Games Like Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

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: Interactive Fiction 30.2%, RPG 20.2%, Story Rich 13.3%, Adventure 11.5%, Indie 7.4%

Why You'll Like It: Offers a deeply textual, exploratory RPG experience where journeying across a dangerous wilderness shapes how stories and lore unfold.

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: Great Soundtrack 31.4%, Adventure 20%, Atmospheric 16.5%, Story Rich 16.2%, Indie 11%

Why You'll Like It: Captures the same surreal, melancholic American folklore vibe through rich, atmospheric storytelling and magical realism.

Step into a living illustrated world in a time when Europe is at a crossroads of great religious and political change. Walk in the footsteps of Andreas Maler, a master artist who finds himself in the middle of murders, scandals, and intrigue in the Bavarian Alps.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 52.3%, Story Rich 28.6%, Adventure 16%, Singleplayer 3.1%

Why You'll Like It: Features rich historical storytelling and deep dialogue choices that center on community folklore and the passage of time in rural Europe.

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: Interactive Fiction 33.5%, Story Rich 18.8%, Adventure 15.7%, Great Soundtrack 15.5%, Indie 7.3%

Why You'll Like It: Centers around a compelling travel mechanic where managing resources and listening to diverse passenger stories drives the narrative.

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 28.4%, RPG 22.9%, Great Soundtrack 18.1%, Atmospheric 9.4%, Visual Novel 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: Delivers exceptional, literary-driven narrative depth with a heavy emphasis on American-flavored melancholia and philosophical discourse.

Set out on a cross-country journey to win back the love of your life and endure the hardship of making story-defining choices that affect your life and the lives of those around you.

Why similar: RPG 25.3%, Great Soundtrack 22.5%, Story Rich 19.1%, Indie 15.4%, Walking Simulator 10.5%

Why You'll Like It: Explores the gritty, grounded side of traveling across America while dealing with personal hardship and consequential choices.

The Red Strings Club is a cyberpunk narrative experience about fate and happiness featuring the extensive use of pottery, bartending and impersonating people on the phone to take down a corporate conspiracy.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 47.2%, Story Rich 22.6%, Atmospheric 9.2%, Adventure 7.4%, Indie 6.2%

Why You'll Like It: Shares the same moody atmosphere and dialogue-heavy narrative focus centered on manipulating human emotions and stories.

NORCO is a dialogue-focused point & click adventure that immerses the player in the sinking suburbs and industrial swamplands of an increasingly surreal and distorted South Louisiana.

Why similar: Story Rich 45.6%, Atmospheric 27.1%, Adventure 22.3%, Singleplayer 5%

Why You'll Like It: Explores a surreal, gritty, and atmospheric version of the American South filled with haunting stories and existential dread.

NIGHT IN THE WOODS is an adventure game focused on exploration, story, and character, featuring dozens of characters to meet and lots to do across a lush, vibrant world.

Why similar: Story Rich 37.1%, Adventure 22.1%, Visual Novel 18.3%, Atmospheric 18.2%, Singleplayer 4.3%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on character-driven narratives and exploring a struggling small-town American community with a deeply melancholy tone.

A mutant soap opera where small-town gossip meets the supernatural. Explore the Mutazione community as Kai as she cares for her ailing grandfather. Discover magical gardens, new friends & old secrets. They can survive an apocalyptic meteor strike, but can they survive their small-town drama?

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 27.7%, Interactive Fiction 26.1%, Walking Simulator 16.2%, Story Rich 13.4%, Atmospheric 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: Centers on a quiet, community-driven narrative where listening to the personal lives and secrets of quirky island residents is the main focus.

Immerse yourself in an enchanting narrative experience as Fortuna, a fortune-teller Witch condemned to exile on her asteroid home. Craft your own Tarot deck, regain your freedom, and shape the fate of the cosmic Witch society.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 39.7%, Great Soundtrack 17.1%, Story Rich 14.7%, Visual Novel 11.5%, Adventure 9%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on interactive storytelling and crafting personal narratives through custom card design and deep character interactions.

If Found... is a game about going home, coming out and erasing everything.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 29.7%, Interactive Fiction 21.3%, Story Rich 12.2%, Visual Novel 11.2%, Indie 10.9%

Why You'll Like It: Uses an interactive erasing mechanic to uncover a deeply emotional, memory-driven personal story.

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: Great Soundtrack 34.6%, Story Rich 26.5%, Atmospheric 11.4%, Adventure 9.9%, Walking Simulator 8.4%

Why You'll Like It: Blends supernatural mystery with naturalistic dialogue systems that evoke the same intimacy as trading stories around a campfire.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of strange tales about a family in Washington state. As Edith, you’ll explore the colossal Finch house, searching for stories as she explores her family history and tries to figure out why she's the last one in her family left alive.

Why similar: Story Rich 26.1%, Great Soundtrack 25%, Walking Simulator 22.4%, Atmospheric 10.9%, Adventure 7%

Why You'll Like It: Unspools a series of poignant, tragic short vignettes that explore family history and individual fates through creative narrative mechanics.

Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness, where your only emotional lifeline is the person on the other end of a handheld radio.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 25.8%, Walking Simulator 24.3%, Story Rich 19.3%, Adventure 12.6%, Atmospheric 11.5%

Why You'll Like It: Emphasizes isolated exploration and intimate radio-based dialogue that builds a powerful sense of place and personal reflection.

A narrative road trip game set in the roaring Italian 70s, it tells the story of Lella, a restless woman driving on the roads of the western coast of Italy, the famous “Via Aurelia”.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 27%, Interactive Fiction 19.3%, Adventure 16.3%, Indie 12.7%, Story Rich 9.8%

Why You'll Like It: Combines a road trip across 1970s Italy with branching dialogue choices based on the rhythm of driving and conversation.

LOSE YOUR MIND. EAT YOUR CREW. DIE. Take the helm of your steamship and set sail for the unknown! Sunless Sea is a game of discovery, loneliness and frequent death, set in the award-winning Victorian Gothic universe of Fallen London.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 32.4%, Story Rich 22.5%, RPG 13.5%, Adventure 12%, Atmospheric 10.8%

Why You'll Like It: Combines a bleak, atmospheric journey across uncharted waters with encounters that trade heavily in dark folklore and haunting text vignettes.

A deep, interactive adventure about love and loss, beautifully depicted and offering an intense cinematic experience. What would you do to save the one you love?

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 35.6%, Story Rich 18.4%, Adventure 12.6%, Atmospheric 11%, Walking Simulator 9.2%

Why You'll Like It: Weaves a poignant, dialogue-free interactive tale about grief, memory, and altering the past to prevent tragedy.

Coffee Talk is a coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator about listening to fantasy-inspired modern peoples’ problems, and helping them by serving up a warm drink or two.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 40.3%, Story Rich 21%, Visual Novel 16.1%, Atmospheric 12.9%, Indie 7.1%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses entirely on listening to the intimate personal trials and tribulations of patrons over warm drinks in a late-night setting.

Play as an Artificial Intelligence guiding a stranded xenobiologist through a beautiful and mysterious alien ocean. A non-violent sci-fi story, enter a world of wonder, fear and vulnerability, unraveling the history and ecology of an impossible planet. What will you discover together?

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 44.9%, Story Rich 18.8%, Adventure 12.7%, Atmospheric 11.5%, Indie 9.2%

Why You'll Like It: Immerses you in a solitary, text-heavy exploration of an alien ocean where every discovery comes with atmospheric narrative weight.

Embark on an unique and unforgettable journey and guide Sable through her Gliding; a rite of passage that will take her across vast deserts and mesmerizing landscapes, capped by the remains of spaceships and ancient wonders.

Why similar: Story Rich 33.3%, Adventure 21.2%, RPG 20.4%, Atmospheric 20.4%, Singleplayer 4.7%

Why You'll Like It: Centers on a meditative, open-world journey of self-discovery where talking to diverse nomadic communities drives the experience.

You are a traveling painter, exploring the island of Eastshade. Capture the world on canvas using your artist’s easel. Talk to the inhabitants to learn about their lives. Make friends and help those in need. Visit cities, scale summits, unearth mysteries, and discover forgotten places!

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 35.4%, Story Rich 19.8%, RPG 16.2%, Adventure 14%, Atmospheric 12%

Why You'll Like It: Combines peaceful exploration of a richly detailed island with capturing the stories and portraits of its inhabitants.

It's 1986 - Meredith Weiss takes a break from her career in the big city to deliver mail in her hometown. How will she experience two weeks in beautiful Providence Oaks, with its iconic lake and quirky community? And what will she do next? It's up to you.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 36.7%, Story Rich 31.4%, Atmospheric 14.7%, Adventure 14.6%, Singleplayer 2.6%

Why You'll Like It: Offers a relaxing driving and mail-delivery journey through a rural community where getting to know the locals' personal stories is central.

Hike, climb, and soar through the peaceful mountainside landscapes of Hawk Peak Provincial Park as you make your way to the summit.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 50.6%, Adventure 19.6%, Indie 13.7%, Walking Simulator 13.5%, Singleplayer 2.7%

Why You'll Like It: Provides a cozy, contemplative journey of exploration and short chats with fellow hikers on a peaceful mountain.

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: RPG 52.1%, Story Rich 47.9%

Why You'll Like It: Features deep, contemplative lore-gathering and card-based storytelling within a sprawling, mysterious occult library.

A woman is interviewed seven times by the police. Search the video database and explore hundreds of authentic clips to discover her story in this groundbreaking and award winning narrative game.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 57.6%, Story Rich 22.4%, Visual Novel 16.9%, Singleplayer 3%

Why You'll Like It: Revolves around piecing together fragmented narrative clips from police interviews to uncover a complex human story.

Beacon Pines is a cute and creepy adventure set within a mysterious book. Sneak out late, make new friends, uncover hidden truths, and collect words that will change the course of fate!

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 37.2%, Story Rich 19.5%, Visual Novel 15.4%, RPG 10.2%, Adventure 7.7%

Why You'll Like It: Blends a cozy storybook aesthetic with dark narrative choices that alter the course of a small-town mystery.

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: Great Soundtrack 30.3%, Story Rich 21.3%, RPG 17.5%, Atmospheric 10.2%, Adventure 10.1%

Why You'll Like It: Expands on rich, literary exploration across a gothic interstellar frontier filled with dark encounters and haunting tales.

Four private lives. One big lie. Search through secretly recorded video conversations to discover the truth. The successor to the acclaimed Her Story.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 42.7%, Story Rich 22.2%, Adventure 13.6%, Indie 9.5%, Atmospheric 9.4%

Why You'll Like It: Challenges you to uncover a web of secrets by watching and searching through recorded video conversations.

Empathy: Path of Whispers is an atmospheric and story-driven adventure game where you explore a seemingly abandoned world through the emotions and memories of the people who once inhabited it, trying to restore the world’s lost balance by journeying through its past.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 36.6%, Adventure 16.4%, Walking Simulator 16.3%, Story Rich 15.1%, Atmospheric 8.1%

N.E.R.O. is a wonderful journey in a world of incredible beauty, a story driven first-person game with puzzles and intuitive controls where the environment is connected to the characters and their past. The world of N.E.R.O. is magical and varied, making exploring an ongoing challenge.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 18.6%, Narration 17.6%, Adventure 14.2%, Story Rich 13.3%, Great Soundtrack 12%

Home is Where One Starts... is a short, first-person exploration game in the same vein as Dear Esther or Gone Home. It’s a story about childhood, hope, and the miracle of memory. You play as a little girl from a broken home somewhere in the American South.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 24.8%, Great Soundtrack 20.9%, Adventure 16.6%, Indie 11.5%, Narration 9.5%

What Comes After is a side-scrolling adventure and a short heartwarming story about learning how to love yourself. Help Vivi in her journey on the train to the afterlife and back.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 48.7%, Great Soundtrack 14.9%, Narration 10.9%, Story Rich 8.3%, Adventure 7.6%

Explore a deeply emotional story about love and sacrifice, and the hope that exists in us all.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 30.9%, Adventure 18.5%, Indie 12.3%, Visual Novel 10.7%, Story Rich 10.4%

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine: Fireside Chats is a free standalone experience which acts as a companion to Where The Water Tastes Like Wine.

Why similar: Adventure 58.6%, Indie 41.4%

Wanderlust: Travel Stories is a bridge between literature and gaming. Step into the shoes of modern travelers—explore their desires, hopes and fears, and shape how their stories unfold. Make this journey your own.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 43.1%, Story Rich 18.3%, Adventure 16.7%, Visual Novel 13.9%, Atmospheric 8%

On their last night together, three friends embark on one final adventure. Play through a mixtape of memories, set to the soundtrack of a generation.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 56%, Adventure 17.1%, Visual Novel 8.5%, Atmospheric 8%, Story Rich 6.2%

A top-down adventure game in a coloring book world full of vibrant characters. Use painting powers to explore, solve puzzles, make friends, and draw on anything! From creators on Wandersong + Celeste.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 38.1%, RPG 18.2%, Adventure 17.8%, Indie 14.3%, Story Rich 10.8%

A cozy visual novel about running a tavern in a D&D-inspired fantasy! Gather rumors, serve magical drinks, and meet adventurers on a life-changing quest.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 45.8%, Story Rich 21.7%, Visual Novel 16.5%, Atmospheric 12.2%, Singleplayer 3.7%

A surreal post-life adventure

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 33.7%, RPG 20%, Adventure 15%, Story Rich 12.7%, Indie 11.2%

The Witches Tea Party is a story-driven adventure game with a magical world and colourful characters. There will be small quests, collectables, mysteries, disturbing rooms and multiple endings. Having tea with witches is probably not an easy task...

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 50.7%, Story Rich 18.6%, Adventure 18.1%, Indie 12.5%

The Magnificent Trufflepigs is a first-person, metal-detecting narrative game. It combines laid-back detecting and exploration with a dramatic story, all set in a beautiful English countryside. It’s a game about trying to find something.

Why similar: Story Rich 25%, Interactive Fiction 20.4%, Adventure 16.9%, Atmospheric 13.6%, Walking Simulator 13.1%

A musical platforming adventure with an emotional story. Play as a silly bard and use music to interact with everything on a journey around the world. Along the way you'll explore, solve puzzles, and meet a huge cast of characters!

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 54.7%, Story Rich 19.6%, Adventure 16.1%, Indie 9.6%

ORACLE is a single player, open world experience with dozens of locations to explore, great soundtrack and an awesome story ready to be unraveled.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 27.3%, Adventure 22.3%, Great Soundtrack 17.4%, Story Rich 12.3%, Indie 10.9%

Radiant One is art. It makes you think about the meaning of human existence in today's rapidly changing world.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 28.4%, Interactive Fiction 14.7%, Walking Simulator 12.6%, Story Rich 10.9%, RPG 10.7%

From the creator of The Stanley Parable and The Beginner’s Guide comes Wanderstop, a narrative-centric cozy game about change and tea.

Why similar: Story Rich 33.3%, Adventure 31.8%, Great Soundtrack 17.6%, Indie 13.5%, Singleplayer 3.8%

An immersive, narrative videogame that retells Joel Green’s 4-year fight against cancer through about two hours of poetic, imaginative gameplay that explores themes of faith, hope and love.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 27.6%, Story Rich 16.4%, Walking Simulator 16.1%, Narration 15.2%, Adventure 8.1%

A narrative delivery simulator following the Postman, a Postal Worker new to a small fishing village off the coast of a volcano. They begin to experience space-warping aberrations as the village withers.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 24.2%, Great Soundtrack 15.2%, Story Rich 14.9%, Walking Simulator 14.1%, RPG 12.1%

The War of 1812. Northwest Frontier. William Aubrey, a rogue redcoat of the once-glorious 41st Regiment of Foot, is on the run. Wounded and tired, he seeks shelter during a thunderstorm inside an abandoned barn. But when he gets there, he finds he’s not alone...

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 32.2%, Interactive Fiction 19%, America 14.7% ★, Visual Novel 13.2%, Indie 9.8%

A thrilling Western adventure in the alternate 19th century world of Lamplight City! Embark on a harrowing journey across the frontier with Harley Leger and her ragtag posse, encountering bandits, rebels, visionaries, eccentrics, and many more friends and foes on your quest for fame and riches.

Why similar: Western 36.4% ★, Interactive Fiction 19.6%, Story Rich 13%, Adventure 9.4%, RPG 7.5%

A thoughtful and deeply personal title with stripped-down mechanics. The lack of dialogue or text allows you to create your own narrative through your time with four characters. Each short story will allow players to be swept away by the haunting lyrics of over twenty original, nostalgic songs.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 41.9%, Walking Simulator 23.9%, Story Rich 14.4%, Visual Novel 9.3%, Indie 8.6%

Featuring a beautiful, detailed open-world and a haunting soundtrack, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is non-linear storytelling at its best.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 37.2%, Walking Simulator 30.8%, Story Rich 9.7%, Atmospheric 8.7%, Adventure 6.5%

Tacoma is a sci-fi narrative adventure from the creators of Gone Home. Set aboard a high-tech space station in the year 2088, explore every detail of how the station’s crew lived and worked, finding the clues that add up to a gripping story of trust, fear, and resolve in the face of disaster.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 33.2%, Story Rich 23.3%, Adventure 14.8%, Great Soundtrack 9.8%, Indie 8.8%

Grotto is a mystical, narrative-focused experience. You are the Soothsayer. The one capable of talking with the stars and unveiling their messages. In a time of turmoil, the tribe of the valley turn to your powers of divination and come to you for guidance.

Why similar: Interactive Fiction 40%, Walking Simulator 21.8%, Story Rich 13.3%, Atmospheric 8.9%, Adventure 7.4%

A choices-matter spy thriller told through interactive postcards. Play a secret agent racing across 1930s Switzerland, sending coded reports to your handler. Charm, deceive or strong-arm your way through a Hitchcockian tale where every choice shapes the story.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 30.1%, Interactive Fiction 23%, Story Rich 16.9%, Adventure 10.1%, Indie 6.8%

Enigma is an atmospheric, full-length visual novel where you discover the secrets of Enigma, a worldwide epidemic, and a forest on a lonely island that bears its name.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 46%, Adventure 17.2%, Visual Novel 15.4%, Indie 11.7%, Story Rich 8.6%

Memory note is a slice-of-life visual novel with meaningful player choices, several endings to explore, and a story that will touch your heart.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 35.9%, Adventure 18.5%, Narration 13.9%, Indie 13.9%, Visual Novel 10.6%