Games Like Sometimes: Success Requires Sacrifice

Your party enters a deep and dark dungeon… but sacrifices must be made! Control 3 different heroes and use their special abilities to solve tricky puzzles by sacrificing your teammates!

Why similar: Indie 36.9%, Adventure 36.6%, Action 26.5%

Why You'll Like It: This game directly mirrors the core mechanic of sacrificing your own characters to create platforms and progress through levels.

Despite only being able to burn for 10 seconds, a little candle journeys into the darkness, with the purpose of seeking light.

Why similar: Action 35.8%, Adventure 32.3%, Indie 31.9%

Why You'll Like It: The core mechanic involves managing a limited light source in a dark environment, echoing the light-seeking themes of the seed game.

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: Indie 55.5%, Adventure 32%, Action 12.5%

Why You'll Like It: You must create and sacrifice clones of yourself to solve complex environmental puzzles in a dark, atmospheric setting.

Uncertain of his sister's fate, a boy enters LIMBO

Why similar: Indie 51.2%, Adventure 30.3%, Casual 9.5%, Action 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: It shares the dark, minimalist aesthetic and high-stakes puzzle-platforming where death is a frequent and expected part of the journey.

Hunted and alone, a boy finds himself drawn into the center of a dark project. INSIDE is a dark, narrative-driven platformer combining intense action with challenging puzzles. It has been critically acclaimed for its moody art style, ambient soundtrack and unsettling atmosphere.

Why similar: Action 34%, Adventure 33.4%, Indie 32.6%

Why You'll Like It: This atmospheric puzzle-platformer features a similarly bleak world and requires clever manipulation of the environment to survive.

The characters of Let Me Die (inside) have fallen into despair head over heels, so they want to leave this world and end their lives. Your duty is to fulfil their wish. In every level, the player is expected to find a way to die, but before that, he has to complete the death wishes of the character.

Why similar: Adventure 44.4%, Casual 35.8%, Indie 19.8%

Why You'll Like It: This game shares the dark, philosophical, and atmospheric tone while focusing on puzzle-solving in a confined space.

Minit is a peculiar little adventure played sixty seconds at a time.

Why similar: Adventure 46.5%, Indie 42.7%, Action 10.8%

Why You'll Like It: The game centers on a sixty-second life cycle, making every death a meaningful step toward solving the world's mystery.

This game is a simulation of self-isolation. You need to support your family, not to lose your job and finally not to go crazy.

Why similar: Indie 39%, Adventure 37.5%, Action 23.4%

Why You'll Like It: It captures the dark, moody, and introspective atmosphere of the seed game through its puzzle-heavy gameplay.

This is the original version of Braid from 2009, which may not work well on newer systems. For an updated version of the game with nicer graphics, more levels and a large amount of developer commentary, see Braid, Anniversary Edition.

Why similar: Indie 61.5%, Casual 20%, Strategy 13.1%, Adventure 5.4%

Why You'll Like It: It forces players to rethink their approach to puzzles through time manipulation, often requiring trial and error that feels like sacrifice.

A game where your only goal is to die - Just like in real life!

Why similar: Casual 43.7%, Adventure 28.9%, Indie 27.5%

Why You'll Like It: It explores similar themes of existential dread and dark humor within an indie, puzzle-adventure framework.

Guide a group of rectangles through 120 levels, using their different skills together to overcome a series of obstacles in each environment. Discover the human-made story of the first sentient artificial intelligences with Danny Wallace’s BAFTA-winning narration.

Why similar: Casual 57.4%, Indie 42.6%

Why You'll Like It: This minimalist platformer uses simple shapes to tell a deep, philosophical story about cooperation and sacrifice.

Death Squared is a co-op puzzle game about cooperation, communication, and robot explosions. You should buy it!

Why similar: Casual 63%, Indie 37%

Why You'll Like It: A cooperative puzzle game where frequent, explosive deaths are a core part of learning the mechanics and solving each level.

Hue is a vibrant, award-winning puzzle-adventure, where you alter the world by changing its background colour.

Why similar: Indie 46.6%, Adventure 40.6%, Casual 12.7%

Why You'll Like It: The game revolves around manipulating color to light up the world and solve puzzles, similar to the light-based progression of the seed game.

You are the test subject. In this dark environment escape room, you have to solve various puzzles to escape from the research center where you are trapped. Can you find out how you got there and escape???

Why similar: Adventure 52%, Casual 48%

Why You'll Like It: This game focuses on the puzzle-solving and investigative elements of escaping a dark, confined laboratory.

Are you ready to investigate a mysterious occurrence at a remote lighthouse? Solve all mysteries in this dark and eerie puzzle game.

Why similar: Indie 50.1%, Adventure 49.9%

Why You'll Like It: This indie puzzle game emphasizes dark, atmospheric exploration and logic-based progression.

World of Goo is a multiple award winning physics based puzzle / construction game made entirely by two guys.

Why similar: Indie 49.6%, Casual 40.3%, Strategy 10.1%

Why You'll Like It: You must sacrifice your own units to build structures and reach new areas, emphasizing the theme of using yourself to progress.

Portal™ is a new single player game from Valve. Set in the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories, Portal has been called one of the most innovative new games on the horizon and will offer gamers hours of unique gameplay.

Why similar: Action 63.2%, Adventure 36.8%

Why You'll Like It: A classic physics-based puzzle-platformer that challenges players to think outside the box to escape a confined, hostile environment.

You are stuck in a huge room and have no idea what to do. You only option is to survive.

Why similar: Casual 33%, Action 23.7%, Adventure 21.8%, Indie 21.6%

Why You'll Like It: A simple, indie puzzle-adventure that focuses on navigating difficult, confined spaces.

Now you have a chance to operate your own company....of suicide!

Why similar: Strategy 65.9%, Indie 34.1%

Why You'll Like It: The title and gameplay focus directly on the concept of death-based progression within a platforming context.

Grab your weapon of choice, polish your Rogue senses, and get ready to be thrown into the dark and oppressing dungeons of Claustrophobia! Experience deep character development, fast-paced tactical combat, and mountains of epic loot. Here begins a roguelike quest for glory, slaughter, and anything shiny!

Why similar: Strategy 66.7%, Indie 33.3%

Why You'll Like It: It captures the feeling of being trapped in a dark, hostile environment where every move matters.

You will answer a series of questions that will reveal truths from deep within. These questions may make you uncomfortable, but with great knowledge comes great sacrifice. Can you make it all the way through The Test, and if you do, are you sure you want the answers you seek?

Why similar: Casual 100%

Why You'll Like It: This game focuses on philosophical, choice-based narrative that challenges the player's morality and perspective.

VVVVVV is a platform game all about exploring one simple mechanical idea - what if you reversed gravity instead of jumping?

Why similar: Indie 61.5%, Action 24.7%, Adventure 13.8%

Why You'll Like It: This hardcore platformer features frequent, instant deaths that encourage players to learn through repetition and sacrifice.

Lost in the abyssal depths of limbo, you are a tortured soul who is trapped between life and death, stuck in a dungeon whose puzzles will test you as you strive to go into the afterlife.

Why similar: Casual 43.7%, Adventure 28.9%, Indie 27.5%

Why You'll Like It: It leans into the dark, indie, puzzle-adventure style where the player must navigate dangerous environments.

Baba Is You is a puzzle game where the rules you have to follow are present as blocks you can interact with. By manipulating them, you can change how the game works, repurpose things you find in the levels and cause surprising interactions!

Why similar: Indie 73.7%, Casual 15.5%, Strategy 10.9%

Why You'll Like It: An experimental puzzle game that forces you to break the rules of the game world to succeed, much like the unconventional mechanics of the seed game.

Can your strategy hold against the darkness?

Why similar: Casual 51.2%, Adventure 37.3%, Indie 11.5%

Unravel is a physics-based puzzle platformer. Yarny, a character made from a single thread of yarn, must embark on a larger than life adventure.

Why similar: Action 49%, Adventure 42.7%, Indie 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: A physics-based puzzle-platformer that requires careful navigation and environmental interaction to move forward.

Visibility is a platformer that is completely dark until you place your lights. Each level has a limited set of lights which you must strategically place around the level in order to illuminate your path to the exit.

Why similar: Indie 100%

Why You'll Like It: A minimalist platformer that focuses on light and shadow mechanics to navigate the game world.

The infamous, tough-as-nails platformer comes to Steam with a playable Head Crab character (Steam-exclusive)!

Why similar: Indie 81.9%, Action 18.1%

Why You'll Like It: The high-difficulty platforming ensures that death is constant, turning every successful run into a testament of persistence.

Pikuniku is an absurdly wonderful puzzle-exploration game that takes place in a strange but playful world where not everything is as happy as it seems. Help peculiar characters overcome struggles, uncover a deep state conspiracy, and start a little revolution in this delightful dystopian adventure!

Why similar: Casual 35.6%, Indie 23.8%, Adventure 23.2%, Action 17.4%

Why You'll Like It: While more lighthearted, it features quirky, physics-based puzzle-platforming that rewards creative movement.

The sun has disappeared from the sky! Darkness chokes the land, depriving it of all things good. Now it’s time for you to figure out how to bring the sun back! Get behind the wheel and find the sun in Night Shift!

Why similar: Indie 50.5%, Adventure 49.5%

Why You'll Like It: An indie puzzle-adventure that uses a dark, retro aesthetic to build tension and mystery.

A mysterious invitation leads to the attic of an abandoned house. In the room is a cast-iron safe laced with strange carvings and on top, a note from your distant companion. It promises something ancient and astonishing concealed in the iron chamber - you need only find a way in.

Why similar: Adventure 39.1%, Indie 33.8%, Casual 27.1%

Why You'll Like It: It provides an intricate, tactile puzzle-solving experience that rewards patience and observation in a mysterious setting.

You are an ambitious paranormal investigator searching for his big break. When you're presented the opportunity of a lifetime--$25.99, to be exact, you jump at the offer. But everything comes with a catch, and Roner and his friends are keen to teach you that...

Why similar: Strategy 70.7%, Action 29.3%

This is a game that you will become weaker.You are a powerful magic knight, but you need sacrifice them to arrive the next floor.Until you lost everything,like a mortal challenged the constantly growing devil king.The only thing left in the end is your exquisite swordsmanship and brave heart.

Why similar: Adventure 38.5%, Indie 36.2%, Action 25.4%

You open your eyes in a dark, unfamiliar room; each door drags you into a new chamber filled with absurd surprises and dark comedy. Will you manage to escape, or will you continue to star in this black comedy?

Why similar: Casual 42.2%, Indie 30.5%, Adventure 27.3%

Claw your way through the abyss of the mind and survive the horrors that stalk you as you attempt to survive seven days as... an Indie Developer.

Why similar: Indie 82.1%, Adventure 17.9%

As you progress through the game level of difficulty will increase, so that Dark SASI will be for you the most serious game test. Can you survive thousands of deaths? Dark SASI is an adventure in the style of an RPG, with its own characteristics.

Why similar: Strategy 33.5%, Adventure 22.8%, Action 22.8%, Indie 20.8%

Explore the mysterious room by traversing time, while you watch a man succumb to the room syndrome.

Why similar: Casual 58.6%, Indie 41.4%

Enrobssyba is a dark fantasy roguelite that thrusts you into a shadowed, ever-changing dungeon, teeming with enemies, upgrades, and untold power.

Why similar: Casual 40.5%, Action 29.9%, Adventure 29.6%

Immerse yourself in unique gameplay and atmosphere of the game Light in the shadow. You are waiting for an adventure in the mysterious maze, where your main character is a glowing sphere. You will move around the dark corners of the maze lighting the way in search of an exit, to reach the end you have to maintain inner glow using energy...

Why similar: Adventure 100%

LabRpgUp is a unique J-RPG game. Travel through dark labyrinths filled with old guards. Can you find a way out?

Why similar: Casual 43.7%, Adventure 28.9%, Indie 27.5%

In this exciting prequel to the hit game "123 Slaughter Me Street", we find out the deep dark secrets that lead up to the madness of this series. You find yourself confused with blood on your hands in a dark house with only a flashlight to guide you.

Why similar: Strategy 44.6%, Action 30%, Adventure 25.4%

Embark on a touching and creepy journey about sacrifice and how sometimes a person pays for the sins of another

Why similar: Casual 33.4%, Action 23.6%, Adventure 21.7%, Indie 21.4%

In this game, you play as a student in the Sighchology Research Lab. In this dark place, you do research every night and day without sleep, because you have been given a great mission: to publish a piece of paper...

Why similar: Strategy 41.1%, Casual 36.2%, Indie 22.7%

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..."

Trapped in total darkness, you’re a helpless kid, alone and hunted by something lurking in the shadows. Solve puzzles, navigate shifting rooms, and uncover creepy secrets. Your worst nightmares are real. Can you make it through the night?

Why similar: Casual 55.2%, Adventure 44.8%

In this 2D, short narrative-based game, you assume the role of the Grim Reaper... on an office job. Your job is to decide which people are going to live or die. The consequences of your choices are yours to bear, while the mystery of your incarnation awaits revelation!

Why similar: Strategy 37.9%, Casual 28.9%, Adventure 17%, Indie 16.2%

Home Darkness - Escape, is a classic Hidden Object game, you will combine items, resolve puzzle, and find treasure!

Why similar: Casual 44%, Adventure 30%, Indie 26%

Survive ambitious rulers dreaming of an empire, outsmart treacherous neighbors longing to burn your spoils, and navigate the religion’s predictably unreasonable demands; you need ask only one question as you build your legacy – “Will you burn them, or be burnt?”

Why similar: Strategy 33.4%, Casual 24.8%, Indie 14.5%, Adventure 14%, Action 13.3%

You're gonna get yourself killed in there... There's beasts, warriors, and much, much worse in the coliseum... Do you really think you've got what it takes to survive? Or do you think you're cut out for much more than that... There's only one way to find out, and time is of the essence!

You must save the world, whatever the cost...

Why similar: Action 39.3%, Indie 33.3%, Adventure 27.4%

Survive in countless levels and search for the lights.

You will answer a series of questions that will reveal your potential fate. These questions may make you uncomfortable, but with great knowledge comes great sacrifice. Can you make it all the way through The Horrorscope, and if you do, are you sure you want the answers you seek?

Why similar: Adventure 100%

A "Blind" simulator that lets you experience a new perspective and immersive sensory journey. Step into a world of darkness using your guide cane.

Why similar: Indie 40.8%, Casual 39.1%, Adventure 20.1%

You will answer questions that will reveal things 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 once again unlock "Secrets of the Soul..."

Play through a common childhood fear about turning the lights off and going to bed.

Why similar: Adventure 69.6%, Casual 30.4%

No one ever said that life is easy. Fight your way through it in a short story-driven mix of game genres that accompany your journey from childhood to senility. What challenges will you stand up against? Will you earn what should be yours? Will you find out what it means to Live?

Why similar: Action 51%, Indie 49%

Test your mind with this twist on a Tower Defense genre, wrapped up in a deep, dark story! Play as a scientist punishing ignorant peasants with burning balls of lava!

Why similar: Strategy 34.2%, Casual 28.2%, Action 20.2%, Indie 17.4%

Grab whatever you can find,kill whoever you can see. Clenching your weapon and light could help you survive in the waste subway station in Tokyo. Immerse your soul in the darkness,and good luck...…

Why similar: Casual 28.9%, Action 25.7%, Adventure 24.6%, Indie 20.8%

Find Out - this is an adventure game in which you will have to escape from an unknown location, surrounded by a large maze.

Why similar: Indie 38%, Casual 25.4%, Action 18.8%, Adventure 17.8%

Critically acclaimed, minimalist text-based rpg. Come light the fire.

Why similar: Adventure 71.5%, Indie 28.5%