Games Like Proteus

FRACT is a musical exploration game. You arrive in a forgotten place and explore the vast and unfamiliar landscape to discover the secrets of a world built on sound. You rebuild its machinery by solving puzzles and bring the world back to life by shaping sound and creating music in the game.

Why similar: Exploration 25.3%, Music 20.2%, Walking Simulator 13.6%, First-Person 11%, Indie 10.5%

Why You'll Like It: This title shares the core concept of using exploration to interact with musical puzzles in a vibrant, abstract world.

Manipulate the look, sound, and feel of more than a dozen mesmerizing landscapes in this immersive musical adventure through space and time.

Why similar: Experimental 47.8% ★, Walking Simulator 25.1%, Indie 9.8%, Music 8.5%, Atmospheric 7.5%

Why You'll Like It: Like Proteus, this game allows you to manipulate landscapes and soundscapes in real-time to create a unique, psychedelic experience.

Existential Nature Simulation

Why similar: Relaxing 35.4%, Experimental 13.5% ★, Beautiful 13.1% ★, Indie 10.4%, Casual 10.2%

Why You'll Like It: A deeply minimalist, meditative simulation that focuses on observation rather than active gameplay, much like the passive nature of Proteus.

A serene first person exploration game in a surreal, organic world that reacts to your presence. Journey through a psychedelically colorful ecosystem of flourishing flora, rambling waterfalls, burgeoning mountains, glowing monoliths and graceful creatures. A 1-3 hour escape from work, anxiety and stress.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 31.4%, Relaxing 15.1%, Exploration 13.4%, Casual 9.5%, Great Soundtrack 6.9%

Why You'll Like It: This game features a surreal, procedural landscape that evolves as you move through it, mirroring the dream-like discovery found in Proteus.

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

Why similar: Beautiful 32.2% ★, Walking Simulator 18.8%, Relaxing 14%, Exploration 12.8%, Great Soundtrack 6.8%

Why You'll Like It: This game excels at wordless, atmospheric storytelling through exploration in a vast, artistic landscape.

Be the Universe in this epic, award-winning reality simulation game - featuring thousands of playable characters, endless exploration, an extraordinary soundtrack and narration from Alan Watts.

Why similar: Relaxing 18.4%, Experimental 18.4% ★, Walking Simulator 14.6%, Exploration 12.1%, Procedural Generation 8.6%

Why You'll Like It: This simulation offers a similarly philosophical and abstract approach to exploration, allowing you to inhabit everything from rocks to galaxies.

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: Relaxing 28.2%, Exploration 18.5%, Beautiful 17.5% ★, Great Soundtrack 9.9%, Walking Simulator 9.4%

Why You'll Like It: It offers a similarly breathtaking, atmospheric exploration experience with a heavy emphasis on a reactive, beautiful soundtrack.

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

Why similar: Relaxing 22%, Exploration 20.8%, Beautiful 15.8% ★, Walking Simulator 13.7%, Great Soundtrack 6.6%

Why You'll Like It: While more structured, it shares the same relaxing, low-stakes joy of exploring a beautiful, self-contained island.

Experience award-winning Flower, now available on PC. Flower lets you take control of the wind as you explore and navigate beautiful, lush environments.

Why similar: Relaxing 37.4%, Exploration 25.7%, Casual 9.5%, Indie 7.9%, Atmospheric 7.3%

Why You'll Like It: It captures the same feeling of effortless, relaxing movement through beautiful, nature-inspired environments.

Instant town building toy. Place housing blocks and watch them transform, piece by piece, into idyllic ocean-side towns, pastoral gardens, or sweeping cities on the sea.

Why similar: Experimental 36.8% ★, Relaxing 20.5%, Procedural Generation 18%, Casual 5.5%, Indie 5%

Why You'll Like It: This is a procedural toy that focuses on the pure satisfaction of creating beautiful, colorful structures without the pressure of traditional goals.

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: Walking Simulator 21.1%, Exploration 17.5%, Experimental 13.7% ★, Procedural Generation 11.6%, Beautiful 10.7% ★

Why You'll Like It: An abstract, experimental exploration game that tasks you with discovering the secrets of strange, procedurally generated planets.

NaissanceE is an obscure and magical first person exploration game, a philosophical trip and an artistic experience. The adventure takes place in a primitive mysterious structure and the game mainly consists to explore and feel the deep and strong ambiance of this atemporal world.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 35.9%, Exploration 26.1%, Beautiful 8.4% ★, First-Person 8.1%, Indie 6.6%

Why You'll Like It: This game offers a stark, abstract, and massive environment that emphasizes the feeling of being a small presence in a vast, alien world.

Dream is an exploration game that takes place within the subconscious mind of Howard Phillips, a young man whose waking hours are tedious and dull, but whose dreams are lucid and powerful.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 36.7%, Exploration 19.8%, Beautiful 13.2% ★, Indie 7.8%, First-Person 6%

Why You'll Like It: It leans into the surreal and abstract nature of dreams, offering a variety of strange environments to explore.

Superflight is an intense, easy to learn wingsuit game with an infinite number of beautiful procedurally generated maps. A great game to relax for half an hour and chase your latest highscore!

Why similar: Relaxing 36.3%, Procedural Generation 26.2%, Indie 10.6%, Casual 9.2%, Exploration 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: It provides a simple, relaxing, and procedural flying experience that emphasizes the beauty of movement through abstract terrain.

Koral, a love letter to the ocean. Dive into the beautiful underwater world as a sea current. Solve puzzles to bring back to life coral reefs and spread the beauty of the oceans in different sea ecosystems.

Why similar: Beautiful 27.9% ★, Walking Simulator 22.2%, Relaxing 16.2%, Exploration 12.7%, Great Soundtrack 7.7%

Why You'll Like It: An underwater exploration game that uses music and environmental interaction to create a calming, meditative experience.

You're stranded at a cathedral-like train station in the near future, searching for a ticket out of town. Explore the secret passageways, interact with strangers, dig for records, and get hypnotized by the soundtrack – a batch of original music courtesy of the band, Archie Pelago.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 49.5%, Great Soundtrack 10.2%, Surreal 9.1%, Indie 8.8%, Exploration 8.6%

Why You'll Like It: A surreal, first-person exploration game that prioritizes atmosphere and strange, artistic environments over traditional mechanics.

Glitchhikers is a surreal journey through the spaces between places. A late night drive, a deserted airport lounge, a moonlit walk through an empty park, a quiet carriage on an overnight train. Who will you meet? What will you talk about? Where will the journey take you? Find yourself along the way.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 41.4%, Exploration 21.4%, First-Person 10.2%, Indie 9.9%, Casual 8%

Why You'll Like It: This game focuses on surreal, atmospheric conversations and exploration in liminal spaces, capturing a similar dream-like quality.

Wilderless is a walking/hiking/photography simulator set in a fantasy wilderness. Players can explore a beautiful, procedurally generated natural open world. Tons of options allow you to configure many aspects of the world, and you can choose your initial world seed to generate different worlds.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 31.2%, Relaxing 17.1%, Procedural Generation 15.7%, Exploration 15.5%, Casual 4.4%

Why You'll Like It: A pure, open-world exploration game that allows you to wander through diverse, beautiful landscapes without any combat or objectives.

Explore the mysterious Hotel Norwood in this surreal first-person adventure. Curious characters, forgotten secrets, and head-nodding music await your arrival.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 31.3%, Exploration 19.1%, Great Soundtrack 10.4%, First-Person 9.3%, Music 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: This title features a bizarre, music-filled hotel environment that rewards curious exploration and observation.

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: Experimental 33.6% ★, Exploration 19.4%, Relaxing 18.2%, First-Person 9.9%, Surreal 6.9%

Why You'll Like It: Its focus on impossible, abstract architecture and meditative exploration makes it a great match for fans of experimental worlds.

Narrative exploration game located in a massive, post-human Western Washington. Navigate an open world that has been reclaimed by nature. Use journals, letters, zines, and other documents to learn the interconnected stories of the people who lived here once.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 50.6%, Exploration 26.8%, Open World 6.6%, Indie 6.4%, Atmospheric 3.9%

Why You'll Like It: This game focuses on slow-paced, atmospheric exploration of a post-human wilderness, emphasizing the quiet beauty of nature.

A contemplative experience where you’ll wander through the dreams, memories and fantasies emerging from a dialogue between a grandfather and his grandchild.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 29.7%, Experimental 25.3% ★, Relaxing 14.7%, Exploration 12.2%, First-Person 4.4%

Why You'll Like It: A short, experimental, and surreal walking simulator that focuses on evocative, dream-like memories.

Embark on an unique and unforgettable journey and guide Sable through her Gliding; a rite of passage that will take her across vast deserts and mesmerizing landscapes, capped by the remains of spaceships and ancient wonders.

Why similar: Exploration 37.5%, Relaxing 35.7%, Open World 9.6%, Atmospheric 9.2%, Adventure 5.7%

Why You'll Like It: The game emphasizes the beauty of exploration and discovery in a vast, stylized world with minimal combat or pressure.

Scanner Sombre is a 3d horror cave exploration game where darkness is your greatest foe. Illuminate the unseen with your LIDAR scanner, revealing the eerie beauty and peril of the abyss. From the creators of Prison Architect, this immersive adventure uses light and shadow for a haunting experience.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 49.6%, Exploration 24.8%, First-Person 7.2%, Indie 6.3%, Atmospheric 5.3%

Why You'll Like It: It uses a unique visual style to turn the act of exploration into a beautiful, revealing process of discovery.

Traverse a mythic little realm, use a sword to do battle & evoke sworcery to solve mystical musical mysteries.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 19.6%, Beautiful 17% ★, Relaxing 14%, Indie 11.8%, Adventure 6.6%

Why You'll Like It: This game is famous for its integration of music and atmosphere, creating a cohesive, artistic experience.

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: Experimental 36.8% ★, Relaxing 30.3%, Music 11.3%, Casual 6.9%, Indie 6.5%

Why You'll Like It: It shares the relaxing, lo-fi aesthetic and focus on creating a peaceful, introspective atmosphere.

This is a game in which you traverse the extremely dark world inside a dream.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 32.7%, Experimental 24.5% ★, Exploration 16.2%, Indie 6.2%, Surreal 5.6%

Why You'll Like It: A classic surreal exploration game that tasks you with wandering through bizarre, dream-like worlds to collect effects.

A beautiful, 3rd-person exploration game centered around two parallel stories: a fox trying to find her missing family, and a son reconnecting with his estranged father in Alaska. Uncover artifacts from the son's life as he becomes intertwined in the fox’s journey towards The First Tree.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 38.1%, Exploration 17%, Relaxing 16.9%, Great Soundtrack 6.6%, Atmospheric 5.6%

Why You'll Like It: A beautiful, emotional exploration game that uses a simple narrative to guide you through a serene, natural world.

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

Why similar: Walking Simulator 28.4%, Exploration 25.8%, First-Person 11.1%, Relaxing 7.5%, Open World 5.5%

Dear Esther immerses you in a stunningly realised world, a remote and desolate island somewhere in the outer Hebrides. As you step forwards, a voice begins to read fragments of a letter: 'Dear Esther...' - and so begins a journey through one of the most original first-person games of recent years.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 42.7%, Exploration 19.8%, Relaxing 15.3%, First-Person 7.5%, Casual 3.6%

Pluviophile is a very short experience about the mood of rain in the woods.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 35.8%, Beautiful 15.6% ★, Exploration 13.7%, Relaxing 12.6%, Indie 6.6%

Fancy a relaxing drift through magical waters? Enjoy this seafaring voyage in search of the sunset!

Why similar: Beautiful 22.7% ★, Relaxing 18.1%, Experimental 14.2% ★, Exploration 8.2%, Music 6.1%

The Old City: Leviathan is an experiment in first person exploration that focuses entirely on story. All that exists is you and the world. Set in a decaying city from a civilization long past, The Old City: Leviathan puts the player in the shoes of a sewer dwelling isolationist.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 50.9%, Exploration 20.7%, First-Person 7.2%, Atmospheric 5.3%, Indie 5.3%

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: Walking Simulator 60.6%, Exploration 9.5%, Great Soundtrack 9.3%, Indie 5%, First-Person 4.3%

Time is relative. Sometimes 10 seconds can feel like an eternity... In TIMEframe you will discover a world in slow motion. Explore the remnants of a mysterious civilization on the brink of destruction.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 46.2%, Exploration 15.5%, Great Soundtrack 9.6%, Indie 8%, Casual 7.7%

Stars vanished from the sky and scattered across a perfect endless wetland... Catch bugs and chat with many characters while playfully wandering through peaceful scenery. But don't lose sight of the night sky, the constellations need help!

Why similar: Walking Simulator 27.1%, Procedural Generation 19.2%, Relaxing 17.4%, Exploration 15.1%, First-Person 5.7%

Explore the strange world within the screen in this ambient exploration experience featuring the music of Red Vox.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 39.3%, Music 12.8%, Relaxing 11.4%, First-Person 8.3%, Surreal 6.7%

Sphaera is a game about relaxation and exploration in a huge grass field filled with animals.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 27.6%, Relaxing 12.9%, Exploration 11.4%, Casual 9.6%, Indie 9.6%

Nephise is a short and atmospheric puzzle game with narration. It is a relaxing and mysterious experience especially with the help of its music.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 32.1%, Exploration 13.7%, Relaxing 12.8%, Beautiful 10.7% ★, First-Person 6.4%

Get lost beneath the fog in The Wild Eternal, a reflective first-person exploration game. Embark on a meditative journey to heal the scars of your past. Can you escape the cycle of reincarnation?

Why similar: Walking Simulator 35.8%, Exploration 16.5%, Relaxing 14.1%, Great Soundtrack 8%, First-Person 7.7%

Loverowind is a very short experience about the wind of spring.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 48%, Exploration 19.5%, Casual 11.1%, First-Person 6.7%, Adventure 4.2%

Sono is a 2D exploration game where players effortlessly glide through an abstract microcosm collecting lost fragments of sound.

Why similar: Beautiful 31.9% ★, Relaxing 20.9%, Exploration 16.8%, Casual 11.3%, Indie 9.8%

The Hunting God is a short walking simulator in which you play as Nodens the hunting god and listen to what he has been through accompanied by a white wolf named Draiochta.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 33.8%, Relaxing 17%, Beautiful 13.5% ★, Exploration 11.9%, First-Person 6.6%

Enter the ambient world of Osmos: elegant, physics-based gameplay, dreamlike visuals, and a minimalist, electronic soundtrack. Your objective is to grow by absorbing other motes. Propel yourself by ejecting matter behind you. But be wise: ejecting matter also shrinks you. Relax - good things come to those who wait.

Why similar: Relaxing 36.4%, Indie 18.2%, Casual 17%, Great Soundtrack 11.8%, Procedural Generation 10.8%

Explore an avant-garde cubist dream, stimulate your visual senses and immerse yourself in a surreal TRIP. A visually tantalizing open world artware that culminates the player to relax and enjoy a safe enviroment for them to explore at their own pace. There are no objectives, no rules, just art.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 23.1%, Experimental 18.3% ★, Beautiful 17.4% ★, Relaxing 12%, Exploration 10.4%

Submerged is a third-person combat-free game in which you explore a mysterious flooded city and discover the beauty of desolation in vast outdoor environments. You take on the role of Miku, a young girl who has brought her wounded brother to the city in their small fishing boat.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 32.9%, Exploration 19.3%, Relaxing 18.4%, Beautiful 9.5% ★, Casual 4.6%

A surreal first person walking sim about the end of humanity. Explore magnificent sky-bound ruins, and learn why they were built.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 53%, Relaxing 11.5%, Exploration 10.2%, First-Person 7.3%, Casual 6.2%

Home is Where One Starts... is a short, first-person exploration game in the same vein as Dear Esther or Gone Home. It’s a story about childhood, hope, and the miracle of memory. You play as a little girl from a broken home somewhere in the American South.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 45.9%, Exploration 10.5%, Indie 9%, First-Person 8.5%, Relaxing 8.2%

Refunct is a peaceful, short first-person platformer about restoring a vibrant world.

Why similar: Relaxing 33%, Exploration 15.4%, Great Soundtrack 11.1%, Beautiful 10.1% ★, First-Person 10.1%

Lovingly crafted with pen & ink, by one person over 4.5 years. In The Collage Atlas your presence, your gaze, your movements all matter. With these things you breathe life into this hand-drawn picture-book dream-world.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 42%, Relaxing 18.9%, Exploration 14.6%, First-Person 10%, Indie 6.7%

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: Walking Simulator 49.2%, Exploration 16.6%, First-Person 8.4%, Great Soundtrack 6.6%, Atmospheric 5.8%

Nephise Begins tells the player what happened at the time before Nephise was an orb collector. The main setting is forest again, but this time without snow, instead a more sunny and foggy weather.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 34%, Relaxing 14.3%, Beautiful 11.5% ★, Exploration 11.3%, First-Person 6.3%

ORACLE is a single player, open world experience with dozens of locations to explore, great soundtrack and an awesome story ready to be unraveled.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 55.9%, Indie 9.4%, Casual 7.4%, Adventure 6.7%, First-Person 5.5%

A walking sim in which you can explore all kinds of mysterious places and dive into a world full of atmosphere. Let this experience unfold in your head. Let it inspire you.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 59.1%, Casual 11%, Indie 11%, Great Soundtrack 8.3%, Atmospheric 4.6%

Grow a beautiful island as you build a daily habit of mindfulness and meditation. Experience relaxation and learn ways to care for your mental wellbeing.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 22.8%, Experimental 21.6% ★, Relaxing 19.2%, Exploration 12%, First-Person 6.4%

Vignettes is a unique exploration game without text or characters, where objects shapeshift as you spin them around to wander through a kaleidoscope of different moods and settings.

Why similar: Experimental 35.2% ★, Relaxing 20%, Exploration 17.1%, Casual 10.1%, Indie 10%

Dive into the exciting world of finding long forgotten treasures. Grab your metal detector and set off to explore the countryside. What today looks like a peaceful meadow might have been the scene of a fierce battle in the past, hiding now the valuable artefacts. Ready to dig in the past?

Why similar: Walking Simulator 29.5%, Exploration 16.4%, Relaxing 14%, First-Person 9.8%, Indie 7.3%

A game in which you explore surreal and beautiful forests.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 26.3%, Relaxing 23.8%, Exploration 22.7%, Casual 7.9%, Atmospheric 6.7%

LiDAR Exploration Program is a relaxing atmospheric game with light horror elements, where you explore in complete darkness using a scanner to reveal the world around you.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 41%, Exploration 22.6%, Relaxing 11.1%, First-Person 9%, Atmospheric 6%