Games Like Outer Wilds

The Forgotten City is a narrative-driven time loop adventure in ancient Rome. Discover the ruins of an ancient underground city, travel 2000 years into the past, and unravel the mystery of who destroyed it by cleverly exploiting the power to wind back time. The fate of the city is in your hands.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 21.4%, Mystery 21.1%, Exploration 15.2%, Story Rich 11.1%, Open World 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: Its compact time loop, freely investigated mystery, and deduction-driven progress make it one of the closest structural companions to Outer Wilds.

Lost at sea 1803 ~ The good ship Obra Dinn.

Why similar: Mystery 30.4%, Great Soundtrack 21.5%, Story Rich 12.7%, Puzzle 12.3%, Atmospheric 9%

Why You'll Like It: Like Outer Wilds, it asks you to assemble a complete story from environmental clues and your own careful observations rather than explicit quest markers.

You wake up, alone, on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you.

Why similar: Puzzle 21.7%, Exploration 19%, Open World 16.8%, First-Person 8.3%, Mystery 7.4%

Why You'll Like It: A serene open island full of interconnected puzzles encourages the same self-directed exploration and sudden moments of understanding.

An archaeologist uncovers a lost history in an ancient space Nebula. Award-winning narrative adventure game with hieroglyphic language puzzles, from the creators of 80 DAYS.

Why similar: Mystery 20.6%, Exploration 12.7%, Space 12.5%, Sci-fi 10.9%, Great Soundtrack 9.6%

Why You'll Like It: This archaeological space adventure rewards patient exploration and deciphering an ancient language to uncover a layered history.

Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure.

Why similar: Exploration 48.6%, Puzzle 29.1%, Atmospheric 12.9%, 3D 4.3%, Indie 3.7%

Why You'll Like It: Its world is packed with secrets and knowledge-based progression, letting discoveries about the game's rules transform where you can go and what you understand.

Uncover a story of intrigue, betrayal, and a civilization teetering on the brink of collapse as you solve intricate puzzles to unlock the secrets of Riven. Built from the ground-up and expanded from the award-winning original game released in 1997.

Why similar: Mystery 21%, Exploration 19.8%, Puzzle 14.3%, Story Rich 13.2%, Atmospheric 9.8%

Why You'll Like It: This atmospheric first-person mystery centers on exploring a believable alien world and learning its systems well enough to solve its puzzles.

In this award-winning puzzle adventure game, play as the Traveler on a quest to reunite the Peoples of the Tower. Observe, listen, and decipher ancient languages in a fascinating universe inspired by the Myth of Babel.

Why similar: Puzzle 27.6%, Great Soundtrack 20.6%, Mystery 9.8%, Adventure 9.6%, Exploration 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: Decoding languages through contextual observation makes every new insight feel like a meaningful step deeper into an ancient mystery.

Welcome to Myst: a starkly beautiful island, eerily tinged with mystery and shrouded in intrigue. Built from the ground up to play in 2D & VR, explore Myst in a whole new dimension! Journey to the Ages, unravel puzzles, and be a part of the surrealistic adventure that will become your own.

Why similar: Exploration 27.3%, Puzzle 20.1%, Mystery 11.9%, Adventure 11.7%, Story Rich 11.2%

Why You'll Like It: Its isolated, evocative worlds and environmental puzzle-solving capture the contemplative curiosity of exploring Outer Wilds' planets.

The stage is set. Imagine an old baroque manor, perhaps a hotel or a museum, somewhere in central Europe. A woman wanders in search of answers.

Why similar: Mystery 22.1%, Puzzle 19.8%, Exploration 18.7%, Horror 12%, Adventure 10.2%

Why You'll Like It: A dense surreal mystery built around notes, codes, architecture, and realization-driven puzzles offers a similarly satisfying investigative mindset.

Welcome to Mt. Holly, where every dawn unveils a new mystery. Navigate through shifting corridors and ever-changing chambers in this genre-defying strategy puzzle adventure. But will your unpredictable path lead you to the rumored Room 46?

Why similar: Mystery 25.9%, Exploration 19.3%, Puzzle 16.4%, Story Rich 11.7%, First-Person 6.8%

Why You'll Like It: Its shifting manor turns exploration into an evolving knowledge puzzle where remembered layouts, clues, and deductions matter more than character power.

The Talos Principle is a first-person puzzle game in the tradition of philosophical science fiction. Made by Croteam and written by Tom Jubert (FTL, The Swapper) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Sea Will Claim Everything).

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 22.3%, Puzzle 19.8%, Story Rich 11.1%, Sci-fi 10.8%, Atmospheric 8.2%

Why You'll Like It: Philosophical sci-fi questions, abandoned ruins, and first-person environmental puzzles create a thoughtful sense of discovery.

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

Why similar: Exploration 22.7%, Mystery 21.9%, Puzzle 19.5%, First-Person 12.1%, Atmospheric 12%

Why You'll Like It: Exploring impossible architecture and learning its shifting gravity rules delivers the delight of understanding an initially incomprehensible world.

What if someone knew your mind better than you did? The Swapper is an award-winning, narrative driven puzzle game set in the furthest reaches of space.

Why similar: Space 27.3%, Puzzle 16.3%, Great Soundtrack 13.5%, Sci-fi 13.4%, Atmospheric 9.5%

Why You'll Like It: Its lonely space-station setting and identity-focused sci-fi story complement clever environmental puzzles and a strong sense of isolation.

Place your faith and embrace the Void.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 32.7%, Mystery 29.3%, Puzzle 15%, Story Rich 6.6%, Adventure 5.9%

Why You'll Like It: Beneath its minimalist puzzle presentation is a remarkably deep, secret-filled game whose true progression depends on player knowledge.

A new kind of detective game that allows you to think and investigate freely. Discover clues surrounding 12 strange and gruesome deaths and build your own theory. Pick your suspect, deduce the motive, unmask the awful truth.

Why similar: Mystery 36%, Story Rich 16.7%, Puzzle 15.2%, Exploration 12.6%, Atmospheric 10.7%

Why You'll Like It: This deduction game trusts you to infer motives and events from fragments of evidence, rewarding the same active curiosity as Outer Wilds.

In Prey, you awaken aboard Talos I, a space station orbiting the moon in the year 2032. You are the key subject of an experiment meant to alter humanity forever – but things have gone terribly wrong. The space station has been overrun by hostile aliens and you are now being hunted.

Why similar: Space 24.2%, Great Soundtrack 12.3%, Sci-fi 11.5%, Exploration 9.4%, Horror 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: The space-station setting rewards curiosity, systemic experimentation, and piecing together what happened aboard a richly detailed scientific mystery.

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

Why similar: Mystery 20%, Exploration 19.9%, Puzzle 15.1%, Adventure 10.9%, Open World 7.9%

Why You'll Like It: From the creators of Myst, it offers alien landscapes, interlocking mechanical puzzles, and a gradually revealed science-fiction premise.

Explore the ancient, mysterious world of Journey as you soar above ruins and glide across sands to discover its secrets.

Why similar: Beautiful 41.3% ★, Great Soundtrack 22.3%, Exploration 11.4%, Atmospheric 8.4%, Adventure 5%

Why You'll Like It: Its wordless pilgrimage, striking atmosphere, and awe-filled sense of movement through an ancient world make it a fitting tonal alternative.

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

Why similar: Puzzle 34.1%, Exploration 24.2%, First-Person 15.5%, Great Soundtrack 7.5%, Indie 5.5%

Why You'll Like It: This first-person exploration puzzle game constantly overturns assumptions, making experimentation and observation the path forward.

Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness, where your only emotional lifeline is the person on the other end of a handheld radio.

Why similar: Mystery 17.2%, Great Soundtrack 17.1%, Story Rich 13.3%, Exploration 11.8%, Atmospheric 10%

Why You'll Like It: Its intimate wilderness mystery, evocative atmosphere, and gradual revelation suit players who value exploration primarily for narrative discovery.

Play as an Artificial Intelligence guiding a stranded xenobiologist through a beautiful and mysterious alien ocean. A non-violent sci-fi story, enter a world of wonder, fear and vulnerability, unraveling the history and ecology of an impossible planet. What will you discover together?

Why similar: Beautiful 19.2% ★, Great Soundtrack 15.6%, Space 14.3%, Mystery 10.9%, Exploration 9%

Why You'll Like It: This quiet xenobiology exploration game makes studying an unfamiliar ecosystem and interpreting its traces central to its appeal.

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: Story Rich 19.3%, Great Soundtrack 17.7%, Mystery 15.8%, Exploration 11.8%, Atmospheric 10.1%

Why You'll Like It: It is a concise, emotionally powerful environmental narrative that shares Outer Wilds' talent for making spaces tell deeply human stories.

Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.

Why similar: Open World 25.3%, Exploration 22.4%, Horror 17.3%, Sci-fi 9.5%, First-Person 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: Its alien ocean is an exceptional exploratory space full of environmental storytelling, escalating wonder, and a mystery that unfolds through travel.

A strange signal... an alien craft... an interplanetary, gravity-defying journey through space and time.

Why similar: Space 32.5%, Exploration 16.4%, Mystery 13.1%, Atmospheric 10.6%, Story Rich 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: Its wordless planetary journeys and beautiful movement-driven exploration provide a similarly meditative sense of traveling through cosmic landscapes.

No Man's Sky is a game about exploration and survival in an infinite procedurally generated universe.

Why similar: Space 35.1%, Open World 21%, Exploration 16.8%, Sci-fi 9.9%, First-Person 5%

Why You'll Like It: While more survival-focused, its immense universe offers the freedom to chart strange planets, follow mysteries, and enjoy spacefaring discovery.

Rethink human’s dominion in The Invincible: a story-driven adventure set in a hard sci-fi world by Stanisław Lem. Discover planet Regis III as scientist Yasna, use atompunk tools looking for a missing crew and face unforeseen threats. Make choices in a philosophical story that’s driven by science.

Why similar: Space 29.6%, Mystery 19%, Sci-fi 13%, Story Rich 11.4%, Exploration 11.3%

Why You'll Like It: This reflective retro-futurist expedition focuses on traversing an alien planet and confronting the limits of human understanding.

The Sexy Brutale — a never-ending masked ball featuring intrigue, murder and the (quite possibly) occult! Relive the same mysterious day where the guests at the casino mansion are being murdered by the staff over and over again...

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 30.9%, Mystery 27.1%, Puzzle 15.3%, Story Rich 10.8%, Adventure 6.9%

Why You'll Like It: A repeating-day murder mystery lets you learn a mansion's routines and use accumulated knowledge to change outcomes.

Observation is a sci-fi thriller uncovering what happened to Dr. Emma Fisher, and the crew of her mission, through the lens of the station’s artificial intelligence S.A.M.

Why similar: Space 29.6%, Adventure 12.6%, Sci-fi 10.7%, Horror 8.7%, Story Rich 6.9%

Why You'll Like It: Investigating a damaged space station through its cameras and systems creates a tense, intimate sci-fi mystery about understanding the unknown.

From the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent comes SOMA, a sci-fi horror game set below the waves of the Atlantic ocean. Struggle to survive a hostile world that will make you question your very existence.

Why similar: Exploration 13.3%, Horror 12%, Mystery 11.3%, Story Rich 11.1%, Sci-fi 10%

Why You'll Like It: Its haunting underwater science-fiction setting combines exploration and environmental storytelling with existential questions worthy of Outer Wilds' finale.

Play the critically acclaimed masterpiece. Embark on a new journey in a vast, exotic world where you’ll encounter towering enemies and challenging puzzles on your quest to unravel Ori’s destiny.

Why similar: Beautiful 40.5% ★, Great Soundtrack 26.1%, Exploration 7.2%, Story Rich 6.2%, Atmospheric 5%

Investigate an infamous cold case in the eerie, abandoned town of Painscreek. Search for evidence, connect the dots and uncover who killed Vivian Roberts. Can you expose the truth behind this town’s dark secrets?

Why similar: Mystery 22.3%, Exploration 14.8%, Open World 11.7%, Story Rich 10.8%, Puzzle 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: A slow-paced first-person investigation with no hand-holding, it rewards thoroughly searching an abandoned town and connecting evidence yourself.

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: Great Soundtrack 39.8%, Story Rich 18.4%, Puzzle 10.1%, Atmospheric 9.2%, Exploration 8%

Deliver Us The Moon is a Sci-Fi thriller set in an apocalyptic near future where Earth's natural resources are depleted. In an effort to solve the energy crisis, global powers created the World Space Agency and secured a promising new source of energy on the moon.

Why similar: Space 34.9%, Adventure 10%, Sci-fi 9.9%, Mystery 9.2%, Story Rich 7.9%

Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4.

Why similar: Space 32.5%, Open World 16.5%, Exploration 11.2%, Sci-fi 9.5%, Great Soundtrack 9.1%

You are a traveling painter, exploring the island of Eastshade. Capture the world on canvas using your artist’s easel. Talk to the inhabitants to learn about their lives. Make friends and help those in need. Visit cities, scale summits, unearth mysteries, and discover forgotten places!

Why similar: Beautiful 24.5% ★, Great Soundtrack 14.7%, Open World 12.9%, Exploration 11.5%, Story Rich 8.6%

An interactive thriller about a man trapped in a time loop. Featuring James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe.

Why similar: Mystery 28.6%, Story Rich 14.9%, Puzzle 14%, Great Soundtrack 12.8%, Adventure 7.9%

From the creators of What Remains of Edith Finch. Enter the surreal world of The Unfinished Swan and explore a mysterious, hidden kingdom by splatting paint to reveal the world around you.

Why similar: Exploration 19.9%, Beautiful 14.7% ★, Mystery 14.2%, Puzzle 13.5%, Great Soundtrack 8.6%

“Ori and the Blind Forest” tells the tale of a young orphan destined for heroics, through a visually stunning Action-Platformer crafted by Moon Studios.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 47.1%, Atmospheric 13.3%, Story Rich 10.9%, Beautiful 9.5% ★, Adventure 5.5%

INFRA puts you into the boots of a structural analyst on a routine mission. Quickly though, your task turns into a fight for survival, all caused by deep-rooted schemes of the past. Your tools are simple: your camera and the wits to navigate a labyrinth of debris.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 16.5%, Exploration 15.9%, Mystery 14.2%, Puzzle 10.6%, Atmospheric 8.9%

Maquette is a first-person recursive puzzle game that takes you into a world where every building, plant, and object are simultaneously tiny and staggeringly huge.

Why similar: Beautiful 25.2% ★, Great Soundtrack 13.8%, Puzzle 11.7%, Mystery 10.2%, Adventure 7.9%

Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with dangers and lost technologies.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 51.7%, Atmospheric 13.6%, Exploration 13.4%, Adventure 7.9%, Sci-fi 5.5%

From the creators of the award-winning Hyper Light Drifter comes the high-speed and gravity-bending world of Solar Ash.

Why similar: Space 25.7%, Exploration 24.1%, Sci-fi 11%, Atmospheric 10.8%, Adventure 10.7%

The Talos Principle 2 is a thought-provoking first-person puzzle experience that greatly expands on the first game's philosophical themes and stunning environments with increasingly mind-bending challenges.

Why similar: Exploration 19.4%, Story Rich 18.3%, Puzzle 17.7%, Mystery 15.4%, Sci-fi 15.1%

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

Why similar: Puzzle 22.6%, Exploration 17.6%, Story Rich 16.2%, First-Person 13.1%, Psychological Horror 11.3%

Enter an abandoned Cold War base on a moon of Saturn in this atmospheric VR puzzle adventure. Scan evidence, translate Volgravian messages, manipulate strange machinery, and uncover a sci-fi mystery that grows more surreal with every discovery.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 19.4%, Beautiful 17.1% ★, Mystery 12.2%, Exploration 9.4%, Sci-fi 7.1%

From the art director of Journey®, ABZÛ is a beautiful underwater adventure that evokes the dream of diving. Immerse yourself in a vibrant hidden world bursting with color and life as you descend into the heart of the ocean. But beware as you swim deeper as dangers lurk in the depths.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 32.2%, Beautiful 22.6% ★, Exploration 16.4%, Atmospheric 11.8%, Open World 4.8%

Featuring a beautiful, detailed open-world and a haunting soundtrack, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is non-linear storytelling at its best.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 36.4%, Atmospheric 11.2%, Exploration 10.2%, Story Rich 9.9%, Open World 8.3%

Lost, alone and separated from family, a stray cat must untangle an ancient mystery to escape a long-forgotten cybercity and find their way home.

Why similar: Beautiful 29.7% ★, Exploration 13.1%, Mystery 9.2%, Atmospheric 8.8%, Open World 8.3%

Control a herd of charming creatures called Trebhum and explore an unforgettable alien world filled with exotic lifeforms and surreal environments. Discover dozens of mutations to overcome puzzles, explore new biomes, and survive on a dangerous planet.

Why similar: Open World 25.9%, Exploration 23.2%, Story Rich 19%, Atmospheric 12.3%, Puzzle 9.9%

Rebel Galaxy is a swashbuckling space adventure, with action-packed combat, exploration, discovery, trade, and “negotiation” with the outlandish denizens at the edge of the known universe.

Why similar: Space 43%, Great Soundtrack 20.5%, Open World 13.7%, Sci-fi 9.1%, Exploration 3.9%

CRYNEGINE Indie Game of 2017. Featuring an incredibly detailed ancient world and a breathtaking soundtrack, Aporia: Beyond the Valley takes open world storytelling to new heights of adventure.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 13.9%, Beautiful 13.5% ★, Adventure 12.2%, Puzzle 11%, Exploration 9.5%

The Flux is not keen on giving away its secrets, and you’re one of them. Sail a vast planet under a blanket of stars and use your tools and wits to remind yourself of what was lost and what could come next. An open world mystery about understanding the end of the world.

Why similar: Space 18.8%, Mystery 17.7%, Exploration 14.7%, Story Rich 10.3%, Open World 9.7%

Winner of over 80 awards, CONTROL is a visually stunning third-person action-adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Why similar: Epic 17.1% ★, Story Rich 15.5%, Sci-fi 11.1%, Great Soundtrack 10.7%, Horror 10.6%

MirrorMoon EP is a game about mystery and exploration set in outer space. These space travels begin on a red planet and its unique moon and extend across galaxies. The single player part of MirrorMoon EP blends adventure and exploration with navigation-based puzzle solving.

Why similar: Space 20.9%, Exploration 14.1%, Great Soundtrack 13.2%, Beautiful 12.4% ★, Open World 9.4%

Gomez is a 2D creature living in a 2D world. Or is he? When the existence of a mysterious 3rd dimension is revealed to him, Gomez is sent out on a journey that will take him to the very end of time and space. Use your ability to navigate 3D structures from 4 distinct classic 2D perspectives.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 31.4%, Puzzle 17.7%, Exploration 17%, Beautiful 13% ★, Mystery 8.6%

The Turing Test is a challenging first-person puzzle game set on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. You are Ava Turing, an engineer for the International Space Agency (ISA) sent to discover the cause behind the disappearance of the ground crew stationed there.

Why similar: Space 29.3%, Puzzle 15.1%, Great Soundtrack 13.5%, Sci-fi 12.2%, First-Person 8.1%

Hike, climb, and soar through the peaceful mountainside landscapes of Hawk Peak Provincial Park as you make your way to the summit.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 25.2%, Beautiful 24.6% ★, Exploration 22.6%, Open World 14.8%, Adventure 7.2%