Games like Don't Get Your Hopes Up

89%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, replayability

94% User Score Based on 1,872 reviews

Critic Score 84%Based on 18 reviews

Norco is a Southern Gothic point & click narrative adventure that immerses the player in the sinking suburbs and verdant industrial swamps of a distorted South Louisiana. Your brother Blake has gone missing in the aftermath of your mother's death. In the hopes of finding him, you must follow a fugitive security android through the refineries, strip malls, and drainage ditches of suburban New Orlea… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to NORCO.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

96% User Score Based on 11,075 reviews

‘goth gf’s iPhone’ airdrops you - accept or decline? A romance/horror story about life, death, and memes. A shift in perspective can change everything. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Missed Messages.

68%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, grinding

65% User Score Based on 240 reviews

Critic Score 73%Based on 6 reviews

"No Longer Home" is a semi-auto-biographical point and click game, about two recent graduates preparing to move out of their flat. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to No Longer Home.

95%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, optimization

96% User Score Based on 1,248 reviews

Critic Score 94%Based on 4 reviews

It was a morning like all others, until she realized her dad wasn't home. In his place, a stranger who speaks nonsense and insists she "takes her medicine". Who is he? Where is dad? If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to and Roger.

95%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:atmosphere, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

95% User Score Based on 1,765 reviews

Dead Letter Dept. is a short horror game mystery experience, where you use your computer keyboard to type in various prompts, and attempt to decipher damaged images as oddities begin to appear. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to DEAD LETTER DEPT..

99%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, humor

Most mentioned negative aspects:monetization, grinding

99% User Score Based on 1,846 reviews

"Endless Monday: Dreams and Deadlines" - In this short branching visual novel story, Penny, a mild-mannered corporate grunt, pulls an all-nighter at the office in an effort to finish her project on time while overcoming distractions from coworkers, space aliens, imaginary friends, and herself. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Endless Monday: Dreams and Deadlines.

87%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding

88% User Score Based on 18,116 reviews

Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

The Beginner's Guide is a narrative video game from Davey Wreden, the creator of The Stanley Parable. It lasts about an hour and a half and has no traditional mechanics, no goals or objectives. Instead, it tells the story of a person struggling to deal with something they do not understand. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to The Beginner's Guide.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay

100% User Score Based on 852 reviews

Critic Score 83%Based on 2 reviews

Experience the stories of Haru, Erika, and Manami, a trio of friends navigating their feelings of love, connection, and just wanting to belong. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to A YEAR OF SPRINGS.

61%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:music, grinding

61% User Score Based on 3,444 reviews

Depression Quest is an interactive fiction game where you play as someone living with depression. You are given a series of everyday life events and have to attempt to manage your illness, relationships, job, and possible treatment. This game aims to show other sufferers of depression that they are not alone in their feelings, and to illustrate to people who may not understand the illness the dept… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Depression Quest.

92%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

95% User Score Based on 822 reviews

Critic Score 89%Based on 10 reviews

Embark on a thrilling sci-fi journey in a futuristic Asian city with MINDS BENEATH US. In a society fully automated by advanced AI, you find yourself trapped in a foreign body, alongside the subconscious of its original owner. As society evolves, a new industry emerges that replaces the hardware needed to operate AI-automated systems with human brains. Consequently, the most disadvantaged citizens… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Minds Beneath Us.

98%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, monetization

98% User Score Based on 11,958 reviews

A sequel to Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk. Dive into demented and bizarre world once again and help the girl become a little happier. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, replayability

96% User Score Based on 1,799 reviews

A narrative-driven point-and-click adventure that explores the stories of four different characters in a masked ball taking place on a train in the late 1920s. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to If On A Winter's Night, Four Travelers.

69%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, replayability

74% User Score Based on 463 reviews

Critic Score 57%Based on 3 reviews

Actual Sunlight is a short interactive story about love, depression and the corporation. The game puts you in the role of Evan Winter, a young professional in Toronto, as he moves through three distinct periods of his life. The story is linear, unavoidable and (hopefully) thought-provoking. You experience his perceptions, fall under the consequences of his decisions, and meet everyone who didn’t … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Actual Sunlight.

87%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, replayability

95% User Score Based on 1,532 reviews

Critic Score 60%Based on 2 reviews

If Found… is an interactive visual novel from Dreamfeel about searching for connection. Find out who you really are. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to If Found....

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:music, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, grinding

96% User Score Based on 268 reviews

A story of loneliness, mental health, and self-pity. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Life Tastes Like Cardboard.

89%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, optimization

94% User Score Based on 4,294 reviews

Critic Score 75%Based on 3 reviews

Roleplaying in the ruins of interplanetary capitalism. Live the life of an escaped worker, washed-up on a lawless station at the edge of an interstellar society. Inspired by the flexibility and freedom of TTRPGs, explore the station, choose your friends, escape your past and change your future. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Citizen Sleeper.

92%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, optimization

92% User Score Based on 5,813 reviews

Critic Score 90%Based on 1 reviews

Taking around an hour on the first play-through, "When The Darkness Comes" feels like you're wandering around a glitchy hard drive full of abstract dreams and beautiful nightmares. The narrator initially makes it feel like a comedic game, but it soon starts to take a darker tone as you travel down the bizarre broken rabbit hole that explores the darkest themes of the human mind. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to When the Darkness comes.

98%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:emotional, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:monetization, grinding

98% User Score Based on 4,756 reviews

Control, I'm Not Coming Back is a short and emotional narrative game about an astronaut drifting through the vastness of space, searching for a reason to keep going while struggling with the feeling that there may be no way back home. Inspired by the Hopecore aesthetic, the game explores despair, friendship and how we are able to move forward even in the deepest void of the cosmos. A Hopecore-Ins… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Control, I'm Not Coming Back.

100%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, monetization

100% User Score Based on 861 reviews

MESMALIE is an occult adventure game. A magickal incident in your personal life brings you to a small witches' coven in the middle of nowhere. Here, you'll learn to tame your ability... though, not without some bumps along the way. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Mesmalie.

94%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, replayability

94% User Score Based on 620 reviews

Without a Dawn is a dark, psychological, and philosophical visual horror novel featuring a hauntingly beautiful pseudo-ASCII art developed by award-winning Finnish solo developer Jesse Makkonen (DISTRAINT -series, Afterdream, Heal). If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Without a Dawn.

99%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:humor, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:character development, grinding

99% User Score Based on 728 reviews

The complete horror-comedy series! Join protagonist BB as she collects material for her zines in a mysterious world of drinky birds, secret rooms, dream resorts, waterparks, bort dolls, immersive theater, beachfront novelty shirts, police men, serial killers, art freeports and unorthodox medical treatment. Nobody's getting out of here alive! Voice Of The Killer BB joins a call center on the edge… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Anthology Of The Killer.

93%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

93% User Score Based on 58,300 reviews

Disco Elysium, a genre-bending RPG that became a cult classic when it debuted in October 2019, is heading to consoles in 2021. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut adds full voice acting to the game, as well as new quests, more characters and fresh explorable areas. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Disco Elysium: The Final Cut.

94%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding

94% User Score Based on 18,415 reviews

What 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… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to What Remains of Edith Finch.

95%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding

98% User Score Based on 243 reviews

Critic Score 82%Based on 2 reviews

A point n' click sequel to Perfect Tides about the momentum and whiplash of young adulthood. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Perfect Tides: Station to Station.

95%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

93% User Score Based on 35,422 reviews

Critic Score 100%Based on 2 reviews

The award-winning detective RPG brings its story-rich adventure to mobile. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Disco Elysium.

88%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional

Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, grinding

98% User Score Based on 10,186 reviews

Critic Score 79%Based on 15 reviews

A fateful meeting sets off a chain reaction, upending Mark's life. People disappear and memories prove unreliable. Uncover a hidden truth with Mark and his friends in this narrative adventure and race to unravel the mystery before it's too late. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Until Then.

85%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:optimization, stability

95% User Score Based on 926 reviews

Critic Score 76%Based on 36 reviews

Buy Season: A letter to the future on PlayStation Store. Leave home on a bicycle trip into a mysterious new world and record life before it ends. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to SEASON: A letter to the future.

95%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding

95% User Score Based on 2,594 reviews

When the truth is buried, go underground. Step into this new take on text-based adventure from the award-winning team behind Thomas Was Alone and Volume. A short story that hands you the fate of the world above, as a detective looking for answers on the Subsurface Circular. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Subsurface Circular.

89%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

95% User Score Based on 7,848 reviews

Critic Score 77%Based on 4 reviews

Buy Pentiment on PlayStation Store. A historical narrative-driven game inspired by illuminated manuscripts and printed woodcuts. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Pentiment.

97%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:humor, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, grinding

97% User Score Based on 602 reviews

How do you see the world when nothing is real? An experimental metafictional visual novel. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to MetaWare High School Demo.

89%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, grinding

89% User Score Based on 96 reviews

Dread whispers echo across the Information Superhighway. Y2K is coming, heralding the rise of the Old Ones. With your meatspace mind unraveling, time is running out -- barter with gods, embrace the deathless aeons, or go offline permanently in this modempunk horror story. From Fiction Factory GamesCreators of Arcade Spirits, Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers, and Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supe… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to The Shadow Over Cyberspace.

93%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:music, story

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, grinding

93% User Score Based on 323 reviews

Intellica believes that positivity and happiness are the keys to self-sustaining thinking programs. By taking part in the A.M.T. Study, you can help make it happen!  QUALIA is a retro-inspired Interactive Fiction text game where you analyze and categorize two participants based on their responses to a series of questions. Are they really human? Are you? Remember, the A.M.T. Study is not a … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to qualia.

99%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, grinding

99% User Score Based on 386 reviews

Perfect Tides is a point and click adventure game about the agony and anticipation of being a teen. Set in the year 2000, you play as Mara, an internet-obsessed young writer who lives on a so-called island paradise. Following 4 seasons of the year, you experience through Mara the beauty and silence of the island, the turmoil of family life and mainland public school, and an ever-evolving quest for… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Perfect Tides.

89%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

95% User Score Based on 15,259 reviews

Critic Score 83%Based on 28 reviews

Night In The Woods is an adventure game about a college dropout who comes home to the friends and the town they left behind. Break stuff, play bass, hang out, go places and discover things that aren't meant for you. Come home to Possum Springs. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Night in the Woods.

90%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding

93% User Score Based on 1,407 reviews

Critic Score 82%Based on 4 reviews

Eliza is a visual novel about an AI counseling program, the people who develop it, and the people who use it. Follow Evelyn Ishino-Aubrey as she reconnects with people from her past, gets to know the people of Seattle who use Eliza for counseling, and decides the course of her future. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Eliza.

98%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, replayability

98% User Score Based on 6,183 reviews

STORYUSSR, 1986. When Ira Grachevskaya goes missing in the closed city of Vorkuta-5, not a soul seems to be concerned – except for the quiet outcast Asya Shubina, that is. Uncover the mystery behind Ira’s disappearance, transmit your radio signal to the universe and learn why a bird flies past the window. CHARACTERSMeet the cast. A problem child and a truant, Ira doesn't have the best reputati… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Z.A.T.O. // I Love the World and Everything In It.

97%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional

Most mentioned negative aspects:monetization

97% User Score Based on 795 reviews

"The hardest part is not to speak up. It’s being heard." Part video game, part graphic novel, Wednesdays seeks to raise awareness about child sexual abuse through a surprisingly uplifting story. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Wednesdays.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, optimization

96% User Score Based on 3,492 reviews

Your Creation, Her Eternity If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to The NOexistenceN of you AND me.

90%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, humor

Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, replayability

94% User Score Based on 878 reviews

Critic Score 84%Based on 6 reviews

Vampire Therapist is a narrative adventure in the vein (get it) of What We Do in the Shadows, the horror works of Mel Brooks, Monty Python, and Horrible Histories where you play as a reformed bloodsucker helping other vampires find inner peace. Take on the role of Sam, a former rootin’, tootin’ Wild West gunslinger who escaped his day-to-day of murder and mayhem and realized, after a hundred years… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Vampire Therapist.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional

Most mentioned negative aspects:atmosphere, character development

96% User Score Based on 1,657 reviews

Your decisions as a robot maker will change the world—but at what cost? If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Choice of Robots.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, optimization

97% User Score Based on 814 reviews

Critic Score 92%Based on 1 reviews

Golden Treasure is a game for those who carry dragons in their hearts. Hunt, explore, survive, and become Great among the True Children of Sun and Earth. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Golden Treasure: The Great Green.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

96% User Score Based on 2,118 reviews

A reverse-detective point-and-click adventure where, instead of choosing dialogue options, you control the character's face manually. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Who's Lila?.

81%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding

89% User Score Based on 2,498 reviews

Critic Score 71%Based on 7 reviews

A game in which you explore the intimacy of someone whose phone you've found. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to A Normal Lost Phone.

94%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, replayability

94% User Score Based on 2,097 reviews

This is a story of disease and suffering; of medication and adverse effects; of thoracotomy scars and cellular poisons; of the living who cannot help but to die and of the dying who cannot help but to live; of a resting place other than "on 7F" or "at home". If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Narcissu 1st & 2nd.

83%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability

83% User Score Based on 1,628 reviews

Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Neo Cab is an emotional survival game about staying human in a world disrupted by automation. You play as Lina, the last human driver on the neon-drenched streets of Los Ojos. When your friend and only lifeline mysteriously vanishes, you'll need to use wits and empathy to survive. Choose your passengers— and your words— wisely. If you can balance your cash, star rating and emotional health, you m… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Neo Cab.

58%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, atmosphere

58% User Score Based on 133 reviews

Using a unique narrative choice mechanic, players craft sentences in response to the in-game characters in We should talk. Through this careful choice of words, players express themselves as they discuss ongoing problems about life and romance with their in-game partner over text messages, while also chatting with friends and strangers at their favorite local bar about what’s on their mind. The co… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to We Should Talk.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, replayability

96% User Score Based on 238 reviews

A short, linear story game of a random demon guy's life. If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Everyday Devil.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, replayability

96% User Score Based on 24,134 reviews

Pony Express long-haul space freighter "Tulpar"Crew: FivePlanned Shipment Duration: 382 DaysElapsed Transit Time: 147 DaysI hope this hurts. — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — A narrative driven first-person horror game following the dying crew of a shipwrecked space freighter.Who could have known what good ol’ Captain Curly was capable of? Guess he thought his crew … If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Mouthwashing.

96%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:emotional, music

Most mentioned negative aspects:story, gameplay

96% User Score Based on 121 reviews

The world ends in 1 hour. It can't be saved. Wanna chat? If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Everything Ends In 0.

76%Game Brain Score

Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics

Most mentioned negative aspects:optimization, grinding

82% User Score Based on 724 reviews

Critic Score 70%Based on 18 reviews

"Dive into this nautic adventure as curiosity will guide you through a space ship wreck on an unknown planet made up of water. When one of the lead scientists still on board tries to unriddle the possibility of a relaunch young Janitor Harold is around to assist her. Join Harold in his clumsy undertakings to stir up the ark-like ship’s stale day-to-day life and find the secrets that lie behind… If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Harold Halibut.