Games like A PhD Simulator - Publish & Perish

PhD Simulator is a text-based strategy and life simulation game set within the world of doctoral study at a Chinese university. Each month, you must decide how to spend your limited energy. Read academic literature, conduct research, write papers, or take time to recover—every choice affects your research progress, stress, and health. Every paper must pass through multiple stages, from initi… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to PhD Simulator.

92%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

92% User Score Based on 317 reviews

Dreams in the Witch House is an open world horror adventure game, where you guide Walter Gilman, as he prepares to face the dreaded May-Eve witch ritual in the legend-haunted city of Arkham. Choose your own approach and reveal the secret of the Witch House before it's too late. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Dreams in the Witch House.

81%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

87% User Score Based on 1,544 reviews

Critic Score 70%Based on 5 reviews

Atomic Space Age was a blast! Until it became the Post-Apocalyptic Space Age. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to 60 Parsecs!.

53%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, atmosphere

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, grinding

90% User Score Based on 10 reviews

Contra Spem Spero (Latin for 'Against all hope, I hope') is a narrative-driven horror experience that blends text-based exploration, immersive visual novel storytelling, survival elements, and puzzle-solving. Your car breaks down in the middle of a deserted road. Having no time to waste, you decide to continue on foot, grabbing only your journal and camera. Yet imperceptibly, the asphalt turns … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Contra Spem Spero.

93%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

93% User Score Based on 1,384 reviews

Sultan's Game is a card-based simulation and narrative experience inspired by The One Thousand and One Nights. Play as one of the ministers of the mighty Sultan—a fickle, cruel king who treats his subjects like pawns for his own pleasure— navigate dreadful decisions to stay alive. Survival requires more than enduring the Sultan’s Game; it demands facing its haunting consequences as well. A Cursed … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Sultan's Game.

99%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:graphics, stability

99% User Score Based on 117 reviews

A refreshing twist on roguelite and storytelling, Endless Dark is a psychological horror game about the pressures of monotony and the purpose of existence. You, the Custodian, are a sentient machine onboard a sleeper colony ship, charged with keeping it intact. No combat, enemies, or NPCs await you - only a myriad of system failures and the decay of your own sanity as you whittle away the deca… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Endless Dark.

95%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, gameplay

95% User Score Based on 80 reviews

You are subordinate to a deranged dictator and must plan his doomed invasion in this text-based RPG / Visual Novel. Navigate the shark-filled waters of the Great Leader's presidential cabinet, and try to save your family and survive the purges in a world of power-hungry leaders and nuclear warfare. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to A War of a Madman's Making.

52%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:humor, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, graphics

52% User Score Based on 182 reviews

Social Justice Warriors is a satirical role-playing game that transforms the standard medieval fantasy heroes of RPGs into social media crusaders facing an endless horde of internet trolls. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Social Justice Warriors.

73%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, humor

Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, grinding

81% User Score Based on 3,902 reviews

Critic Score 54%Based on 4 reviews

As Ted, a responsible citizen and a family man, you are faced with a slight disturbance to your happy, suburban lifestyle. THE NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE.With only 60 seconds left to impact, guide Ted in a mad, intense and action packed dash through his house in search of his family and useful supplies. Everything will be against you - time, your very own furniture, the house that's different every ti… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to 60 Seconds!.

91%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:graphics, grinding

91% User Score Based on 188 reviews

You've been reincarnated as another world dark lord with the skill to be reborn again and again. Use experience from your past lives to choose the right paths to conquer everything. Features ✨What's in this game Play as an another world dark lord: Grow and absorb the mana around you. Devour everything you can to survive. Develop dark magic, create minions, or evolve into a powerful creature. … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Reincarnated as a Dark Lord Before Taking Over the World with Power 999999999.

81%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

92% User Score Based on 3,769 reviews

Critic Score 70%Based on 14 reviews

Watch strangers via hidden cameras. Invade their privacy. But don’t you dare… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Do Not Feed the Monkeys.

86%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, optimization

86% User Score Based on 2,161 reviews

A Legionary's Life lets you play as a Roman soldier during the years of the Second Punic War and beyond. Rise up through the ranks and win prestigious awards or just focus on making it home in one piece; it's up to you. This is a single-player game with RPG elements, extensive usage of attribute and skill checks, a turn-based combat system involving many variables (including morale, reach, conf… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to A Legionary's Life.

79%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

79% User Score Based on 2,364 reviews

Out of money and out of luck you find yourself heart broken and on the verge of collapse. Your landlord's taken the key back, you can't finish your manuscript, and your beloved is marrying someone else. With no choice but to handle whatever life throws at you, you set out on the open road on a mission to win back the love of your life. The story from there is up to you. Can your life be salvaged, … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Always Sometimes Monsters.

91%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:humor, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, story

91% User Score Based on 214 reviews

Talk to Strangers is a short game of everyday survival. Survive door to door conversations ranging from bizarre to mundane (in this order) while trying to sell products to strangers. But beware: nothing is what it seems in this neighborhood. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Talk to Strangers.

63%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

63% User Score Based on 1,908 reviews

Critic Score 63%Based on 13 reviews

Point-and-click adventure with only one scenary! We tried to approach Minimalism trough gameplay. Isolated on a single stage, with a few a possible actions, you must endure trough a 40 days... If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Gods Will Be Watching.

80%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding

80% User Score Based on 95 reviews

Become the King in a story-driven 8-bit style game, where choice matters. And try not to die instantly... If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to KingSim.

66%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, humor

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, optimization

67% User Score Based on 945 reviews

Critic Score 63%Based on 2 reviews

Humanity is enslaved by an AI… which is awesome, because we’re on right side! If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Despotism 3k.

78%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, monetization

78% User Score Based on 1,146 reviews

Cyberpunkdreamss is an evolving text-based role-playing adventure with countless opportunities, and endless chances for destruction. Take on the role of a lone wanderer sent to the gates of Cincinnati, in the 2090s. The sand from the desert badlands coats your clothes and skin – with your memories torn from you, all you have is a weapon on your hip, and a mission to complete. Enter a living, grow… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to cyberpunkdreams.

Screenshots and footage shown represent an in-development version of the game. College Crisis: The Tuition Survival GameCollege is supposed to be the best years of your life. Instead, it’s a carefully balanced struggle between money, sanity, energy, and the looming threat of the bursar’s office. College Crisis: The Tuition Survival Game is a darkly comedic life-management sim where you try to su… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to College Crisis: The Tuition Survival Game.

79%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, replayability

79% User Score Based on 690 reviews

Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

A campy, crazy pixelart zombie apocalypse arcade sim where you're the bad guy. Drop your virus and spread it across the globe while you unlock a whole horde of bizarre undead to do your bidding. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Infectonator 3: Apocalypse.

90%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:humor, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:monetization

90% User Score Based on 75 reviews

Desk Job Simulator If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Bad Credit? No Problem!.

93%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, atmosphere

93% User Score Based on 88 reviews

Surrounded by bright neons, filthy streets and even filthier techno beats, it is you who guard the entrance to the rave. Sharpen your wits and deliver lyrical smackdowns to those not worthy of partying. But beware - the stakes may or may not involve blowing up the city. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Techno Banter.

90%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:music

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, graphics

90% User Score Based on 61 reviews

ThreatGEN: Red vs. Blue is a cyber warfare turn-based strategy game that is also designed to actually teach you real-world cybersecurity concepts, methods, strategies, and skills. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to ThreatGEN: Red vs. Blue.

84%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, humor

Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, grinding

92% User Score Based on 2,930 reviews

Critic Score 75%Based on 9 reviews

Swipe and be the Queen! If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Reigns: Her Majesty.

83%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:story, grinding

83% User Score Based on 149 reviews

Live the life of (a starving) artist in 19th century alternative history. Collect and combine feelings, memories, ideas and inspirations, fight with depression, addiction or madness and other mental phenomenon. Paint masterpieces, sell them for riches (or scraps) and explore the city of Nova Oportunia. A unique card-based roguelite with 18 alternative endings. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Artist Life Simulator.

83%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

88% User Score Based on 2,464 reviews

Critic Score 77%Based on 7 reviews

"Not Tonight is a post-Brexit management game, fusing a time-pressure RPG with a politically charged story where every decision matters. Will you join the resistance and fight the regime -- or keep your head down and hope that one day this will all be a distant memory?" If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Not Tonight.

77%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding

79% User Score Based on 437 reviews

Critic Score 76%Based on 14 reviews

Berlin 1933. Lead an underground resistance group Through the Darkest of Times. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Through the Darkest of Times.

51%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:humor, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, graphics

40% User Score Based on 401 reviews

Critic Score 66%Based on 7 reviews

Redshirt is the comedy sci-fi sim about social networking aboard a space station, starring the station's most ambitious low-ranking peon: you! Navigate the professional and interpersonal politics of the ubiquitous "Spacebook" to curry favor among friends and colleagues. As intense intergalactic conflict rages around you, it's up to you to accrue those all-important "likes" on your status updates! … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Redshirt.

82%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, monetization

80% User Score Based on 424 reviews

Critic Score 88%Based on 2 reviews

"Life between myths. Clans, cows, choices. The spiritual successor to King of Dragon Pass, Six Ages combines interactive stories and turn-based strategy. Your small clan’s survival depends on its relations with the warring gods and their followers. Play involves actions such as improving pastures, exploration, trading with your neighbors, and raiding. You can even travel to the Otherworld to visi… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind.

82%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, monetization

84% User Score Based on 922 reviews

Critic Score 79%Based on 5 reviews

Mind Scanners is a retro-futuristic management game in which you diagnose the citizens of a dystopian metropolis. Locate a host of other-worldly characters and use arcade-style treatment devices to help them. Manage your time and resources to keep The Structure in balance. Remember, you take full responsibility for your patients. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Mind Scanners.

92%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, grinding

92% User Score Based on 1,599 reviews

Change is an emotional homeless survival experience set in a randomly generated city with rogue-like elements. Explore, survive, earn perks, find items and more to develop your character and escape to a new life. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience.

Game Cycle is a faux retro shareware collection with story elements!  As a recently-contracted games analyst, you are tasked by the CEO of Best Value Games to make sure the games set to be included in their upcoming release are up to code. You can get the job done by playing each game for a few minutes, or you could be thorough and try for bonus pay by completing every objective on the checklist. … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Game Cycle.

24%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay

40% User Score Based on 10 reviews

HiThis game is solo developed by myself. So if you encounter any issues, bugs or translation errors, please contact me via discussions or email (you can find my contact email in the Steam Support or setting page within the game). Thx~ About the GameYou are a guard appointed by His Majesty, partnering with an imp to post bounties and send heroes to investigate strange occurrences and deal with mo… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to A guard walks into a tavern.

62%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:atmosphere, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay

100% User Score Based on 13 reviews

A pixelated homage to 16-bit RPGs, this former print-and-play card game has come full circle as a digital experience! Choose your champion, enter the tower, and make wise decisions on your ascent to face the Ice Lich at the top If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Tower of the Ice Lich.

- 情感沟通解锁隐藏剧情 - 与女友真诚而深入的交谈，加深彼此的羁绊。用心倾听，真诚的回应，将获得特殊道具，开启那些不为人知的隐藏故事线。 - 与不同的女孩每日约会 - 告别单一的剧情线！每天都可以选择与不同的女孩共度时光，每天都是一场全新的缘分探索。你的每一次选择，都将引领你走向截然不同的缘分终点。 - 多样的趣味互动游戏 - 多样化的互动小游戏，是你与女孩增进感情的催化剂。在轻松愉快的挑战中赢得女孩们的青睐，收获的不只是奖励，更是她脸颊上的一抹红晕。 - 养成你的专属机器人女友 - 不再是固定的程序设定，而是你亲手养成的伴侣。从零开始，通过日程训练，见证她的每一步成长，她的未来完全由你定义。 - 属于你的多重结局 - 故事每个阶段都会有你最心动的女孩，在与她们经历不… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to 我的机器人女友.

Face to Face With SolitudeAlpenglow is a quiet, story-driven experience about stepping away from life — and finding yourself alone with what remains. In a remote mountain cabin, days pass slowly. Light changes. Weather shifts. Memories surface. As mornings warm and nights grow cold, your inner state changes with the world around you. Your choices begin to reveal your past. Live the Days, One Ch… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Alpenglow.

Love and Lie - Addictive as a woman, complicated as relationships.The most realistic digital dating experience ever made.Welcome to Love and Lie, where every message, glance, and silence can change everything. This isn’t just a dating simulator — it’s a living, breathing world of love, deception, and chaos, powered by AI personalities that actually think, feel, and react like real people. If The … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Love and Lie.

The life of a simple serf is hard. You get to chase escaped pigs, barefoot. You get yourself dirty, and what do you get? A little nod as appreciation. You go to wash your self at a well but there is no water bucket. More misery. With the last coin in your pocket you wish to spend at the local tavern, you hope to meet the legendary monk. Whom is said to have great wisdom and could change your f… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Drunk But Not Wasted Monk.

63%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:humor, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, graphics

94% User Score Based on 18 reviews

You lost your coal mine job, now you're a cashier at Poland's landmark convenience store. Scan groceries, verify IDs, grill hot dogs, and try to feed your family on what's left. A dark comedy about surviving late stage capitalism, one receipt at a time. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Which Sausage, Mate?.

86%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, humor

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, story

86% User Score Based on 242 reviews

A card-based political roguelike about surviving in a parliament of literal monsters. Fight for votes, break rules, weather scandals and force through absurd laws to keep the top job in this democratic dystopia of truly monstrous proportions. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Prime Monster.

Breadbulls is an idle economy simulator. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Breadbulls.

81%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:music, replayability

87% User Score Based on 45 reviews

A dark thriller with both comedic and spine-chilling moments, Angel Wings: Endless Night is a love letter to classic survival horror games, brought to life in visual novel form. As a spin-off sequel to Angel Wings, Endless Night finds you trapped in a haunted mansion with no means of escape. Using your wits and the help of your unlikely companion, will you find a way to end this eternal darkness?… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Angel Wings: Endless Night.

83%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding

83% User Score Based on 177 reviews

Get a taste of Placid Plastic Deck – A Quiet Quest, a story-driven adventure featuring multiple-choice dialogue, deckbuilding card battles, and peculiar characters! A friendship to mend, and a cast of opponents to beat, each with a unique deck. But you're in luck… yours, in the end, is all ducks! - A blend of 2D and 3D graphics - Themed decks and boards, each with its own personality - Mu… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Placid Plastic Deck - A Quiet Quest.

95%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding

95% User Score Based on 1,305 reviews

A gripping prison escape RPG woven with crime, corruption, and hidden agendas. Step into a maximum-security facility where every inmate has a past—and a plan. You'll have to fight to survive, investigate, and ultimately break free before the time runs out. Uncover a scheme that threatens more than just your life—it could bring down the entire city. In this thrilling adventure, choices matter, and… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Back to the Dawn.

91%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:character development, optimization

91% User Score Based on 164 reviews

Rule the galaxy or die trying!You were never meant to be the heir. You were the second child, the pampered princess, busy with your friends and your pet and your collection of beautiful shoes. But then your mother died, your brother the Prince turned traitor, and your father the Emperor disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Now it's up to you to win the Imperial Election and claim the throne… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Galaxy Princess Zorana.

92%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding

92% User Score Based on 2,252 reviews

Home Safety Hotline is an analog horror inspired telephone operator simulator where you answer incoming callers' questions about what's inside their home. Read through a vast catalog of common pests and household hazards, and do your best to become an expert in home safety. You will be held responsible for what happens. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Home Safety Hotline.

98%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, humor

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, optimization

98% User Score Based on 311 reviews

One day you're in your apartment, wallowing in self-pity, and the next thing you know you're being summoned to a land full of witches trying to kill you, with your doppelganger's unconscious body lying on the wooden floor. Can you find your way back home? Follow along Palmier as she/he has an identity crisis while exploring a whole new world filled with killer witches, magic, and four lonely tw… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Bewitching Sinners.

83%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:humor, atmosphere

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability

100% User Score Based on 34 reviews

After a night of extreme drinking and partying, you wake up in a stranger's bed to discover... Nobody's Home. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Nobody's Home.

64%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:humor

Most mentioned negative aspects:music, gameplay

74% User Score Based on 38 reviews

The simple game of a shut-in learning from home and earn money. (The game is purely fictional, do not try this out in reality.) If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Legend of Homebody.

60%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

60% User Score Based on 316 reviews

Experience the struggle which a homeless man goes through in a humorous manner. Primitive elements of contemporary life that we take for granted, such as staying warm, well-nourished, and hygienic, will become an issue. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Garbage.