Games Like SUNLESS SEA

DREDGE is a single-player fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent. Sell your catch, upgrade your boat, and dredge the depths for long-buried secrets. Explore a mysterious archipelago and discover why some things are best left forgotten.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 47.8%, Exploration 17.4%, Open World 8%, Horror 5.8%, Atmospheric 5.5%

Why You'll Like It: It captures the same eerie, Lovecraftian nautical exploration and resource management loop as Sunless Sea but with a focus on fishing and eldritch secrets.

SAIL THE STARS. BETRAY YOUR QUEEN. MURDER A SUN. Sunless Skies is a Gothic Horror roleplay game with a focus on exploration and exquisite storytelling.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 33.2%, Steampunk 21.6% ★, Exploration 8.6%, Survival 7.7%, Story Rich 5.7%

Why You'll Like It: As the direct sequel, it refines the exploration and narrative mechanics of the original while shifting the setting to a haunting, Victorian-inspired space.

Explore the House, a parasite dimension that steals from other worlds, in a train that scuttles on mechanical legs.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 32.2%, Steampunk 17.5% ★, Exploration 8.7%, Dark 7.6%, Story Rich 6.9%

Why You'll Like It: This game is a direct spiritual successor to Sunless Sea, featuring similar exploration, resource management, and surreal, lore-heavy writing.

Seize forbidden treasures. Summon alien gods. Feed on your disciples. Cultist Simulator is a game of apocalypse and yearning. Play as a seeker after unholy mysteries, in a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 58.6%, Roguelike 13.4%, Story Rich 10.9%, Roguelite 8.9%, RPG 8.2%

Why You'll Like It: Created by the same lead designer, this game shares the deep, cryptic lore and dark, occult atmosphere that defines the Fallen London universe.

Barotrauma is a 2D co-op submarine simulator – in space, with survival horror and RPG elements. Steer your submarine, complete missions, fight monsters, fix leaks, operate machinery, man the guns and craft items, and stay alert: danger in Barotrauma doesn’t announce itself!

Why similar: Survival 66.2%, Horror 24.4%, 2D 6.5%, Singleplayer 2.9%

Why You'll Like It: This cooperative submarine survival game perfectly mirrors the claustrophobic, high-stakes pressure of navigating a vessel through a hostile, alien underwater environment.

Pathologic 2 is a groundbreaking open-world horror RPG. Resist the plague. Make medicine. Heal people. Perform an autopsy. Trade to get what you need. Fight and kill if necessary. Survive. Struggle with an outbreak in a secluded rural town that is rapidly turning into hell.

Why similar: Survival 25%, Story Rich 17.7%, Dark 15.6%, Atmospheric 12.3%, RPG 10.3%

Why You'll Like It: This game offers an unparalleled atmosphere of dread and existential survival, forcing players to make impossible choices in a decaying, surreal town.

This "spaceship simulation roguelike-like" allows you to take your ship and crew on an adventure through a randomly generated galaxy filled with glory and bitter defeat.

Why similar: Roguelike 41.5%, Survival 23.1%, Roguelite 10.1%, Top-Down 6.6%, Indie 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: It provides the definitive ship-management and roguelike experience, emphasizing the constant tension of keeping a vessel running against overwhelming odds.

You didn’t ask to lead this expedition, but here you are. Stuck in the ice, Captain missing, miles from civilisation. Someone has to take charge. Manage your meagre resources, balance safety and morale, make the hard calls, and head in the only direction you can - through The Pale Beyond.

Why similar: Survival 30.2%, Exploration 16.3%, Dark 15.8%, Story Rich 15.6%, Atmospheric 9.5%

Why You'll Like It: A narrative-heavy survival management game where you must lead a stranded expedition, focusing on the same difficult choices and crew management found in Sunless Sea.

Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. Recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes against unimaginable horrors, stress, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Can you keep your heroes together when all hope is lost?

Why similar: Lovecraftian 52.8%, Roguelike 13.2%, RPG 8%, Dark 7.7%, Gothic 4.6% ★

Why You'll Like It: This game captures the brutal, sanity-draining roguelike experience and dark, gothic aesthetic that fans of Sunless Sea will appreciate.

VOID SAILS is a single-player adventure where you captain a flying ship across uncharted space. Sail through mysterious worlds, battle powerful foes, and make story-defining choices. Uncover dark secrets in a game where every discovery could bring you closer to the truth—or to madness.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 45.5%, Exploration 13.8%, Steampunk 12.9% ★, Story Rich 8.2%, RPG 6.8%

Why You'll Like It: A game that directly mirrors the sailing and exploration mechanics of Sunless Sea within a dark, Lovecraftian-inspired setting.

Roleplaying in the ruins of interplanetary capitalism. Live the life of an escaped worker, washed-up on a lawless station at the edge of an interstellar society. Inspired by the flexibility and freedom of TTRPGs, explore the station, choose your friends, escape your past and change your future.

Why similar: Exploration 28.2%, Story Rich 25.2%, RPG 18.2%, Atmospheric 15.2%, Adventure 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: It combines tabletop-inspired mechanics with a deep, character-driven narrative about surviving in a precarious, atmospheric sci-fi setting.

Lost at sea 1803 ~ The good ship Obra Dinn.

Why similar: Story Rich 30%, Great Soundtrack 26.1%, Atmospheric 20.7%, Horror 6.6%, Singleplayer 6.1%

Why You'll Like It: This mystery game shares an atmospheric, nautical setting and a focus on piecing together a dark, tragic history through careful observation.

Experience the quiet terror of this 1-bit love letter to Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft. Navigate a hellish roguelite reality with turn-based combat and unforgiving choices. Experiment with your deck of event cards to discover new forms of cosmic horror in every playthrough. The inevitable awaits...

Why similar: Lovecraftian 47.1%, Survival 11.9%, Horror 10.6%, Roguelike 8.4%, Roguelite 7%

Why You'll Like It: A roguelite horror game that perfectly captures the aesthetic and dread of Lovecraftian fiction through its unique, retro-inspired art style.

Delve into a role-playing game of horror, loss and madness set in the strange worlds of HP Lovecraft. Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones offers a mix of rich role-playing and turn-based tactical combat, represented in an illustrative visual style. Can you find salvation in a dead world?

Why similar: Lovecraftian 59.7%, RPG 11.8%, Horror 7.8%, Story Rich 4.7%, Great Soundtrack 4.6%

Why You'll Like It: A turn-based RPG that leans heavily into the Lovecraftian mythos, focusing on sanity and the bleakness of a world gone wrong.

Disco Elysium - The Final Cut is a groundbreaking role playing game. You’re a detective with a unique skill system at your disposal and a whole city to carve your path across. Interrogate unforgettable characters, crack murders or take bribes. Become a hero or an absolute disaster of a human being.

Why similar: Story Rich 30.4%, RPG 22.2%, Exploration 15.6%, Atmospheric 12.4%, Open World 8.7%

Why You'll Like It: While mechanically different, it matches the unparalleled depth of writing, dark tone, and existential introspection found in Sunless Sea.

NEO Scavenger is a game where you must survive in the wasteland long enough to figure out who you are. Each turn, you must decide where to go, how to scavenge for supplies, and how to deal with anything and anyone you encounter.

Why similar: Survival 52.7%, Roguelike 20%, RPG 12.3%, Open World 7.9%, Indie 3.2%

Why You'll Like It: A gritty, turn-based survival game that emphasizes scavenging and narrative-driven encounters in a hostile, post-apocalyptic world.

Named Game of the Year 2019 by Giant Bomb, Polygon, Eurogamer, and The Guardian, Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.

Why similar: Exploration 27.2%, Great Soundtrack 19.7%, Story Rich 15.5%, Open World 9.9%, Atmospheric 9.5%

Why You'll Like It: It excels at the same sense of wonder and existential mystery found in exploration-focused games, rewarding curiosity with profound narrative revelations.

A short horror game where you pilot a tiny submarine through an ocean of blood on an alien moon.

Why similar: Horror 27.4%, Atmospheric 20.2%, Dark 19.9%, Exploration 19%, Adventure 7.8%

Why You'll Like It: A short but incredibly effective experience that focuses on the claustrophobic terror of navigating a submarine through an ocean of blood.

A lovecraftian roguelike. Dive into procedurally generated undersea caves. Collect gold, upgrade your equipment, and Feed the Deep.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 40.2%, Exploration 10.3%, Dark 10.1%, Roguelike 9.1%, Survival 8.7%

Why You'll Like It: A roguelike focused on deep-sea exploration that leans into Lovecraftian themes and the constant threat of the unknown.

Curious Expedition is a roguelike expedition simulation set in the late 19th century. Together with famous personalities you will venture on unprecedented expeditions to regions never explored before for fame, science and treasures.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 48.2%, Exploration 14.6%, Roguelike 11.9%, Story Rich 8.8%, RPG 6.7%

Why You'll Like It: A roguelike exploration game that captures the Victorian-era spirit of discovery and the constant risk of madness and death.

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: Lovecraftian 63.8%, Dark 18.2%, Atmospheric 11.6%, Adventure 3.8%, Singleplayer 2.7%

Why You'll Like It: A survival horror game that masterfully blends Lovecraftian themes with a claustrophobic, atmospheric, and surreal narrative.

Lovecraft’s Untold Stories is an action roguelite with RPG elements. Explore randomly generated levels based in Lovecraft's stories, fight cultists and all kinds of monsters from the Mythos, improve your gear, solve puzzles, and find clues and knowledge to defeat the Great Old Ones.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 66.2%, Roguelite 7%, RPG 6.5%, Horror 4.5%, Adventure 4.1%

Why You'll Like It: An action-adventure game that directly utilizes Lovecraftian lore and roguelike elements to create a fast-paced, dark experience.

Darkwood - a new perspective on survival horror. Scavenge and explore a rich, ever-changing free-roam world by day, then hunker down in your hideout and pray for the morning light.

Why similar: Survival 18.9%, Dark 15.4%, Exploration 14.2%, Story Rich 10.6%, Horror 9.7%

Why You'll Like It: A top-down survival horror game that relies on atmosphere and environmental storytelling rather than jump scares to create a sense of dread.

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: Lovecraftian 41.6%, Dark 13.2%, Exploration 12%, Horror 9.5%, Story Rich 9.4%

Why You'll Like It: It provides a deeply philosophical and existential horror experience that mirrors the dark, unsettling tone of the Sunless Sea universe.

A rogue-like river journey through the backwaters of a forgotten post-societal America. Forage, craft, evade predators.

Why similar: Survival 43.2%, Great Soundtrack 17.5%, Exploration 11.3%, Adventure 6.9%, Roguelike 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: A survival game that focuses on navigating a treacherous river, mirroring the constant movement and resource scarcity of Sunless Sea.

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: Dark 24.8%, Story Rich 22%, Roguelike 19%, Horror 17.3%, Roguelite 12.3%

Why You'll Like It: A dark, atmospheric roguelike that hides a deep, meta-narrative mystery behind its card-based gameplay.

1924. Private Investigator Pierce is sent to look into the tragic death of the Hawkins family. Plunge into a world of creeping madness and cosmic horror. Cryptic clues, shadowy figures, and pure terror bar your way as you fight to retain your sanity and solve an otherworldly mystery.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 65.7%, Horror 8.2%, Story Rich 7.5%, Atmospheric 5.6%, Dark 4.5%

Why You'll Like It: A detective-focused RPG that directly adapts the Lovecraftian mythos, focusing on investigation and the slow erosion of the protagonist's sanity.

Crying Suns is a tactical rogue-lite that puts you in the role of a space fleet commander as you explore a mysteriously fallen empire. In this story rich experience inspired by Dune and Foundation, each successful run will uncover the truth about the Empire... and yourself as well.

Why similar: Roguelike 23.8%, Dark 23.2%, Story Rich 20.5%, Roguelite 18.5%, Indie 5.4%

Why You'll Like It: A tactical roguelite that focuses on space exploration and narrative-driven events, echoing the feeling of commanding a ship through a dying universe.

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

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 33.9%, Exploration 17.7%, Atmospheric 16.5%, Adventure 8.8%, RPG 7.8%

Why You'll Like It: An atmospheric, top-down adventure that tells a cryptic story through its environment and visuals, similar to the world-building in Sunless Sea.

KENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO is a magical realist adventure game about a secret highway running through the caves beneath Kentucky, and the mysterious folks who travel it.

Why similar: Atmospheric 26.1%, Story Rich 20.9%, Great Soundtrack 20%, Adventure 16.4%, Exploration 7.7%

Why You'll Like It: A surreal, atmospheric adventure game that prioritizes poetic, dreamlike storytelling over traditional gameplay mechanics.

Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ is a Rogue-Like Dungeon-Defense game, in which the player and their team of heroes must protect the generator of their crashed ship while exploring an ever-expanding dungeon, all while facing waves of monsters and special events as they try to find their way out...

Why similar: Roguelike 33.4%, Survival 19%, RPG 14.2%, Great Soundtrack 12.1%, Roguelite 8%

Inhabit a deeply-simulated science fantasy world and chisel through layers of thousand-year-old civilizations. Build a character from over a hundred mutations and cybernetics. The award-winning sandbox roguelike & RPG full of robots, deep lore, and sentient plants.

Why similar: Survival 25.1%, Open World 19.9%, Roguelike 17.2%, Story Rich 14.5%, RPG 10.2%

Live through an epic role-playing Viking saga where your strategic choices directly affect your personal journey. Make allies as you travel with your caravan across this stunning yet harsh landscape. Carefully choose those who will help fight a new threat that jeopardizes an entire civilization.

Why similar: RPG 30.8%, Great Soundtrack 26.1%, Story Rich 23.6%, Atmospheric 7.4%, Indie 5.9%

In this strategic rogue-like you become a famous expedition leader in the 19th century. You form your own crew with the skills and personality to discover legendary treasures, while exploring randomized locations and stories on every new adventure.

Why similar: Roguelike 23.8%, Exploration 22.1%, RPG 18.8%, Adventure 13.1%, Roguelite 9.9%

UnderRail is an old-school turn-based isometric role-playing game that features a large open post-apocalyptic world, deep and challenging combat and an intricate storyline.

Why similar: RPG 43.3%, Open World 15.4%, Exploration 12.5%, Atmospheric 12.4%, Indie 5.8%

DIVE. DISCOVER. DIE. Crew a submarine with friends in We Need To Go Deeper - a 2-4-player cooperative submarine roguelike set in a Verne-inspired undersea universe.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 44.8%, Steampunk 24.8% ★, Exploration 10.4%, Roguelike 8.1%, Roguelite 6.9%

Gods Will Be Watching is a minimalistic “point and click thriller” centered on despair, commitment, and sacrifice as players face intriguing puzzles and tough decisions that will affect their entire crew’s wellbeing.

Why similar: Dark 24.2%, Story Rich 19.6%, Survival 19.4%, Atmospheric 8.4%, Great Soundtrack 8.2%

Control powerful mechs from the future to defeat an alien threat. Each attempt to save the world presents a new randomly generated challenge in this turn-based strategy game.

Why similar: Roguelike 36.1%, Roguelite 19.5%, Great Soundtrack 18.5%, RPG 12.6%, Indie 8.6%

Torment: Tides of Numenera is the thematic successor to Planescape: Torment, one of the most critically acclaimed role-playing games of all time. Immerse yourself in a single-player, isometric, story-driven RPG set in Monte Cook’s Numenera universe. What does one life matter? Find your answer.

Why similar: RPG 38.8%, Story Rich 28.3%, Adventure 9.9%, Atmospheric 9.4%, Great Soundtrack 4.8%

You only have 21 days until this living city dies. The clock is ticking. You can’t be everywhere at once. Decide what to explore, who to meet and see every decision shape the curious stories and terrible secrets of this branching narrative game.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 53.4%, Story Rich 9.8%, Exploration 9.7%, Great Soundtrack 9.4%, Adventure 6.8%

Heat Signature is a game from the developers of Gunpoint where you break into spaceships, make terrible mistakes, and think of clever ways out of them. You take a mission, fly to the target ship, sneak inside, and make clever use of your gadgets to distract, ambush and take out the crew.

Why similar: Roguelike 35.4%, Roguelite 17%, Top-Down 16%, Open World 9.6%, Indie 7.7%

Take command of an 'Age of Sail' ship and her crew, exploring a vast, story-filled world that reacts to your decisions. Engage enemy vessels, fortifications and sea monsters in brutal tactical combat, all framed in an art style inspired by classic Naval Oil Paintings.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 42.6%, Survival 13%, Exploration 10.5%, Story Rich 8%, Roguelike 7.6%

1975. Disaster strikes the Beira D oil rig off the coast of Scotland. Navigate the collapsing rig to save your crew from an otherworldly horror on the edge of all logic and reality in this 3x BAFTA Games Award-winning narrative horror experience.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 48.1%, Dark 13.1%, Exploration 9.7%, Horror 9.1%, Story Rich 8.8%

Out There is an award-winning space exploration game blending roguelike, resource management and interactive fiction.

Why similar: Survival 20.2%, Exploration 17.7%, Roguelike 15.3%, Dark 11.7%, Story Rich 10.6%

You are a lowly egg cell on a journey through a swollen sea of strange and humanoid fish. Prey on smaller life and growing larger and stronger to perhaps someday be born.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 35.4%, Survival 17.6%, Exploration 14%, Dark 13.1%, Atmospheric 6.2%

Harebrained Schemes' biggest Shadowrun game to date, and the definitive Shadowrun RPG experience available on PC. Now a standalone title with tons of new content & improvements!

Why similar: RPG 44%, Story Rich 29.5%, Atmospheric 10.1%, Adventure 6.9%, Singleplayer 5.3%

Travel by train through a dying world. Look after your passengers, keep your train operational, and make sure you can always reach the next station. Make your way through swarms of infected at each station. Explore mysterious and abandoned stations looking for supplies and survivors.

Why similar: Survival 40%, Story Rich 13.2%, Atmospheric 10.4%, Great Soundtrack 9.9%, Adventure 7.7%

Experience a story-driven RPG where your choices mean all the difference in the world.

Why similar: RPG 37.3%, Story Rich 29.6%, Great Soundtrack 8.8%, Adventure 8.4%, Atmospheric 6.2%

Something ancient and evil is stirring in Victorian England. Only you can stop it. Journey to the brink of madness and beyond as you set forth alone into the dark.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 56%, Great Soundtrack 14.4%, Story Rich 12.8%, Horror 9.4%, Adventure 3.6%

Afflicted by severe amnesia, you drift deep into the Common Dream. You scour for the lost pages of the Necronomicon, while clinging on to any little purpose you have left. Faced with mad dreamers, horrible abominations and eldritch deities, you feel drawn to the dark Abyss deep within.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 54.5%, Roguelike 10.2%, Great Soundtrack 9.8%, Roguelite 5.9%, Atmospheric 4.5%

Command an ancient starship and fight your way to the heart of a dying Empire. Fend off attacks from demented cultists, craven space pirates, and xenophobic Imperial soldiers. Discover powerful artifacts and use them to build your ship into a fearsome war engine.

Why similar: Roguelike 31.4%, Roguelite 27.1%, Gothic 25% ★, Adventure 8.6%, 2D 4.2%

The Consuming Shadow is a procedural survival horror adventure in which you must explore the land, fight your way through randomly-generated dungeons and try to stay sane in your quest to save the world from the invading Ancients.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 69.1%, Dark 6.5%, Horror 5.8%, Roguelite 5.5%, Adventure 5.2%

Prepare to be enchanted by a world where the choices you make and the paths you choose shape your destiny. Obsidian Entertainment, the developer of Fallout: New Vegas™ and South Park: The Stick of Truth™, together with Paradox Interactive is proud to present Pillars of Eternity.

Why similar: RPG 35.4%, Story Rich 24.7%, Exploration 9.5%, Great Soundtrack 7.7%, Open World 6.5%

Restore a crumbling occult library by a winter sea. Build the world’s foremost collection of grimoires and arcana. Master the invisible arts. BOOK OF HOURS is a narrative crafting RPG set in a 1930s world of hidden gods and secret histories. What sort of Librarian will you choose to be?

Why similar: Exploration 47.6%, Story Rich 26.7%, RPG 25.8%

1872, with a steampunk twist. Phileas Fogg has wagered he can circumnavigate the world in just 80 days. Travel by airship, submarine, mechanical camel, steam-train and more. Race other players and a clock that never stops in TIME Magazine's Game of 2014.

Why similar: Steampunk 36.1% ★, Story Rich 18.3%, Exploration 13.5%, Adventure 9.6%, Great Soundtrack 7.7%

Oxenfree is a supernatural thriller about a group of friends who unwittingly open a ghostly rift. You are Alex, and you’ve just brought your new stepbrother Jonas to an overnight island party gone horribly wrong.

Why similar: Story Rich 27.6%, Great Soundtrack 18.2%, Atmospheric 14.6%, Lovecraftian 13.6%, Horror 12.1%

BELOW is a solitary journey through the haunted depths of a forbidden isle. Explore. Survive. Discover.

Why similar: Exploration 19.6%, Open World 18.5%, Roguelike 15.1%, Roguelite 10.5%, Horror 10.4%

The skies are aflame and the seas will overflow with wreckage in Vlambeer’s stylish arcade shooter LUFTRAUSERS! Take to the skies in customized fighter planes to battle battleships, submarines, and rival aces for glory, honor, and high scores.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 67.7%, Indie 14%, 2D 11.1%, Singleplayer 7.2%

Roadwarden is an illustrated text-based RPG that uses isometric pixel art and combines mechanics borrowed from RPGs, Visual Novels, adventure games and interactive fiction.

Why similar: RPG 34.9%, Story Rich 25.4%, Adventure 14.4%, Atmospheric 10.5%, Indie 7.4%

Diluvion is a 3D deep sea, Jules Verne inspired, exploration game with RPG elements and thrilling submarine combat. As the Captain of your own vessel, you must grow and manage your crew as you search for the secrets of the past in a hauntingly beautiful flooded world.

Why similar: Steampunk 54.2% ★, RPG 20%, Adventure 12.5%, Indie 6.3%, Open World 5.1%