Games Like Vessel

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: Puzzle 43.3%, Platformer 22.3%, Puzzle Platformer 12.8%, Indie 7.5%, Sci-fi 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: Features deep, physics-based cloning mechanics that require clever environmental manipulation similar to Vessel's fluid puzzles.

Guide your puddle of fluid through a vast range of environments and puzzles!

Why similar: Puzzle 32.9%, Physics 27.9%, Platformer 17.7%, Indie 14.5%, Action 7%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses entirely on fluid physics, requiring players to guide various liquids through challenging, hazardous environments.

A journey begins... A treacherous tower... Unravel its mysteries!Discover the secrets kept in the long abandoned Tesla Tower!Magnetism and other electromagnetic powers will help you explore a non-linear world of beautiful hand-drawn environments, in a steampunk-inspired vision of old Europe.

Why similar: Steampunk 34.1% ★, Platformer 25.7%, Puzzle 16.9%, Puzzle Platformer 7.1%, Physics 5.5%

Why You'll Like It: Combines a steampunk aesthetic with electromagnetic physics puzzles that feel spiritually aligned with the industrial world of Vessel.

The "Perpetual Testing Initiative" has been expanded to allow you to design co-op puzzles for you and your friends!

Why similar: Platformer 30%, Puzzle 26.5%, Puzzle Platformer 18.6%, Physics 14.3%, Action 5%

Why You'll Like It: The gold standard for physics-based puzzle-platforming that rewards creative thinking and experimentation with environmental tools.

A carefully created world with unique environments and an engrossing atmosphere, Unmechanical offers over 30 unique puzzles of exploration and adventure!

Why similar: Puzzle 45.8%, Platformer 18%, Physics 17.9%, Indie 14.6%, Adventure 3.7%

Why You'll Like It: Features a small, flying robot navigating a mysterious world using physics-based interactions and environmental puzzles.

And Yet It Moves is a puzzle-platformer, set in a unique world, made of ripped paper. Within the paper-collage you can jump, run and last but certainly not least: rotate the world. Learn how to apply the physical consequences of rotation to master the many tricky situations you may encounter.

Why similar: Platformer 28.9%, Physics 20.4%, Puzzle Platformer 20.4%, Puzzle 18.6%, Indie 6.9%

Why You'll Like It: A unique puzzle-platformer where rotating the entire world changes how physics and gravity affect your movement.

In the dark and mysterious world of Closure, only what you see exists. Manipulate lights to phase objects in and out of reality in this multiple-award-winning puzzle game. Play as a strange spider-like demon who explores the stories of three human characters through beautiful, eerie environments such as a decrepit factory, a murky...

Why similar: Platformer 36.7%, Puzzle 36.4%, Puzzle Platformer 12.2%, Indie 9.5%, Great Soundtrack 2.4%

Why You'll Like It: Uses light and shadow as a core mechanic to manifest or erase objects, creating a systemic puzzle experience that rewards experimentation.

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

Why similar: Puzzle 47.4%, Physics 27.1%, Indie 11.4%, Great Soundtrack 8.6%, Singleplayer 2.4%

Why You'll Like It: A classic physics-based puzzle game where players manipulate fluid-like structures to solve complex architectural challenges.

MO: Astray is a pixel art, side-scrolling, action-platformer. Lead MO through mind-bending puzzles using special abilities. Bizarre enemies, threatening traps and ingenious level designs await.

Why similar: Platformer 30.6%, Puzzle Platformer 24.4%, Indie 13.2%, Action 8.8%, Great Soundtrack 6.5%

Why You'll Like It: A physics-heavy platformer where movement and environmental interaction are key to solving complex, fluid-like traversal puzzles.

Become more than human and save mankind from total annihilation! From legendary developer Game Freak comes an action adventure like no other - manipulate the world around you and smash the evil Ajeet to smithereens!

Why similar: Platformer 37.3%, Puzzle 21%, Puzzle Platformer 19.2%, Action 8.9%, Physics 7.9%

Why You'll Like It: Centers on physics-based destruction and object manipulation, forcing players to think critically about how materials interact in the environment.

SteamWorld Dig is an action-adventure puzzler with strong Metroidvanian influences set in the SteamWorld Universe. You’ll need to dig deep into the earth, gather resources to upgrade your tools and abilities, take on enemies, solve challenging puzzles and uncover the secrets to save a dying town.

Why similar: Steampunk 59.2% ★, Platformer 27.4%, Indie 5.4%, Action 2.5%, Adventure 1.5%

Why You'll Like It: Captures the steampunk industrial atmosphere perfectly while introducing mining mechanics that rely on physics and structural integrity.

An adventurous engineer, a diesel-punk world divided by endless conflict, and a whole lot of colossal guns. Sounds like a good time! With massive war machines threatening your home, will you be the one small cog that brings it all to a halt?

Why similar: Steampunk 52.2% ★, Platformer 18%, Puzzle 17.9%, Puzzle Platformer 11.2%, Adventure 0.8%

Why You'll Like It: A steampunk-themed puzzle-platformer that emphasizes mechanical ingenuity and navigating complex, industrial environments.

Element4l is an immersive and experimental indie platform game, with a strong focus on flow and smooth gameplay, wrapped in an exceptional soundtrack by Mind Tree.

Why similar: Platformer 41.6%, Puzzle 23.1%, Indie 17.7%, Great Soundtrack 9.9%, Action 7%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on fluid movement and physics-based transformation to navigate challenging platforming segments.

Thousands of years after the activation of the Vesper Protocol, a small android crosses a fallen world, hunted by merciless machines, to control the power of Light and decide the fate of his race.

Why similar: Platformer 29%, Puzzle 26.4%, Puzzle Platformer 19.9%, Indie 9.4%, Sci-fi 5.3%

Why You'll Like It: A atmospheric puzzle-platformer that emphasizes stealth and environmental manipulation in a mysterious, sci-fi world.

In 2097, life is discovered on Mars. When your mission of first contact becomes trapped by a cave-in, you must master the alien ecosystem to survive. Soon you stumble upon more than anyone expected, and with time running out, you will make a decision that determines the fate of a lost planet.

Why similar: Platformer 38.4%, Puzzle 30.4%, Indie 11.5%, Sci-fi 8.4%, Action 4.3%

Why You'll Like It: Requires players to manage an alien ecosystem using physics-based interactions and resource manipulation.

Three Heroes make their way through dangers untold in a fairytale world of great castles and strange machinery, featuring physics-based puzzles, beautiful sights and online co-op.

Why similar: Platformer 27.6%, Physics 19%, Puzzle Platformer 18.9%, Puzzle 16.8%, Great Soundtrack 5.7%

Why You'll Like It: A classic puzzle-platformer that relies heavily on the distinct physics properties of three different characters to overcome obstacles.

Clockwork is a time-bending puzzle-platformer that tells the story of Atto, a lonely mechanical boy in the great city of Watchtower. Explore the city, discover its mysterious past, control time and fight terrifying boss battles. Clockwork features over 60+ hand-drawn, steampunk-inspired levels.

Why similar: Steampunk 61.6% ★, Puzzle Platformer 19.5%, Strategy 6.2%, Indie 6%, Action 5%

Why You'll Like It: A puzzle-platformer that uses time-manipulation mechanics to solve environmental challenges in a steampunk setting.

Machinarium is the award-winning independent adventure game developed by the makers of Samorost series, Botanicula and CHUCHEL. Help Josef the robot save his girlfriend Berta kidnapped by the Black Cap Brotherhood gang!

Why similar: Steampunk 61.1% ★, Puzzle 23.4%, Great Soundtrack 4%, Indie 3.8%, Sci-fi 3%

Why You'll Like It: An iconic steampunk puzzle game that emphasizes mechanical problem-solving and environmental interaction in a beautifully realized industrial world.

Shift Quantum is a brain-busting platformer using a unique mechanic called SHIFTING, a way to twist your environment and invert space around you. Bend your mind to reach the exit of each level and unveil the secrets of a strange program. Extend the experience, create and share your own levels.

Why similar: Platformer 24.5%, Puzzle Platformer 21.8%, Puzzle 17.8%, Indie 14.1%, Action 8.2%

Why You'll Like It: Features a unique 'shifting' mechanic that alters the environment and gravity to solve complex spatial puzzles.

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: Platformer 39.2%, Puzzle Platformer 22.6%, Physics 17%, Indie 8.4%, Sci-fi 5.4%

Why You'll Like It: While minimalist, it excels at using the unique physics and movement properties of different shapes to solve collaborative platforming puzzles.

The Talos Principle is a first-person puzzle game in the tradition of philosophical science fiction. Made by Croteam and written by Tom Jubert (FTL, The Swapper) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Sea Will Claim Everything).

Why similar: Puzzle 74.1%, Great Soundtrack 8.6%, Sci-fi 6.6%, Indie 4.4%, Singleplayer 3%

Why You'll Like It: A sophisticated puzzle game that uses light, lasers, and physics-based objects to challenge the player's logic and spatial reasoning.

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: Puzzle Platformer 31.4%, Puzzle 27.6%, Platformer 27.1%, Indie 7.2%, Great Soundtrack 3.3%

Why You'll Like It: A foundational puzzle-platformer that uses time manipulation to force players to rethink their approach to physics and movement.

The ultimate edition of the jaw-dropping action-adventure game set onboard a floating city.

Why similar: Physics 33.1%, Action 22.4%, Indie 20.3%, Strategy 7.7%, Adventure 7.3%

Why You'll Like It: Features advanced water-simulation technology that serves as the primary mechanic for navigation and puzzle-solving.

Take on the role of Six, a lone child lost in a massive metal vessel known as the Maw, surrounded by dangerous, distorted versions of adults. You’ll need to do your best to escape in one piece or your fate will be worse than you ever dared dream.

Why similar: Puzzle 31.4%, Puzzle Platformer 24.6%, Platformer 22.7%, Indie 7.1%, Great Soundtrack 5.7%

Why You'll Like It: An atmospheric puzzle-platformer that uses physics-based object interaction to navigate a dark, industrial-feeling world.

Experience the freedom of unbounded climbing as you take control of BUD, a procedurally animated robot on a quest to save his planet. Create your own path through an alien world as you control and ride a giant plant on a vertical journey to the stars.

Why similar: Platformer 38.2%, Physics 26.9%, Indie 11.3%, Adventure 9.1%, Singleplayer 8.5%

Why You'll Like It: Features a unique, physics-based climbing system that makes movement itself a rewarding, tactile puzzle.

Magrunner: Dark Pulse is an action-puzzle game in which technology confronts the Cthulhu Mythos, penned by H.P. Lovecraft. Equipped with your Magtech glove, you must harness the ability to magnetically polarize and manipulate objects in the environment to survive and surpass challenging puzzles.

Why similar: Puzzle 66.4%, Action 11.1%, Indie 11.1%, Sci-fi 4.9%, Adventure 4.5%

Why You'll Like It: Combines high-tech physics puzzles with a sci-fi narrative, focusing on magnetic polarity and environmental manipulation.

Human Fall Flat is a hilarious, light-hearted platformer set in floating dreamscapes that can be played solo or with up to 8 players online. Free new levels keep its vibrant community rewarded.

Why similar: Puzzle 35%, Physics 26.4%, Puzzle Platformer 24.6%, Action 7%, Indie 3.6%

Why You'll Like It: A physics-based platformer where the clumsy, fluid movement of the character is the primary challenge and source of puzzle-solving creativity.

Return to the indie classic Teslagrad, recharged to provide the ultimate electromagnetic experience! Escape a tyrant king, master the art of Teslamancy, and uncover the secrets buried deep within the Tesla Tower in this puzzle-platforming adventure!

Why similar: Steampunk 44.3% ★, Platformer 17.5%, Puzzle 16.2%, Puzzle Platformer 10.5%, Indie 4.1%

Crayon Physics Deluxe is a 2D physics puzzle / sandbox game, in which you get to experience what it would be like if your drawings would be magically transformed into real physical objects. Solve puzzles with your artistic vision and creative use of physics.

Why similar: Puzzle 49.3%, Physics 30.9%, Indie 13.7%, Great Soundtrack 2.1%, Singleplayer 2.1%

Why You'll Like It: Allows players to draw objects into existence, relying entirely on a robust physics engine to solve creative puzzles.

An epic open-world puzzle Metroidbrainia that respects your intelligence! Knowledge is your superpower. Use creatures as tools to determine your own path.

Why similar: Platformer 32.8%, Puzzle 28.2%, Puzzle Platformer 24%, Indie 7.1%, 2D 2.9%

Why You'll Like It: A systemic puzzle game where you interact with the environment and creatures to solve puzzles without traditional inventory items.

A scientist uses a unique teleportation instrument to escape an ancient biomechanical world filled with imaginative technology, deadly traps, and hidden secrets.

Why similar: Platformer 46.8%, Physics 27.7%, Action 7.7%, Sci-fi 7.7%, 2D 4.3%

Play as Wells, a steampunk hero ready to find an amazing variety of weapons, each unique in design and functionality, and get ready to face a plethora of enemies and challenges.

Why similar: Steampunk 54.1% ★, Platformer 17.9%, Indie 9.5%, Action 9.1%, Great Soundtrack 7.1%

Capsized is a fast paced 2D platformer focused on intense action and exploration. As a intrepid space traveler, your ship has crash landed on a mysterious alien planet. You must navigate through the perilous environment and fight off blood-thirsty creatures to save your crewmates and escape with your lives!

Why similar: Platformer 51.4%, Indie 13.8%, Action 11.4%, Physics 10.4%, Sci-fi 5.2%

Explore and uncover the mystery of a surreal alien world by blasting aliens and glitching your environment in this intense retro side-scrolling action/adventure.

Why similar: Platformer 49.9%, Indie 14.5%, Great Soundtrack 13.4%, Action 8.3%, Sci-fi 6%

The Watchmaker is an action adventure set in a strange steampunk world of giant clock mechanisms, where time has gone mad. Join Alexander, a clock tower keeper, on his quest to restore time to its natural rhythm!

Why similar: Steampunk 23.4% ★, Puzzle 22.3%, Platformer 19.9%, Puzzle Platformer 14.4%, Indie 10.1%

Light up the world! As Plug, you are charged with restoring the expansive Amp-Tree-System, and thwarting an enigmatic intruder.

Why similar: Platformer 32.4%, Puzzle Platformer 28.1%, Puzzle 25.4%, Indie 9.8%, Adventure 1.9%

Gomez is a 2D creature living in a 2D world. Or is he? When the existence of a mysterious 3rd dimension is revealed to him, Gomez is sent out on a journey that will take him to the very end of time and space. Use your ability to navigate 3D structures from 4 distinct classic 2D perspectives.

Why similar: Platformer 40.2%, Puzzle 34%, Indie 10.2%, Puzzle Platformer 6.3%, Great Soundtrack 6.3%

Nominated as a IGF Seamus McNally Finalist, NightSky is an ambient action-puzzle game that offers a gameplay experience unlike any other—cerebral challenges fill uniquely designed picturesque worlds. The player must maneuver a sphere by using realistic physics to advance; each of these worlds is broken into different areas.

Why similar: Platformer 26.1%, Puzzle Platformer 24.3%, Puzzle 21.2%, Physics 15.4%, Indie 8.9%

You are stranded on a strange and peculiar planet. It’s time to embark on your journey and find your way home! Explore a gravity defying and challenging platformer with striking visuals and a captivating story that transports you to a world beyond ours.

Why similar: Platformer 36.5%, Puzzle Platformer 26.1%, Puzzle 17.5%, Indie 12.3%, Great Soundtrack 3.1%

Play as android MIO in this mesmerizing metroidvania where you explore the Vessel, an enormous technological ark overgrown with machines gone rogue. Uncover its secrets, enhance MIO's abilities, and save the spaceship and its residents from oblivion.

Why similar: Platformer 63.8%, Indie 15.2%, Sci-fi 6%, Action 5.7%, 2D 4.7%

Snapshot is the tale of a lone robot lost in an abandoned world. Armed with only his trusty camera, Pic sets forth on his great adventure. A camera might not seem like enough for a puzzle platforming adventure, but this camera is different from most: It has the ability to capture and remove from the world the very objects that it...

Why similar: Platformer 38%, Puzzle 31.4%, Indie 13.9%, Puzzle Platformer 12.2%, Adventure 3.6%

Venineth is a single-player game focusing on unraveling the mysteries of ancient alien technology, somewhere in the universe via exploration, platforming, and puzzle-solving, in a dangerous, distant worlds.

Why similar: Puzzle 20.5%, Physics 17.3%, Indie 16.9%, Puzzle Platformer 16.7%, Action 11.3%

A puzzle-platformer set in a dystopian world where the invention of a cloning device has messed things up, big time. Armed with a clone gun and a mighty fine mustache, the chore of saving THE WHOLE OF CIVILIZATION rests on your shoulders. Don’t blow it.

Why similar: Puzzle 29.7%, Platformer 27.5%, Puzzle Platformer 19.5%, Action 6.4%, Indie 5.1%

A 2D action game featuring a young man with the power of lightning who stands for freedom against the evil ambitions of a massive organization. When lightning strikes, a new legend is born.

Why similar: Platformer 52.7%, Action 16.8%, Indie 15.7%, Great Soundtrack 8.6%, 2D 4.3%

Splice is an experimental and artistic puzzler. Immerse yourself in its microbial world and start splicing! Every level ("strand") consists of a number of cells that you will need to rearrange into a target structure in several moves ("splices").

Why similar: Puzzle 73.3%, Indie 17.9%, Great Soundtrack 8%, Singleplayer 0.8%

You are Tiny, a nerdy inventor, who tries to reclaim his most beloved possession - Grandpa's underpants!

Why similar: Platformer 28.6%, Puzzle 23.1%, Physics 22.8%, Indie 14.2%, Great Soundtrack 7%

The story begin when the robot, whose experiment was interrupted, begins working again years later in an abandoned laboratory.

Why similar: Platformer 23.7%, Puzzle 21%, Indie 16.2%, Puzzle Platformer 14.4%, Action 11.7%

F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch is a Metroidvania action game featuring exploration, intense combat and challenging platforming.

Why similar: Steampunk 62.3% ★, Platformer 24.3%, Action 4.6%, Indie 3.3%, Great Soundtrack 2.1%

Help a small body save a head-like organism full of air, from a leak that threatens its life. Explore their Metroidvania-style world and overcome challenging environmental puzzles to find the key to the head's survival.

Why similar: Puzzle 20.7%, Platformer 16.5%, Puzzle Platformer 16.5%, Indie 16.2%, Physics 10.9%

Antichamber is a mind-bending psychological exploration game where nothing can be taken for granted. Discover an Escher-like world where hallways wrap around upon each other, spaces reconfigure themselves, and accomplishing the impossible may just be the only way forward.

Why similar: Puzzle 78.3%, Indie 13.4%, Singleplayer 2.8%, Great Soundtrack 1.8%, Platformer 1.7%

Light, darkness and remarkable puzzles! Bend the light to your will in this award winning physics-based puzzle game. Feel like a renaissance engineer, build your own solutions to light puzzles, feel your brain grow and all of that within the beautiful and mysterious world of LIT.

Why similar: Steampunk 38% ★, Indie 25%, Puzzle 18.7%, Physics 11.8%, Great Soundtrack 4%

A stolen, enigmatic machine is your only way out. It's likely to kill you, but so will the hostile planet you're escaping. Pull levers, hack devices, and puzzle out how to pilot the Nauticrawl to freedom in this unusual atmospheric adventure... or die trying.

Why similar: Steampunk 55.7% ★, Puzzle 20.1%, Indie 6.6%, Great Soundtrack 6%, Strategy 4.7%

When an old woman's computer system is taken over by a virus bent on total annihilation, you assume control of an ordinary software program transformed into an elite combat machine. Retake the system and build your character into a formidable instrument of retribution.

Why similar: Platformer 52.9%, Action 14.9%, Great Soundtrack 12.5%, Indie 9.9%, Sci-fi 6.9%

„First person platforming gameplay at its very best!“ Construct: Escape the System is a sci-fi themed first person platformer that sees you trapped in a computer system, trying to escape. Explore the system and discover the 8 empowering 'ability orbs'.

Why similar: Platformer 26.4%, Puzzle 17.9%, Indie 14.8%, Puzzle Platformer 14.5%, Action 10.1%

Journey to another planet and discover its secrets in order to bring your loved one back to life. Experience an adventure, inspired by old school classics like Another World, Heart of Darkness and Flashback.

Why similar: Platformer 33%, Puzzle Platformer 21.4%, Puzzle 12.9%, Indie 12%, Action 8.5%

The Floor is Jelly is a game that answers the question: what if everything you touched was made of jello?

Why similar: Platformer 31.1%, Puzzle Platformer 29.7%, Indie 11.7%, Puzzle 11.4%, Physics 10.5%

An inventive, thought-provoking puzzle platformer. Use powerups in each environment, and your own inherent gravity-bending powers, to complete each level. The more you play, the more story details you'll uncover.

Why similar: Platformer 38.4%, Puzzle 27.1%, Indie 16.2%, Strategy 7.2%, Great Soundtrack 5.3%

Gravity Circuit is a flashy action packed 2D platformer in the spirit of console classics. Follow Kai, a lone operative war hero who harnesses the mysterious powers of the Gravity Circuit, on an adventure in a futuristic world inhabited by sentient robots.

Why similar: Platformer 55%, Indie 14.1%, Action 11.5%, Great Soundtrack 8.1%, 2D 4.5%

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

Why similar: Platformer 55.7%, Indie 13.6%, Great Soundtrack 13.1%, Puzzle 6.4%, Action 3.4%