Games Like The Hunter's Journals - Tattered Sails

From killer dolls to lethal furniture, nothing wooden can be trusted!

Why similar: Gothic 13% ★, Text-Based 9.8%, Lovecraftian 9%, Interactive Fiction 8.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 8.5%

The Crawling Horror is dead, but its legacy of madness lives on!

Why similar: Gothic 13.4% ★, Text-Based 10.7%, Interactive Fiction 9.6%, Choose Your Own Adventure 9.3%, Lovecraftian 8.7%

Revisit the case which made you a legend among your peers.

Why similar: Gothic 13% ★, Steampunk 12.4% ★, Text-Based 10.6%, Lovecraftian 9.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 9.5%

Art imitates life. Horrifying, unclean life.

Why similar: Text-Based 14.8%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.7%, Steampunk 14.2% ★, Interactive Fiction 13.3%, Gothic 10.7% ★

"Escape from Death" is a 256,000-word interactive horror adventure novel by Tova Näslund. It’s entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

Why similar: Gothic 19.3% ★, Interactive Fiction 15.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 15.2%, Dark Fantasy 11.5%, Dark 9.2%

A gothic short story set in the most Blighted city of the North Kingdom.

Why similar: Gothic 19.4% ★, Text-Based 16%, Interactive Fiction 12.9%, Lovecraftian 11.6%, Dark Fantasy 7.6%

You've played this game before. It's a haunted game about a haunted game. You may not remember, but the game remembers you. I remember you.

Why similar: Gothic 18% ★, Text-Based 14.8%, Interactive Fiction 13.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.4%, Dark Fantasy 10%

These monsters aren’t just in the movies! Will you hunt the vampires, werewolves and others stalking Hollywood, or will you become a monster instead? An interactive, text-based game set in the World of Darkness shared story universe.

Why similar: Gothic 18.2% ★, Interactive Fiction 16.2%, Text-Based 15.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.8%, Dark 7.9%

A Gothic horror faerie tale.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 20%, Gothic 15.6% ★, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.2%, Dark Fantasy 13%, Interactive Fiction 11.7%

Not thrilled that fate has led him into the confines of a sinister place, Varlu is left with no choice but to come face to face with many types of demons, including his very own.

Why similar: Gothic 18.6% ★, Lovecraftian 16.2%, Text-Based 13.1%, Interactive Fiction 11.6%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.2%

This is the story of a family living in a haunted house in New Hampshire. And you're the one haunting them.

Why similar: Gothic 41.2% ★, Interactive Fiction 15.6%, Text-Based 15.5%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.6%, Horror 10%

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

Why similar: Lovecraftian 22.1%, Gothic 20.5% ★, Steampunk 19.7% ★, Interactive Fiction 10.9%, Dark 8.3%

The shadow of Frank Stone looms over Cedar Hills, a town forever altered by his violent past. As a group of young friends are about to discover, Stone’s blood-soaked legacy cuts deep, leaving scars across families, generations, and the very fabric of reality itself.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 15.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.3%, Interactive Fiction 12.4%, Horror 8.5%, Dark 8.2%

It is said that the last frontier is space, but the crew of the Soviet Frigate, The Peresmeshnik, is about to discover that the sea still hides a terrifying secret. Waiting to be found.

Why similar: Text-Based 25.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 22.2%, Interactive Fiction 20.4%, Dark 8.2%, Horror 7.8%

Forces beyond human comprehension draw a macabre veil over the icy NY of 1927. A child has disappeared and you, a reporter with an unhappy past as an artist, become entangled in the drama. In this story, inspired by true events, you will investigate between reality, dreams and Lovecraftian horrors.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 21.5%, Text-Based 17.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 17.5%, Interactive Fiction 17%, Dark 8.8%

Care is an atmospheric first person horror game with puzzle elements, where your choices have consequences. Be observant with your surroundings and unravel the horrific secrets that hide within these walls.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 18.1%, Interactive Fiction 15.2%, Investigation 12.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 9.8%, Dark 9.7%

It all began when you opened that letter. Penned by your late master, it details how you are now heir to his mysterious legacy. You set off for the island on which he'd spent his final years... and so a truly unsettling journey begins, a journey into the deepest secrets of magic and the occult.

Why similar: Gothic 18% ★, Lovecraftian 14.8%, Text-Based 12.4%, Dark 11.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 10.6%

A dark atmospheric test that asks you to see things in new ways, including the experience of playing itself. In this love letter to flash horror, explore 60 ending permutations and reactivity to your answers, as the game not only allows but implores you to play and break it how you see fit.

Why similar: Gothic 26.3% ★, Interactive Fiction 15.1%, Text-Based 14.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.4%, Mystery 7.1%

A string of campus killings. A newly-turned vampire struggling to adjust. A monster hunter seeking answers. Worlds collide as Dante Jones and Nick Torres, both in danger of being accused of the crimes, team up to reveal the true culprit in this chilling supernatural horror visual novel.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 12.8%, Choose Your Own Adventure 12.4%, Investigation 11.2%, Text-Based 11.2%, Thriller 9.7%

Stuck in a dead-end town with plans that go nowhere, Jackie feels as if her life is doomed to stagnancy forever. Getting by with her friends, she is resigned to her fate in a small town- until a chance encounter with a deadly life-form sets in motion a deadly chain of events

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 14.6%, Interactive Fiction 13.8%, Text-Based 13.7%, Investigation 12.3%, Supernatural 10.1%

Dracula has been resurrected in modern nights Los Angeles. Separated from his home by oceans and time itself, he must come to grips with a new world while his survival hangs in the balance.

Why similar: Gothic 22.3% ★, Text-Based 17.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.6%, Interactive Fiction 15.5%, Supernatural 8.3%

Investigate the cursed town of Midnight Falls in a roguelike horror RPG. Scavenge powerful relics, outlast vicious foes, and cut down the awakened Ancient Deity before it devours everything. Every run is different, and the town hides secrets in every shadow.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 19.1%, Dark Fantasy 12.7%, Text-Based 12.2%, Interactive Fiction 11.9%, Investigation 11.2%

Gadgets, conspiracy and conquest await you in this steampunk text adventure. An interactive romp through Victorian England and the British Empire.

Why similar: Text-Based 25.2%, Interactive Fiction 22.7%, Lovecraftian 20.3%, Steampunk 18.4% ★, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.4%

The Sleeping Sickness is an interactive short story that allows the player to guide the main character's actions. The player’s choices will lock and unlock future locations, change dialogue, and alter the story. Choices matter in The Sleeping Sickness. It is an excellent choice for horror fans.

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 15.4%, Lovecraftian 14.8%, Investigation 12.7%, Interactive Fiction 12.3%, Supernatural 8.9%

Sanator: The Jewel of Monostructure is a dark fantasy visual novel that combines deep lore with exciting adventures. Who is behind the mysterious thefts and why are the gates of the Monostructure open again? Take control of Richard Murdock, the plague doctor, and find the answer.

Why similar: Gothic 14.9% ★, Dark Fantasy 14.2%, Interactive Fiction 13.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 12.7%, Supernatural 11.3%

The Season of the Warlock is a weird adventure game inspired by the gothic tale tradition, with two storylines to choose from. The soul of a warlock of yore, trapped in a portrait, will present Lord Alistair Ainsworth with an offer he will not be able to resist. Or will he? It’s your call...

Why similar: Gothic 25.9% ★, Lovecraftian 18.4%, Investigation 13.1%, Dark Fantasy 10.5%, Horror 8.4%

Become the greatest of the goblin merchants in this gaslamp faery-tale! Buy and sell secrets and memories! Trade in time, shadows, and stranger things!

Why similar: Text-Based 23.3%, Interactive Fiction 21.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 20.7%, Supernatural 12%, Steampunk 8.9% ★

Take the role of a painter struggling to finish his masterpiece in this short Gothic horror visual novel about art, pain and love.

Why similar: Gothic 30.2% ★, Interactive Fiction 13%, Supernatural 10.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 10.3%, Dark Fantasy 10.1%

Your eldritch existence is threatened when another abomination tries to feast on you. You flee, trapping yourself in human flesh, but will that be enough?

Why similar: Lovecraftian 28.7%, Interactive Fiction 22.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.1%, Horror 12.1%, Supernatural 9.5%

When you discover that the Serpent of Chaos is trying to destroy Egypt, will you stand against him, or will you help spread his eternal darkness?

Why similar: Text-Based 19.6%, Choose Your Own Adventure 18%, Interactive Fiction 17.6%, Dark Fantasy 9.7%, Horror 7.9%

A dark gamebook-inspired RPG where your choices, luck, and blade decide what the sea keeps. Climb a cursed lighthouse and uncover the name buried beneath the bell.

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 21.8%, Text-Based 21.8%, Interactive Fiction 19.6%, Dark Fantasy 11.9%, Supernatural 9.9%

Fictional short story set in the United Kingdom under a Gothic/Steampunk aesthetic, where a young woman contemplates a discovery that could potentially change the world.

Why similar: Gothic 27.9% ★, Steampunk 26.3% ★, Lovecraftian 24.3%, Supernatural 9.4%, Horror 7.3%

Alex wakes up at his grandmother’s, left alone in a silent house. Unsure where his family is, he begins to uncover a dark mystery in an attempt to escape. Facing his fear in an endless nightmare, Alex must survive the dead of night, a cursed forest, and paranormal activities before daylight arrives.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 22%, Thriller 11.9%, Dark 11.9%, Investigation 11.2%, Supernatural 10.4%

Immersed yourself in an interactive story with multiples choices, in the style of "choose your own Adventure book" (CYOA).Will you be able to survive ?Probably not!

Why similar: Lovecraftian 21%, Text-Based 18%, Choose Your Own Adventure 15.4%, Interactive Fiction 14.2%, Dark Fantasy 11.3%

An adult tale of lust and horror in the vein of HP Lovecraft. Take on the part of a former detective who could never let go of the last terrible case he worked. One day his old partner comes knocking, begging for help.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 19.2%, Text-Based 15.6%, Interactive Fiction 13.5%, Investigation 12.7%, Choose Your Own Adventure 12.4%

Nightmares of awful creatures and twisted worlds have haunted you since you received a letter from a prospective client. Delving into the mystery behind this cursed page may be the only chance you have of ever sleeping again. Nobody ever said being a paranormal investigator was easy...

Why similar: Lovecraftian 30.3%, Investigation 16.8%, Horror 13.3%, Supernatural 10.6%, Dark 9.2%

An atelier in the forest. The Artist’s brush halts before an empty frame, leaving the portrait unfinished. Lost souls arrive with memories of tragedy. Render the cruel truth, or shield their eyes with an eternal lie. A Gothic Mystery granting rest to the dead.

Why similar: Gothic 30% ★, Investigation 17.2%, Interactive Fiction 16.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 12.2%, Mystery 9.7%

Expose the dark secrets and mysteries of your seemingly idyllic hometown in this romantic thriller! Will you fall in love or fall victim to its horrors?

Why similar: Text-Based 19.8%, Interactive Fiction 17.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.3%, Thriller 13.1%, Supernatural 10.9%

RUNT is a rural gothic visual novel mystery where you play as Runt, the youngest of five brothers, surviving a monstrous post-apocalypse.

Why similar: Gothic 24.4% ★, Interactive Fiction 15.6%, Investigation 13.5%, Dark 10%, Choose Your Own Adventure 9%

Evernoth is a psychological horror game where you explore mysterious locations filled with chilling secrets. Navigate distorted corridors, face terrifying monsters, and unlock new abilities as you unravel haunting mysteries across dark worlds.

Why similar: Gothic 29.2% ★, Investigation 16.1%, Interactive Fiction 13.3%, Supernatural 10.2%, Dark 9.6%

A boy living as a warrant for a political marriage falls in love with a maid despite his unrequited love. You become a black rose fairy who grants wishes and discover that you were once human. Enter the bodies of the people in the mansion and trace their memories to discover their true identities.

Why similar: Gothic 27.1% ★, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.6%, Dark Fantasy 14%, Interactive Fiction 11.6%, Text-Based 11.4%

Kidnapped by an insane man and dragged into a dark crypt, your only choice is to play along with his twisted games or suffer the consequences for non-compliance. A thrilling text-based interactive fiction game!

Why similar: Text-Based 19.7%, Interactive Fiction 17.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14.9%, Investigation 13.7%, Survival Horror 8.5%

This gripping paranormal horror adventure revolves around Hermitage, the sinister bookstore that attracts most unusual customers – all of whom seem to be involved in mysterious cases bordering on the paranormal.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 26.3%, Investigation 15.5%, Text-Based 12.9%, Supernatural 12.2%, Mystery 9.5%

The Innsmouth Case is a text adventure game inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and the very first text-based adventure to combine horror and comedy in a fit and proper way.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 33.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 20.6%, Text-Based 18.3%, Mystery 8.6%, Horror 8.1%

Defy nature’s laws and avenge your slain pantheon! Humanity once feared and hated you, but now, awakened from a thousand-year slumber, you are their only hope. A text-based interactive game.

Why similar: Text-Based 22.9%, Interactive Fiction 22.6%, Choose Your Own Adventure 21%, Dark Fantasy 16%, Supernatural 11.5%

A mysterious letter calls you back to your abandoned family mansion. Explore its dark rooms, uncover the bloody rituals buried in your family’s past, and escape the presence lurking in the shadows. Shadow Mansion is a story-driven horror game of atmosphere, exploration, and survival.

Why similar: Gothic 24.7% ★, Interactive Fiction 14%, Dark 10.3%, Survival Horror 9.9%, Horror 9.3%

A 2–4 player cooperative supernatural horror investigation about intervening in recorded tragedies. The opening chapter unfolds in a fog-shrouded 1700s coastal town, where players inhabit different townsfolk and act within a relentless final hour before the outcome becomes irreversible.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 17.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.7%, Lovecraftian 15.8%, Investigation 11.6%, Dark 9.6%

A dark fairy tale about the woods outside a small village and the monster that roams within them. Become Sage and play through to uncover the mystery when they're tossed away from everything they've ever known.

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 18.3%, Dark Fantasy 16.8%, Text-Based 15.4%, Interactive Fiction 14.4%, Dark 11.8%

A short psychological horror interactive story. Five years after vanishing without a trace, the woman you once called your lover writes from beyond the silence: "I will give birth to our creation.” In three acts, descend into a fractured mindscape where obsession, memory, and myth intertwine.

Why similar: Gothic 21.4% ★, Text-Based 16.1%, Interactive Fiction 13.9%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.1%, Dark Fantasy 11%

Ritual Tides is a single-player, narrative-driven first-person psychological horror game set on the isolated British island of Hortus. Explore the island, uncover its dark past, loot food, ammunition and supplies, evade the cult of the Fallow Parish, and survive Lovecraftian horrors.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 25.4%, Investigation 14.2%, Horror 12.5%, Survival Horror 12.3%, Supernatural 8.7%

You went to the desert to rest. You crushed a worm. Now it talks to you in dreams.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 17%, Supernatural 13.4%, Text-Based 12.9%, Investigation 12.9%, Horror 9.7%

Save people from terrible paranormal dangers as a support operator of a secret SCP-like organization! Ask questions, give advice and watch the consequences of your choices... multiple endings in each story ;-)

Why similar: Text-Based 22%, Interactive Fiction 19.5%, Investigation 18.3%, Old School 11.4%, Horror 9.8%

A psychological horror game set in a forgotten village. Solve environmental puzzles and uncover the truth behind Ethan’s crumbling mind trapped between memory and madness.

Why similar: Gothic 24.3% ★, Text-Based 16.9%, Supernatural 11.8%, Dark Fantasy 9.7%, Thriller 9%

Balance work, vampirism and socialising as you explore Kings Cross, Sydney during the last year of the millennium. Keep a lid on your darkest desires and be rewarded with a deeper understanding of what it means to live again. Or don’t — no one will stop you. You’re a vampire, after all.

Why similar: Gothic 24.2% ★, Choose Your Own Adventure 15.4%, Interactive Fiction 14.9%, Dark Fantasy 12.3%, Dark 10.1%

A co-op, text- and audio-driven collection of stories. Lead expeditions into uncharted cold waters, hiding a presence older than the Earth. Coordinate via proximity voice chat. More stories come after the release.

Why similar: Text-Based 27.4%, Interactive Fiction 19.8%, Choose Your Own Adventure 18.7%, Investigation 11%, Old School 6.9%

A 3rd person, fixed-camera survival horror adventure. Fear the Presence, a mysterious entity you cannot fight: stay alert, hide, breathe slowly... Explore cursed places where unseen spirits and lost souls linger in a true horror story for the ages.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 20%, Investigation 18.5%, Dark 13.3%, Survival Horror 12.9%, Supernatural 10%

A classic 90s choose your own adventure style horror visual novel. Escape the horrors hunting you, make decisions, forge your own path. An original complete story with multiple endings. Choose your own play style with a Text Adventure Mode, sound effects, and an ambient soundtrack.

Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 26%, Text-Based 17%, Dark 8.6%, Choices Matter 7.5%, Horror 6.9%

Trapped in an ever-shifting palace, a man searches for his lost beloved - but the deeper he goes, the more the world, and his mind, collapse into something else.

Why similar: Gothic 30.9% ★, Dark 11.1%, Dark Fantasy 10.1%, Survival Horror 9.9%, Supernatural 9.4%

Scauage is a short horror experience where you play as a scavenger looting an abandoned house, uncovering its dark secrets and collecting hidden treasures while facing what lurks within.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 20.6%, Investigation 13.5%, Supernatural 12.8%, Thriller 9.9%, Dark 9.7%

Face unspeakable horrors. Succumb to madness. Welcome to a free daemonic narrative experience inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.

Why similar: Lovecraftian 32.5%, Text-Based 12.2%, Horror 12%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11.5%, Interactive Fiction 11.4%