Games like Dear Esther
Looking for games like Dear Esther? Here are top simulation recommendations with a fantasy and drama focus, selected from player-similarity data — start with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Kentucky Route Zero or Gone Home.
1 82%Game Brain Scorestory, graphicsreplayability, stability86% User Score 4,014 reviewsCritic Score 78%38 reviewsThe Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person story-driven mystery game focused on exploration and discovery. As occult-minded private detective Paul Prospero communicate with the dead to discover the fate of a missing boy and the mystery behind a dark ancient force lurking in Red Creek Valley.
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2 
84%Game Brain Scorestory, musicgrinding, character development81% User Score 3,395 reviewsCritic Score 87%6 reviewsKentucky Route Zero is a magical realist adventure game about a secret highway in the caves beneath Kentucky, and the mysterious folks who travel it. Gameplay is inspired by point-and-click adventure games (like the classic Monkey Island or King's Quest series, or more recently Telltale's Walking Dead series), but focused on characterization, atmosphere and storytelling rather than clever puzzles …
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3 
82%Game Brain Scorestory, emotionalreplayability, optimization77% User Score 20,826 reviewsCritic Score 82%14 reviewsA first-person exploratory game taking place in 1995 in which Katie, a university student back from Europe, arrives at her family's newly inherited mansion only to find nobody there, with a note from her younger sister Sam suggesting that she's left home. Katie must explore the mansion to put together the stories of where her parents have gone and why Sam has decided to leave.
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4 
68%Game Brain Scorestory, graphicsgrinding, replayability70% User Score 800 reviewsCritic Score 65%6 reviewsThe Old City: Leviathan is an experiment in first person exploration that focuses entirely on story. All that exists is you and the world. Set in a decaying city from a civilization long past, The Old City: Leviathan puts the player in the shoes of a sewer dwelling isolationist.
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5 85%Game Brain Scorestory, musicgrinding, optimization83% User Score 1,988 reviewsCritic Score 87%7 reviewsKentucky Route Zero is a magical realist adventure game about a secret highway in the caves beneath Kentucky, and the mysterious folks who travel it. Gameplay is inspired by point-and-click adventure games (like the classic Monkey Island or King's Quest series, or more recently Telltale's Walking Dead series), but focused on characterization, atmosphere and storytelling rather than clever puzzles …
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6 
94%Game Brain Scorestory, gameplayreplayability, grinding94% User Score 18,415 reviewsCritic Score 90%1 reviewsWhat Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of short stories about a cursed family in Washington State. Each story offers a chance to experience the life of a different family member with stories ranging from the early 1900s to the present day. The gameplay and tone of the stories are as varied as the family members themselves. The only constants are that each is played from a first-person perspe…
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7 
71%Game Brain Scorestory, musicgameplay, optimization69% User Score 1,033 reviewsCritic Score 75%8 reviewsEverybody’s Gone to the Rapture™ tells the story of the inhabitants of a remote English valley who are caught up in world-shattering events beyond their control or understanding. Made by The Chinese Room – the studio responsible for the hauntingly beautiful Dear Esther – this tale of how people respond in the face of grave adversity is a non-linear, open-world experience that pushes innovative int…
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8 
88%Game Brain Scorestory, gameplayreplayability, stability94% User Score 16,215 reviewsCritic Score 82%18 reviewsThis is one journey you will never forget...
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9 
83%Game Brain Scorestory, gameplaygrinding, replayability87% User Score 2,906 reviewsCritic Score 40%14 reviewsInmost is an atmospheric, story-driven puzzle platformer, following three playable characters within one dark, interconnecting story. In an old abandoned castle, you’ll need to explore every nook and cranny, avoid detection, slice your way through enemies and spring deadly traps in order to escape the evil that lurks within…
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79%Game Brain Scorestory, atmospherereplayability, grinding79% User Score 1,462 reviewsThe Moon Sliver is a short narrative-focused non-linear exploration game, with elements of horror. It features a unique narrative mechanic that blurs the line between story and exploration, where interacting with objects and even simply moving around will reveal fragments of narration. As you piece these fragments together, a story of guilt, loneliness, and faith begins to take shape. And it becom…
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