Games like The Drifter
If The Drifter is your kind of game, the closest matches are Victorian Dread, Sleepytime Village and Apestin Explorer — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its atmospheric, immersive and chapter based story structure. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
Get personalized picks →The Drifter is a 2025 indie adventure that blends noir storytelling with sci-fi twists. Players navigate a chapter-based narrative featuring linear but tightly designed puzzles, environmental interaction, and controller-friendly aiming. Voice-acting drives the dialogue-heavy experience, which reviewers note delivers story twists reminiscent of streaming series. The pixel art employs frame-by-frame animation that players describe as giving the visuals a living quality. Set in a modern noir setting, the investigation and thriller elements carry undertones of sci-fi and horror. The game costs $19.99 USD and is verified to run on Steam Deck. It holds a 98 percent positive rating from over 3100 Steam reviews and an 84 Metacritic score. Players highlight the Australian accents as standing out in games of this type.
About The Drifter: A Pulp Adventure Thriller - A murdered drifter awakens. Alive again, seconds before his death. Hunted and haunted, help him untangle a mad web of conspiracy in this fast-paced point 'n click thrill-ride.
Players who liked The Drifter also play
Steam players who put hours into The Drifter also tend to own these titles — a signal called collaborative filtering. imho.run cross-references millions of library ownership patterns to surface games whose real audiences overlap, regardless of whether their genre tags match.
Victorian Dread
WHY THIS
Top pick for The Drifter fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
In this gothic point-and-click adventure, Eleanor Rosewood must confront a vampire haunting Victorian London. Gather evidence and seek help from the city’s diverse populace, each hiding their own secrets, in this atmospheric mystery.
Sleepytime Village
WHY THIS
Second-strongest match for The Drifter fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with The Drifter.
Sleepytime Village is the story of a workaholic father who makes one wrong choice too many and becomes trapped in a children’s storybook reality, haunted by the residents of Sleepytime Village, its formless narrator and visions of his childhood. What is the Village and what does it want from him?
Apestin Explorer
WHY THIS
Third-strongest match for The Drifter fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
In the early 2000s, a series of horrifying incidents shattered countless lives across the world. No one truly understood the purpose behind them. Some called it corruption, others called it power beyond humanity. The real monsters were never demons, but humans with absolute control over others.
Kamiya Detective Agency: High School Girl Vanished in The Summer
WHY THIS
Ranked #4 for The Drifter fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
A mystery set in Fukuoka, Japan. Former cop Kengo Kamiya and assistant Hikaru tackle a high school girl's disappearance. A "Photoreal Novel" fully utilizing actual photos and AI. Enjoy snappy banter and unexpected twists in this simple, choice-driven mystery visual novel.
The Séance of Blake Manor
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Drifter.
Ranked #5 for The Drifter fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with The Drifter.
The Séance of Blake Manor is a supernatural detective mystery, set in 1897 Ireland, where you investigate the disappearance of Evelyn Deane in a remote hotel full of secrets and other-worldly occurrences.
Still Life
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Drifter.
Ranked #6 for The Drifter fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with The Drifter.
Still Life 2 also now available!
Tails Noir
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Drifter.
Ranked #7 for The Drifter fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
Tails Noir is a post-noir narrative adventure. Become raccoon private eye Howard Lotor and explore dystopian Vancouver inhabited by animals as you uncover a deeply personal story of change and transformation.
Loco Motive
WHY THIS
Ranked #8 for The Drifter fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
There's been a murder aboard the Reuss Express, and you're the suspects! Prove your innocence in this comedy 'point n' click' murder mystery - packed with twists, laughs, and larger-than-life characters!
Reviewers mention these as similar to The Drifter
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
Return to Monkey Island
WHY THIS
Reviewers of The Drifter cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with The Drifter.
Return to Monkey Island is an unexpected, thrilling return of series creator Ron Gilbert that continues the story of the legendary adventure games.
Unforeseen Incidents
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Drifter.
Reviewers of The Drifter cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
Unforeseen Incidents is a classical style interactive mystery set in a beautifully hand-painted world. Join Harper Pendrell and experience a challenging investigation, smart dialog and a rich cast of characters in this thrilling new adventure game.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Drifter.
Reviewers of The Drifter cross-mention this title as a similar play.
You are Geralt of Rivia, mercenary monster slayer. Before you stands a war-torn, monster-infested continent you can explore at will. Your current contract? Tracking down Ciri — the Child of Prophecy, a living weapon that can alter the shape of the world.
Anodyne
WHY THIS
Reviewers of The Drifter cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
A 2D action-adventure through a surreal, subconscious world. Explore moody dungeons, buildings, and atmospheric lands, evoked by dreamy music and visuals. Help the human Young awaken from their dream!
BATTLETECH
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with The Drifter.
Reviewers of The Drifter cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with The Drifter.
Take command of your own mercenary outfit of 'Mechs and the MechWarriors that pilot them, struggling to stay afloat as you find yourself drawn into a brutal interstellar civil war.
Death's Door
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Drifter.
Reviewers of The Drifter cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
Reaping souls of the dead and punching a clock might get monotonous but it's honest work for a Crow. The job gets lively when your assigned soul is stolen and you must track down a desperate thief to a realm untouched by death - where creatures grow far past their expiry.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with The Drifter.
Reviewers of The Drifter cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie with The Drifter.
A strategy/action RPG. Create a character, engage in diplomacy, craft, trade and conquer new lands in a vast medieval sandbox. Raise armies to lead into battle and command and fight alongside your troops in massive real-time battles using a deep but intuitive skill-based combat system.
The Outer Worlds
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Drifter.
Reviewers of The Drifter cross-mention this title as a similar play.
The Outer Worlds is an award-winning single-player RPG from Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division. As you explore a space colony, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the colony's corporate equation, you are the unplanned variable.
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below The Drifter at current Steam store prices.
Garry's Mod
WHY THIS
Priced ~75% under The Drifter on Steam right now. Shares Indie with The Drifter.
Garry's Mod is a physics sandbox. There aren't any predefined aims or goals. We give you the tools and leave you to play.
Lethal Company
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under The Drifter on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
A co-op horror about scavenging at abandoned moons to sell scrap to the Company.
People Playground
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under The Drifter on Steam right now. Shares Indie with The Drifter.
Shoot, stab, burn, poison, tear, vaporise, or crush ragdolls in a large open space.
Vampire Survivors
WHY THIS
Priced ~75% under The Drifter on Steam right now. Shares Indie with The Drifter.
Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you. Be the bullet hell!
PEAK
WHY THIS
Priced ~60% under The Drifter on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
PEAK is a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. Either solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island is to scale the mountain at its center. Do you have what it takes to reach the PEAK?
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Doki Doki Literature Club!
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with The Drifter.
The Literature Club is full of cute girls! Will you write the way into their heart? This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.
Life is Strange - Episode 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Adventure with The Drifter.
Episode 1 now FREE! Life is Strange is an award-winning and critically acclaimed episodic adventure game that allows the player to rewind time and affect the past, present and future.
Ultimate Custom Night
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with The Drifter.
Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, featuring 50 selectable characters and custom difficulties!
ENA: Dream BBQ
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
Experience surreal environments and inexplicable characters as ENA in a new wild world.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with The Drifter.
Sonic the Hedgehog...was murdered!? Get to the bottom of the mystery in this brand-new adventure!
Indigo Park: Chapter 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Drifter.
Explore the abandoned childhood wonder of Indigo Park! Guided by Rambley the Raccoon, help restore power to the destroyed amusement park while you run from the reason it shut down.
The Looker
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with The Drifter.
You wake up, alone, on a strangely familiar island full of puzzles that will frustrate and annoy you.
missed messages.
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with The Drifter.
‘goth gf’s iPhone’ airdrops you - accept or decline? A love/horror story about life, death, & memes.
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
Frequently asked about The Drifter
- Is The Drifter verified for Steam Deck?
- Yes — The Drifter is Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve has confirmed it runs well on the Deck with full controller, text legibility, and default configuration support.
- How much does The Drifter cost?
- The Drifter is listed on Steam at 19.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- What games are most similar to The Drifter?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside The Drifter are Victorian Dread, Sleepytime Village, Apestin Explorer.
- Who developed The Drifter?
- The Drifter was developed by Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd and published by Powerhoof.
imho.run ranks Steam game alternatives using a mix of collaborative filtering (ALS / iALS / EASE / LightGCN), content scoring over genres, categories, Steam tags, developers, and publishers, plus AI-extracted vibes mined from review text. The page above is generated in seed mode anchored on The Drifter.
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