Games Like The Butterfly Dream

Runaways is a top-down visual novel about two lost teens on the run, escaping abuse and searching for a new beginning in the quiet depths of the unforgiving city night.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 18.6%, Interactive Fiction 15.5%, Drama 14.8%, Visual Novel 13.8%, Dark 9.1%

어느 날 갑자기 말하는 삼색 고양이가 주인공을 찾아옵니다. 평범한 학생인 '세라'는 고양이를 데리고 도시 외곽으로, 그리고 과거로의 여행을 떠나게 됩니다. 어떤 잊힌 이야기와 추억들이 세라를 기다리고 있을까요?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 22.9%, Walking Simulator 22.8%, Linear 11.7%, Top-Down 10.7%, Drama 8.8%

A journey through the life of a star player of a cryptic and bizarre sport. The dialogue choices you make will determine the path your life takes, and the ultimate conclusion to your story.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 18.3%, Walking Simulator 17.8%, Surreal 16.8%, Psychological 12.3%, Emotional 11.6%

First-person boat through the River of Wangchuan, lantern in hand—cut through the fog and chase scattered memory shards. You ferry a General toward the far shore, only to witness the massacre he committed to resurrect the Princess. In the end, who are you—the ferryman, or the General himself?

Why similar: Walking Simulator 27.6%, Psychological 12.1%, Visual Novel 11%, Interactive Fiction 10%, Emotional 9.5%

A fateful meeting sets off a chain reaction, upending Mark's life. People disappear and memories prove unreliable. Uncover a hidden truth with Mark and his friends in this narrative adventure and race to unravel the mystery before it's too late.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 20.1%, Visual Novel 19.3%, Emotional 16.1%, Drama 13%, Psychological 12.1%

A tear-filled story game about the bittersweet last day of three abandoned kobolds.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 20.2%, Interactive Fiction 18%, Emotional 13.4%, Drama 13%, Top-Down 9.1%

Explore a surreal dream world built from one man’s memories in this remastered story-rich first-person mystery/adventure.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.7%, Walking Simulator 22.6%, Visual Novel 16.4%, Drama 10.8%, Emotional 6.2%

Help real-life 'peasant poet' John Clare on a historical adventure escaping from a mental asylum and guide his epic walk home. Traverse a changing Victorian landscape, encounter ghosts & storytellers, avoid will 'o the wisps and face up to the hallucinations of Clare's shattered mind.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 27.1%, Walking Simulator 24.3%, Visual Novel 18.1%, Top-Down 8.8%, Linear 6.5%

As a father, you explore the empty home of your estranged daughter, Amy, after her death. Piece together the life you missed…one memory at a time. Follow the journey of regret and reconciliation as you try to comprehend the world she built without you.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 21.4%, Walking Simulator 20.6%, Visual Novel 14.8%, Linear 10%, Psychological 10%

A short, intense, dark visual narrative in 2 colors. You are stuck reliving a single day, over and over. Explore a tiny, giant world of a relationship between two people. Don't get arrested. Try to reach the person you love and escape the cursed time loop. Is it not too late?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 21.9%, Walking Simulator 18.6%, Visual Novel 15.4%, Psychological 13.9%, Story Rich 7.6%

Beaux-Arts is a surreal horror game about being held prisoner by the residents of a countryside estate. Trapped in an arbitrary and nightmarish system of justice, you must explore the grounds and try to convince the family and staff to let you out alive.

Why similar: Surreal 21.1%, Walking Simulator 18.1%, Interactive Fiction 15.9%, Drama 13.7%, Psychological 11.4%

The Space Between is a surreal short narrative experience in three acts about the walls we build for us.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 22%, Surreal 18.4%, Visual Novel 14.8%, Emotional 10%, Drama 9.7%

A garden-themed 2D RPG which tackles the struggle of problem-solving in an uncomfortable and unknown place. Solve and explore your way across this dark landscape to uncover the truth behind your visit, meeting a familiar face to keep you company.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 24.2%, Surreal 24.1%, Emotional 14.8%, Linear 9%, Top-Down 8%

Inner Ashes is a first person, narrative, puzzle adventure, where the player puts himself in Henry's shoes, a forest guard diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. He has to travel through his mind to discover why his only daughter Enid disappeared from his life.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 21.7%, Surreal 15.9%, Drama 12.8%, Emotional 11.9%, Psychological 10.3%

Time is the only thing we can't resist. Some people and things will never be found once they are lost. In the dark, a man was walking alone. The moment when you turn back, don't forget the place where came from!

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 19%, Walking Simulator 17.9%, Emotional 13%, Drama 11.5%, Visual Novel 10.4%

A compilation of 12 small literary games about humans meeting and missing one another. Explore these experimental experiences that were made on a monthly basis over the course of a year.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 28.1%, Surreal 19.2%, Visual Novel 18%, Linear 9.6%, 2D 5.7%

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: Interactive Fiction 15.4%, Visual Novel 15%, Psychological 14.4%, Drama 13.4%, Emotional 13.2%

The definitive edition of the fan-favorite visual novel is here! A surreal, coming-of-age tale set in early 2010s Central Florida, Siren's Call is the small town you swore you'd always leave. Something inside you knows this is your last chance. Will you reach escape velocity?

Why similar: Surreal 18.1%, Interactive Fiction 17%, Visual Novel 14.9%, Psychological 14.8%, Emotional 12.4%

Carry Onward is a narrative gameplay short that follows a grieving man as he packs up his home. Immerse yourself in his thoughts and emotions by interacting with items, which shape his internal state. Experience the transformative power of memories and the hope that arises from embracing change.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 20.4%, Interactive Fiction 17.5%, Emotional 13.6%, Drama 12.1%, Visual Novel 11.1%

You have died, and only you can discover how it happened. Do not worry though, I am here to help you. Let us figure this out together. This mixed media artistic point and click adventure novel will not take you long to complete.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 31%, Visual Novel 23.9%, Psychological 18%, Linear 14.5%, 2D 7.2%

This is the story of Mark's life...

Why similar: Walking Simulator 16%, Interactive Fiction 15.8%, Surreal 12.7%, Psychological 12.6%, Drama 11.7%

A short, emotional visual novel following a grieving man who relives memories of days long gone. An exploration of loss presented honestly and kinetically.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 18.2%, Visual Novel 18.1%, Drama 16%, Emotional 15.9%, Linear 11.8%

Rainswept takes you on an emotional adventure in a small town shaken by a double shooting. Join Detective Stone and unravel a tangled web of love, relationships, and unresolved trauma in this character-driven murder mystery game.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 18.5%, Walking Simulator 17.3%, Surreal 16.3%, Visual Novel 13.8%, Drama 8.2%

You find yourself alone in a place that feels familiar… but not quite right. Wander aimlessly or with purpose, it won’t matter. Is there an end? Has anyone been here before you? Time feels slow. Or maybe it's frozen. Or maybe… you’re not meant to leave.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 25.9%, Interactive Fiction 20.2%, Surreal 14.3%, Linear 10.4%, Visual Novel 9.6%

7th Chance is a short (20-30 minute) story-based exploration adventure game. Waking up from a night of heavy drinking ... something isn't right.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 25.4%, Walking Simulator 24.3%, Surreal 17.4%, Emotional 9.2%, Drama 7.1%

In 120 Yen series, each season has a unique heroine. By using the four seasons of Japan to tell the story of two people meeting and getting along through the keyword "120 yen".

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 28.1%, Visual Novel 20.6%, Emotional 16.3%, Story Rich 11.3%, Drama 8.4%

We Carry the Fire is a fantasy-adventure visual novel about four people embarking on a dangerous quest to save a small village from an apocalyptic curse.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 30.9%, Visual Novel 20.6%, Drama 16.5%, Emotional 13.2%, Adventure 7.5%

Connor, a single father, visits a memory-restoration clinic in order to relive the days he had with his estranged son Bry. Experience what’s left of his past as he gets to relive his cherished memories and routine joys, while keeping away from the disturbing truth lurking beneath the surface.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.2%, Walking Simulator 18.5%, Psychological 18.5%, Emotional 17.5%, Story Rich 10.2%

먼 옛날, 끝없이 비가 내리는 세상 속에 한 여행자가 있었습니다. 점점 물 속으로 잠겨가고 있는 세상에서, 여행자는 여정을 시작했습니다. 당신은 슬픔과 분노로 잠겨가는 세계에서 '상냥한 빛'을 찾기위한 모험을 떠납니다. 하지만 그것만이 이 이야기의 전부는 아닙니다...

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 26%, Top-Down 14.3%, Linear 12.9%, Psychological 12.4%, Emotional 10.7%

Narrative-driven psychological horror set in a confined apartment. Explore, interact with everyday objects, and notice increasingly unsettling changes around you. Your small, everyday choices will shape your future and define your ending. A debut title created by a solo developer.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 26.4%, Walking Simulator 21.6%, Visual Novel 17.6%, Drama 8.5%, Emotional 7.5%

It's what happened that day.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 22.4%, Surreal 16.3%, Visual Novel 14.6%, Top-Down 11.6%, RPGMaker 9.8% ★

Penrose is a non-linear interactive novella unlike anything you've played before. Scroll forwards and backwards through an ever-changing story. Manipulate the environment, explore every possibility, and unravel the mystery at the heart of everything.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.7%, Drama 15.4%, Surreal 14.5%, Visual Novel 13.1%, Emotional 10.9%

After the revolution, Kikoku is plunged into chaos. Takekosen joins the secret organization Hiseido, facing her final trial. She must abandon her name, wear the mask, and forge her path through fate. A fantasy visual novel set in an ancient Eastern world.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 31.4%, Visual Novel 25.7%, Emotional 12.2%, Drama 11.6%, Story Rich 9.8%

Evan faces a frustrating battle with his conscience. It's one he cannot afford to lose, or he'll spend the rest of his life behind bars. Under intense scrutiny and questioning from two savvy detectives, how will he fare? That, is entirely up to you.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 21.7%, Surreal 19.4%, Psychological 15.7%, Visual Novel 14.2%, Linear 7.3%

A small "horror" narrative game about isolation and depression.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 29.6%, Walking Simulator 29.4%, Psychological 14.5%, Linear 8.3%, Dark 8.1%

이윽고 검은 바다가 밀려왔고, 나를 잠기게 했다. 한 노인의 상처받은 기억에 대한 이야기.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 25.3%, Interactive Fiction 25.2%, Linear 13.7%, Drama 11.8%, Emotional 10.4%

A top-down 2D story-driven adventure game inspired by real-life events. Traverse and experience the life of a formerly homeless man through an interview of how he regained his sense of self by telling his past to a stray dog. Set in Bangkok, Thailand 2017.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 16.5%, Psychological 15.4%, Emotional 14.3%, Interactive Fiction 12.6%, Visual Novel 10.1%

A mysterious bracelet, familiar dreams, and Zhi An, a male college student who just got a girlfriend, now faces a sudden appearance of a lover (male) from his past life. How should he choose? What is the hidden abnormality beneath the surface of everyday life?

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 27.9%, Visual Novel 22.8%, Drama 16.3%, Surreal 14.5%, Emotional 11.1%

Out On The Water is a short, meditative journey through memory and grief that tells the story of an inattentive father and his last chance to connect with his children. Set adrift in quiet waters that represent each child, catch strange memory fish to uncover the past and face regrets.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 23.1%, Surreal 15.3%, Interactive Fiction 14.1%, Emotional 12.8%, Drama 10.8%

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

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 28.6%, Visual Novel 22%, Linear 12.9%, Drama 8.5%, Emotional 7.3%

This game is not normal. It has no traditional gameplay loop or world format. In the game, you walk through a room. Each one is just as different as the last. You learn about the people who inhabit the world, known as Meeples, and you learn about the dark secret behind the world.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 28.5%, Walking Simulator 27%, Visual Novel 19.6%, Top-Down 12.9%, 2D 5.6%

A remote mountain cabin, a raging snowstorm, and the line between reality and madness begins to blur. Make difficult choices, explore surreal worlds, and confront what waits in the dark.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 24.2%, Interactive Fiction 23.9%, Surreal 12.3%, Emotional 11.3%, Psychological 10.9%

It's June 2023 in Columbus, Ohio -- 10 years since Neal and Jack graduated, and 8 years since they last spoke. Follow two once-best friends' reluctant descent through classrooms and memories in Our Dirge, a game about growing up in a certain place & time, and making up for the time we lost.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 21.1%, Surreal 18.5%, Interactive Fiction 17.4%, Visual Novel 15.1%, Drama 8.8%

You can't understand them—yet. Decode the “Second Reality.” Talk. Mind Read. Translate. An empathy-driven psychological mystery adventure.

Why similar: Surreal 16.3%, Visual Novel 16%, Psychological 15.9%, Interactive Fiction 11.9%, Drama 11.7%

An emotional story portraying the struggles of anxiety—the paralyzing thoughts and irrational fears. Join Lucy on her journey to find solace, alongside her supportive yet puzzled roommate. A heartfelt narrative delving into the complexities of anxiety and the challenges of empathy.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 19.3%, Visual Novel 17.6%, Psychological 17.3%, Emotional 15.6%, Drama 13.7%

The only hands-on puzzle adventure guaranteed to accurately and humanely teach Socialization to Introverts, heh heh!

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23.5%, Walking Simulator 22.8%, Surreal 18.4%, Top-Down 12.3%, Psychological 9.5%

Fishbowl Kid is an uplifting interactive story about coping with depression.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 34.2%, Visual Novel 21.3%, Linear 14.7%, Psychological 10.8%, Emotional 10.5%

halfmoon is a short adventure game set in a reception office for the deceased, the final stop before the afterlife.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 26.6%, Visual Novel 24.7%, Surreal 17.5%, Psychological 15.7%, Story Rich 6.7%

Very funny, very short and very sweet text adventure game about Chub, Color, 23 and You.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 26.1%, Surreal 20.2%, Visual Novel 19.9%, Emotional 13.2%, Linear 10.7%

Im Jahr 2234 kämpfen die 13-jährige Victorique und ihre beste Freundin Zoé im überwachten Frankreich gegen die Human Rescue Organisation. Trotz ihrer durch Schizophrenie verzerrten Wahrnehmung verfolgen die beiden Hackerinnen entschlossen ihren Plan, die Menschheit zu befreien.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 21.2%, Interactive Fiction 20.9%, Visual Novel 14.2%, Drama 10.7%, Top-Down 10.5%

THOHH is a first-person narrative game in which you play a food delivery guy. Through a series of vignettes, you cross paths with the residents of a beautiful house on Holland Hill road, where you make frequent deliveries. In the wake of tragedy, something ominous looms behind their front door.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 24.8%, Interactive Fiction 24.7%, Visual Novel 19%, Emotional 11.3%, Story Rich 8.7%

Blue Squid Theme Parks presents the VR simulator of their most popular ride The Dark Zone. No need for long trips, now you can experience this iconic ride from the comfort of your own home.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 31%, Walking Simulator 28.3%, Surreal 17.4%, Linear 10.2%, Story Rich 5.5%

“Thing-in-Itself” is a short interactive story about the struggles of understanding another human being. Using Immanuel Kant’s concept as a framework, it leads the player through stages of a relationship, exploring how perceptions may clash and surroundings can alter.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 18.9%, Interactive Fiction 16.7%, Psychological 14.2%, Emotional 13.3%, Visual Novel 11.4%

A woman wanders into a heavily populated abandoned train station. What happens next might surprise you.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 17.3%, Visual Novel 15.9%, Surreal 13%, Drama 12.2%, Psychological 12.1%

One Last Memory is an emotional story driven exploration game about an old man who re-discovers his own past and lost memories on his journey through the beauty of nature. It is an adventure filled with joy, sadness and breathtaking locations and environments that are waiting to be discovered.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 27.7%, Interactive Fiction 27.5%, Drama 14.2%, Emotional 9.8%, Surreal 9.4%

Memory has weight. The departed are not gone. Step into a village drowned by flood and memory, and search for the final answer about guardianship and farewell among the shattered past.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 25%, Interactive Fiction 20.5%, Visual Novel 17%, Linear 10.8%, Psychological 9.4%

An endless torture game set in the distorted remnants of forgotten RPGMaker puzzles.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 21.6%, Walking Simulator 21%, Top-Down 11.4%, Drama 11.1%, Psychological 9.8%

What's real and what's in your head? In Deliria VR, reality and nightmares blend together, making you question everything with psychological twists and creepy surprises.

Why similar: Surreal 17.1%, Psychological 16.5%, Interactive Fiction 14.7%, Drama 13.8%, Walking Simulator 12.3%

A garden caught in eternal recurrence. A god who forgets everything. A witness without rest. In this narrative-driven 2D exploration game, walk, listen, and read your way through four cycles to piece together a truth hidden beneath the surface.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 19%, Interactive Fiction 17.2%, Surreal 14%, Emotional 13.3%, Visual Novel 11.1%

A point-and-click horror/tragedy visual novel about melding your perception of the world around you. Walk around, drive people to their death, and shape Perdita's existence. Remember: The flesh-sin is nothing. Before she can become everything, you must make her into something.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 23%, Walking Simulator 16.8%, Emotional 16.7%, Visual Novel 14.9%, Surreal 12.4%