel 13.4%, Point & Click 11.8%

Why You'll Like It: A choice-driven adventure that focuses on the moral weight of decisions within a contained, atmospheric setting.

Every why has a wherefore. You are trapped, and you must escape. But is that really the goal? Centum is an unreliable narrative-driven adventure where everything may be a lie.

Why similar: Philosophical 23.4%, Artificial Intelligence 17.3%, Point & Click 12.3%, Interactive Fiction 12.3%, Visual Novel 11.9%

Outside the door is a mystic visual novel set within one office. You are about to figure out the stories of a few visitors without having a single memory of yourself.

Why similar: Visual Novel 25.1%, Anime 21%, Psychological Horror 19.8%, Conversation 17.3%, Mystery 12.2%

A visual novel about raising a cute robot child, which may or may not go horribly wrong. Your choices decide the outcome.

Why similar: Philosophical 31.2%, Artificial Intelligence 23.3%, Visual Novel 13.9%, Mystery 12.6%, Anime 11.1%

Colin’s apartment maze has puzzles, dialogues, and some dry humor waiting for you. A surreal adventure of a special kind.

Why similar: Conversation 24.5%, Point & Click 17.9%, Mythology 14.6%, Psychological Horror 12.7%, Linear 10.1%

My dream is a Lost Memory is a short interactive story about having Déjà vu, realizing that this Déjà vu came to you because of a dream, and then wondering if that dream is actually a memory. It's a story about work, limitations and self-respect.

Why similar: Philosophical 20.4%, Experimental 17.3% ★, Interactive Fiction 14%, Point & Click 12.5%, Visual Novel 12.2%

Train of Afterlife is a mystery, psychological, horror Visual Novel.

Why similar: Visual Novel 37.2%, Anime 17.2%, Mystery 10.6%, Psychological Horror 8.8%, Adventure 7.8%

Why You'll Like It: An indie visual novel that uses a unique setting to explore themes of life, death, and personal reflection.

A linear visual novel about five short stories, unrelated at first glance. Be prepared for mysticism, gloomy atmosphere and light psychological horror. Not recommended to play if you are experiencing depression or severe psychological state.

Why similar: Visual Novel 17.8%, Psychological Horror 15.6%, Dark 11.3%, Mystery 10.6%, Interactive Fiction 10.5%

可愛い後輩と2人っきり……冷凍庫の中で。 低体温症、矛盾脱衣、幻覚などの苦痛を乗り越えた先にあるのは、「真相」と「死」のみ。

Why similar: Conversation 32%, Psychological Horror 18.5%, Visual Novel 18.1%, Point & Click 16.7%, Atmospheric 5.8%

In a final attempt to guarantee your place on the nice list, you decide to try and do some chores before midnight. Will Krampus take you? Take the test and find out.

Why similar: Philosophical 36.7%, Visual Novel 14.4%, Psychological Horror 14.3%, Mystery 12.1%, Dark 10.7%

Your end is my beginning. A short psychological visual novel with exploration and puzzle elements... it already lays shattered.

Why similar: Visual Novel 22.7%, Point & Click 21.7%, Psychological Horror 21.1%, Anime 15.5%, Atmospheric 7.1%

a side-scrolling, story-driven text adventure game in pixel art. The story is set in 2079, when a Replicant awakens in a lab facility amidst a life-or-death situation. The replicant aid agency tries to rescue him but fails. In the process they stumble on the real secret of the Replicant project...

Why similar: Artificial Intelligence 22.4%, Interactive Fiction 15.7%, Mystery 15.1%, Visual Novel 15%, Anime 14.3%

How do you see the world when nothing is real? An experimental metafictional visual novel.

Why similar: Philosophical 34.1%, Experimental 26.3% ★, Visual Novel 15%, Anime 11.5%, Psychological Horror 10.9%

In the not so distant past, the Isle of Abbot underwent a mysterious evacuation event. Delve into the secrets of this unsettling place and elicit the girls' tragic fate. An interactive visual novel with psychological and lovecraftian undertones.

Why similar: Philosophical 39.5%, Visual Novel 19.3%, Anime 15.7%, Mystery 15.4%, Conversation 5.8%

Together with Snezhana and her dog Ayda you will go to the woods for mushroom hunting. An ordinary adventure does not foreshadow adversity, until you decide to step into an uncharted plase… A short but atmospheric visual novel that will give you goosebumps.

Why similar: Visual Novel 21.8%, Linear 15.8%, Psychological Horror 15.3%, Anime 14.5%, Dark 11.2%

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

Why similar: Experimental 23.1% ★, Interactive Fiction 14.1%, Mystery 12.6%, Psychological Horror 11.3%, Visual Novel 11.3%

Log.in is a mystery-horror game where you explore a PC screen, digging through images, videos and files. Hidden somewhere in the system is the location of a girl being held captive. Your actions on the desktop will dramatically change the story and her fate.

Why similar: Mystery 27.3%, Point & Click 23%, Visual Novel 15.7%, Interactive Fiction 14.8%, Adventure 7.8%

A story-driven psychological experience where memory fades, silence deepens, and something waits in the dark.

Why similar: Visual Novel 46.8%, Dark 21.9%, Psychological Horror 13.9%, 2D 9.4%, Casual 5.4%

A haiku platformer. It's short and vague.

Why similar: Experimental 34.1% ★, Interactive Fiction 16.4%, Mystery 14.8%, Psychological Horror 14.7%, Atmospheric 8.3%

A short 10 minute visual novel about being a fragment in the universe and trying to find a way out of the ****.

Why similar: Philosophical 54.8%, Mystery 17.5%, Dark 16%, Atmospheric 9.9%, Adventure 1.4%

✣ Dread Chess is an original and strange narrative story-puzzle game with sandbox elements. Uncover mysteries by speaking with gods in Latin. Immerse yourself in an atmosphere of madness, and reach one of many endings in an unfair game against Death that can be played ONLY ONCE...

Why similar: Visual Novel 26.4%, Mystery 19.6%, Artificial Intelligence 17.3%, Dark 16.4%, Atmospheric 9.6%

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: Visual Novel 22.4%, Interactive Fiction 18.3%, Point & Click 14.7%, Dark 13.4%, Psychological Horror 11.7%

Your very own apartment, even if it's a 20-year mortgage – what could be better? Maybe the fact that Lena isn’t the only one living in this apartment? Or maybe they're not exactly people...

Why similar: Visual Novel 28.4%, Point & Click 21.2%, Anime 20.6%, Atmospheric 10.1%, Linear 9.2%

A supernatural Halloween whodunnit. Solve a chilling locked-room mystery before the grim reaper reveals the answer!

Why similar: Psychological Horror 18.7%, Mystery 17.8%, Visual Novel 17.1%, Anime 15.6%, Dark 14.3%

A short and mysterious free point and click adventure game, inspired by the feeling of oddness in an everyday situation.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.7%, Point & Click 22.2%, Psychological Horror 18.7%, Mystery 16.5%, Atmospheric 8.8%

An unusual horror-themed Visual Novel about waking up in a carriage with a stranger… Whatever could go wrong?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 25.1%, Visual Novel 23.3%, Psychological Horror 20.9%, Mystery 11.1%, Anime 11.1%

You will answer a series of questions that will reveal things from 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 unlock "Secrets of the Soul..."

Why similar: Philosophical 28.1%, Visual Novel 17.6%, Mystery 14.2%, Psychological Horror 14%, Interactive Fiction 13.7%

Join forces with the psychic Director of the Urban Myth Dissolution Center and solve a variety of cases involving cursed relics, rental properties with shady histories, and dimensional anomalies. Monstrous oddities and otherworldly planes abound in this occult mystery adventure game!

Why similar: Visual Novel 25.8%, Psychological Horror 21.1%, Mystery 20.3%, Point & Click 12.1%, Anime 7.5%

Congratulations, you've found Dingir OS — an operating system that lets you glimpse into the darkest corners of the internet. Browse forbidden websites, investigate lethal files, and immerse yourself in the world of digital legends. (We are not responsible for anything that may happen to you.)

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 21.3%, Visual Novel 20.6%, Point & Click 20.6%, Psychological Horror 19.7%, Dark 13.1%