IMHO.

Games like The Alters

If The Alters is your kind of game, the closest matches are Project Tomorrow, Airlock and Wreckborn — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its atmospheric, contemplative and emotional. 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.

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The Alters is a 2025 adventure from 11 bit studios set on a hostile alien planet. Players manage Jan Dolski, the sole survivor of a failed space expedition, as he creates clone versions of himself to build a base and survive. The game combines base-building, resource management, and crafting with a branching narrative driven by moral decision-making. Clone management forms the core loop, with each alter possessing distinct personalities shaped by player choices. Players describe the experience as atmospheric and immersive, with reviewers noting how the emotional depth of character relationships surpasses typical survival games. The narrative unfolds through personal sacrifice and moral dilemmas, creating a contemplative tone throughout. Reviewed positively by 89% of over 5300 Steam users, it offers a challenging medium-length single-player experience verified on Steam Deck.

About The Alters: Explore an emotional sci-fi game with a unique blend of survival, adventure, and base-building elements. Help Jan Dolski, the sole survivor of an ill-fated space expedition, create alternative versions of himself to escape a hostile planet and tackle personal turmoils with this unconventional crew.

2025Adventure34.99 USDDeck VerifiedMetacritic 85Windowsby 11 bit studios
The Alters — Steam game cover
Players highlight
Blends base building with deep character storytellingChoices reshape alters and their relationshipsClones have distinct personalities and traumasAtmosphericContemplativeEmotional

Players who liked The Alters also play

Steam players who put hours into The Alters 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.

  1. Project Tomorrow

    WHY THIS

    Top pick for The Alters fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries.

    A base-building survival game with terraforming and crafting. Earth lies poisoned and abandoned ten thousand years after invasion. Awaken from stasis, defend your fragile foothold, and restore a dead world so humanity can live here again.

    2026StrategySteam ↗
  2. Airlock

    WHY THIS

    Second-strongest match for The Alters fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Plan in the ant farm. Live in the 3D city. AIRLOCK is a post-apocalyptic survival base-builder where you rescue Settlers from ruined Ashgate, build a sanctuary deep beneath the toxic surface, and outlast The Altered. The Last of Us meets The Alters.

    ActionStrategyIndieSteam ↗
  3. Wreckborn

    WHY THIS

    Shares base building and an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Third-strongest match for The Alters fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries.

    Cleanse the system of pirates, destroy their bases and free the captives. On the asteroids, build a base, mining colonies, explore asteroids and extract resources needed for survival. Develop buildings, build defenses and turn the asteroid into a fortress.

    2025ActionIndieSimulation6.99 USDSteam ↗
  4. Red Dust Colony

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #4 for The Alters fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries.

    The spirit of the space race lives on in this Mars based colony sim. Mine, craft and research in order to build up your initial lander into a self sustaining colony. Keep oxygen levels high and CO₂ levels low. Discover and grow a variety of plants to balance out colonist nutrition.

    SimulationSteam ↗
  5. Heng Rover Mission

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #5 for The Alters fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Build, launch, and survive. Design your own rover and automated robot workforce to conquer the harsh Martian climate, fulfill Mission Control directives, and uncover the secrets of the red planet in Heng Mar Mission.

    2027StrategyIndieAdventureSteam ↗
  6. AETHUS

    WHY THIS

    Shares base building and an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Ranked #6 for The Alters fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Explore a vast underground world to mine and craft hundreds of items while building up your modular Outpost on the surface, to prospect for gems, refine resources and farm hydroponic crops in this top-down sci-fi survival-crafter where the story always provides a reason to dig deeper.

    2026StrategyIndieAdventure19.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  7. Nightwater

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #7 for The Alters fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Forage, craft and automate to grow your factory, unlock new technologies and expand your island to discover new biomes. Progress through the ages from sticks and stones to the Bronze Age, the Industrial Era and into the future to uncover the secret of the Lighthouse and escape this reality.

    2026StrategyIndieAdventureSteam ↗
  8. Blossom: The Seed of Life

    WHY THIS

    Shares base building and an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Ranked #8 for The Alters fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Terraform a dead planet back to life in this open world survival crafting game. Explore ruins, gather resources, print machines, drive modular vehicles, grow forests, biomes, and ecosystems. Create life and make it thrive with your own hands.

    2026IndieAdventure13.59 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗

Reviewers mention these as similar to The Alters

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.

  1. Fallout Shelter

    WHY THIS

    Shares resource allocation with The Alters.

    Reviewers of The Alters cross-mention this title as a similar play.

    Fallout Shelter puts you in control of a state-of-the-art underground Vault from Vault-Tec. Build the perfect Vault, keep your Dwellers happy, and protect them from the dangers of the Wasteland.

    2017SimulationRPGFree To PlayFreeDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  2. This War of Mine

    WHY THIS

    Shares an emotional mood with The Alters.

    Reviewers of The Alters cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    In This War Of Mine you do not play as an elite soldier, rather a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city; struggling with lack of food, medicine and constant danger from snipers and hostile scavengers. The game provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle.

    2014IndieAdventureSimulation19.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  3. The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

    WHY THIS

    Reviewers of The Alters cross-mention this title as a similar play.

    The year is 1962 and the Cold War has the nation gripped by fear.  A top-secret government unit called The Bureau begins investigating a series of mysterious attacks by an enemy more powerful than communism.

    2013Action19.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  4. The Stanley Parable

    WHY THIS

    Shares an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Reviewers of The Alters cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    The Stanley Parable is a first person exploration game. You will play as Stanley, and you will not play as Stanley. You will follow a story, you will not follow a story. You will have a choice, you will have no choice. The game will end, the game will never end.

    2013IndieAdventure14.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  5. The Talos Principle

    WHY THIS

    Shares an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Reviewers of The Alters cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    The Talos Principle is a first-person puzzle game in the tradition of philosophical science fiction. Made by Croteam and written by Tom Jubert (FTL, The Swapper) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Sea Will Claim Everything).

    2014ActionIndieAdventure29.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  6. Subnautica

    WHY THIS

    Shares base building and an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Reviewers of The Alters cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.

    2018IndieAdventure29.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  7. Stellaris

    WHY THIS

    Shares an immersive mood with The Alters.

    Reviewers of The Alters cross-mention this title as a similar play.

    Explore a galaxy full of wonders in this sci-fi grand strategy game from Paradox Development Studios. Interact with diverse alien races, discover strange new worlds with unexpected events and expand the reach of your empire. Each new adventure holds almost limitless possibilities.

    2016StrategySimulation9.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  8. SOMA

    WHY THIS

    Shares an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Reviewers of The Alters cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    From the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent comes SOMA, a sci-fi horror game set below the waves of the Atlantic ocean. Struggle to survive a hostile world that will make you question your very existence.

    2015ActionIndieAdventure29.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗

Cheaper alternatives

Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below The Alters at current Steam store prices.

  1. Terraria

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~71% under The Alters on Steam right now. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Dig, fight, explore, build! Nothing is impossible in this action-packed adventure game. Four Pack also available!

    2011ActionIndieAdventure9.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  2. Lethal Company

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~71% under The Alters on Steam right now. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    A co-op horror about scavenging at abandoned moons to sell scrap to the Company.

    2023ActionIndieAdventure9.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  3. Hollow Knight

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~57% under The Alters on Steam right now. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.

    2017ActionIndieAdventure14.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  4. The Forest

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~43% under The Alters on Steam right now. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.

    2018ActionIndieAdventure19.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  5. Portal 2

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~71% under The Alters on Steam right now. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    The "Perpetual Testing Initiative" has been expanded to allow you to design co-op puzzles for you and your friends!

    2011ActionAdventure9.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  6. PEAK

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~77% under The Alters on Steam right now. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    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?

    2025ActionIndieAdventure7.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  7. Don't Starve Together

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~57% under The Alters on Steam right now. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Fight, Farm, Build and Explore Together in the standalone multiplayer expansion to the uncompromising wilderness survival game, Don't Starve.

    2016ActionStrategyIndie14.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  8. Inscryption

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~77% under The Alters on Steam right now. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Inscryption is an inky black card-based odyssey that blends the deckbuilding roguelike, escape-room style puzzles, and psychological horror into a blood-laced smoothie. Darker still are the secrets inscrybed upon the cards...

    2021StrategyIndieAdventure7.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗

Free alternatives

Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.

  1. 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 Alters.

    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.

    2015ActionAdventureFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  2. Ultimate Custom Night

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.

    Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, featuring 50 selectable characters and custom difficulties!

    2018ActionIndieFree To PlayFreeSteam ↗
  3. ENA: Dream BBQ

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    Experience surreal environments and inexplicable characters as ENA in a new wild world.

    2025IndieAdventureFreeDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  4. Indigo Park: Chapter 1

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    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.

    2024ActionIndieAdventureFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  5. The Looker

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.

    You wake up, alone, on a strangely familiar island full of puzzles that will frustrate and annoy you.

    2022IndieFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  6. UNBEATABLE [white label]

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    A young girl learns a song. An exclusive side-story set in the world of D-CELL GAMES' upcoming rhythm-adventure.

    2021ActionIndieAdventureFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  7. Star Fetchers

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    The introduction to a wild ride with gangsters and deep state conspiracy theories

    2020ActionIndieAdventureFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  8. The Lab

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.

    Welcome to The Lab, a compilation of Valve’s room-scale VR experiments set in a pocket universe within Aperture Science. Fix a robot, defend a castle, adopt a mechanical dog, and more. Still not sold? It’s free!

    2016Free To PlayFreeSteam ↗

More from 11 bit studios

Other recommendable Steam games by 11 bit studios, ranked by review count so the studio's hits land first.

  1. Frostpunk

    WHY THIS

    Shares moral decision making and an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Another title from 11 bit studios, the studio behind The Alters.

    Frostpunk is the first society survival game. As the ruler of the last city on Earth, it is your duty to manage both its citizens and infrastructure. What decisions will you make to ensure your society's survival? What will you do when pushed to breaking point? Who will you become in the process?

    2018StrategySimulation29.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  2. This War of Mine

    WHY THIS

    Shares an emotional mood with The Alters.

    Another title from 11 bit studios, the studio behind The Alters. Shares Adventure with The Alters.

    In This War Of Mine you do not play as an elite soldier, rather a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city; struggling with lack of food, medicine and constant danger from snipers and hostile scavengers. The game provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle.

    2014IndieAdventureSimulation19.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  3. Frostpunk 2

    WHY THIS

    Shares resource allocation and an immersive mood with The Alters.

    Another title from 11 bit studios, the studio behind The Alters.

    Develop, expand, and advance your city in a society survival game set 30 years after an apocalyptic blizzard ravaged Earth. In Frostpunk 2, you face not only the perils of never-ending winter, but also the powerful factions that watch your every step inside the Council Hall.

    2024StrategySimulation44.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  4. Anomaly: Warzone Earth

    WHY THIS

    Shares an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Another title from 11 bit studios, the studio behind The Alters.

    Lead an armored squad through the perils of this reversed tower defense action-strategy game!

    2011ActionStrategyIndie9.99 USDSteam ↗
  5. Anomaly 2

    WHY THIS

    Shares an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Another title from 11 bit studios, the studio behind The Alters.

    Anomaly 2 is a sequel to the critically acclaimed Anomaly Warzone Earth. Maintaining the core elements of the original, Anomaly 2 adds plenty of new features: unit morphing, over million tactical combinations, post-apo world and tower defense vs tower offense multiplayer mode.

    2013ActionStrategyIndie14.99 USDSteam ↗
  6. Anomaly Defenders

    WHY THIS

    Shares an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Another title from 11 bit studios, the studio behind The Alters.

    Anomaly Defenders is the closing installment of the Anomaly series. The original incarnation of the Tower Offense sub-genre had players controlling humans fighting alien invaders. Now, the tables have turned. The human counterattack is underway and the alien homeworld is under threat.

    2014ActionStrategyIndie9.99 USDSteam ↗
  7. Anomaly Korea

    WHY THIS

    Shares an atmospheric mood with The Alters.

    Another title from 11 bit studios, the studio behind The Alters.

    Exclusively brought to Steam for PC, Mac and Linux in Anomaly Bundle, Anomaly Korea is an expansion campaign to Anomaly Warzone Earth. The alien robots are back and this time they’ve got Korea in their sights. It’s your job to lead a squad into fierce fire-fights and fend off the alien invasion.

    2013ActionStrategy4.99 USDSteam ↗
  8. Anomaly Warzone Earth Mobile Campaign

    WHY THIS

    Shares an immersive mood with The Alters.

    Another title from 11 bit studios, the studio behind The Alters.

    Anomaly Warzone Earth Mobile Campaign continues Steam's Anomaly Warzone Earth in an extra 15-level campaign. Originally released on mobile devices, the campaign is brought to Steam for PC, Mac and Linux exclusively in Anomaly Bundle. AWE Mobile Campaign turns tower defense on its head.

    2013ActionStrategy4.99 USDSteam ↗

Frequently asked about The Alters

Is The Alters verified for Steam Deck?
Yes — The Alters 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 Alters cost?
The Alters is listed on Steam at 34.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
What games are most similar to The Alters?
Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside The Alters are Project Tomorrow, Airlock, Wreckborn.
Who developed The Alters?
The Alters was developed by 11 bit studios.

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 Alters.

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