Games like Research Story
If Research Story is your kind of game, the closest matches are Moonstone Island, Littlewood and No Place Like Home — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its chill, cozy and relaxing. 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 →About Research Story: Set out to discover and record plants and creatures for the Violet Archive. Grow crops, tame animals, and build the perfect farm! Forge friendships along the way as you begin your life as a researcher!
Players who liked Research Story also play
Steam players who put hours into Research Story 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.
Moonstone Island
WHY THIS
Shares a cozy mood with Research Story.
Top pick for Research Story fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and RPG with Research Story.
Moonstone Island is a creature-collecting life-sim set in an open world with 100 islands to explore. Make friends, brew potions, collect Spirits, and test your strength in card-based encounters to complete your Alchemy training!
Littlewood
WHY THIS
Shares a cozy mood with Research Story.
Second-strongest match for Research Story fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
The world has already been saved. Now it's time to rebuild your town, learn new hobbies, and forge lifelong friendships in this peaceful and relaxing RPG.
No Place Like Home
WHY THIS
Shares a relaxing mood with Research Story.
Third-strongest match for Research Story fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Humanity Trashed the Earth and left for Mars. Only few remained. EXPLORE the world. Clean the environment, CRAFT with recycled resources. Domesticate animals. Rebuild your village. Restore environment and run your own post-apo FARM as there is No Place Like Home!
One Lonely Outpost
WHY THIS
Ranked #4 for Research Story fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
An alien world sometimes needs a farmer’s touch to bring it to life. In this sci-fi, colonization-life sim, terraform a barren world: turn wastelands into verdant landscapes while exploring, farming, building, and unlocking all the mysteries of this strange new planet.
Seeds of Calamity
WHY THIS
Shares a chill mood with Research Story.
Ranked #5 for Research Story fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Take part in healing after the Great Calamity. Tend your farm, complete quests for the villagers, and explore dungeons filled with challenge and treasure in this cozy, solo-developed farming sim. Build a new life in a recovering world with your fluffy Spellbook Companion.
Stardew Valley
WHY THIS
Shares a cozy mood with Research Story.
Ranked #6 for Research Story fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
You've inherited your grandfather's old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home?
Fields of Mistria
WHY THIS
Shares a cozy mood with Research Story.
Ranked #7 for Research Story fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Start your new life! Build the farm of your dreams as you discover a world brimming with possibilities. Magic, romance, and adventure all await you in this nostalgic farming / life sim RPG!
My Time at Portia
WHY THIS
Shares a cozy mood with Research Story.
Ranked #8 for Research Story fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Start a new life in the enchanting town of Portia! Restore your Pa's neglected workshop to its former glory by fulfilling commissions, growing crops, raising animals, and befriending the quirky inhabitants of this charming post-apocalyptic land!
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below Research Story at current Steam store prices.
Garry's Mod
WHY THIS
Priced ~67% under Research Story on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
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.
Vampire Survivors
WHY THIS
Priced ~67% under Research Story on Steam right now. Shares Indie and RPG with Research Story.
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 ~47% under Research Story on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Research Story.
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?
Slay the Spire
WHY THIS
Priced ~58% under Research Story on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Research Story.
We fused card games and roguelikes together to make the best single player deckbuilder we could. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and Slay the Spire!
Inscryption
WHY THIS
Priced ~47% under Research Story on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Research Story.
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...
Cookie Clicker
WHY THIS
Priced ~67% under Research Story on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
An idle game about making cookies! Originally released in 2013 on the web, and actively developed since then. This is the official version for Steam.
WEBFISHING
WHY THIS
Priced ~67% under Research Story on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Casual with Research Story.
WEBFISHING a multiplayer chatroom-focused fishing game! Relax and fish (on the web!)
Noita
WHY THIS
Priced ~47% under Research Story on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Noita is a magical action roguelite set in a world where every pixel is physically simulated. Fight, explore, melt, burn, freeze and evaporate your way through the procedurally generated world using spells you've created yourself.
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Bongo Cat
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Bongo cat needs your help. Bongo cat needz more hatz!!! Every time you press a key, Bongo cat will punch your taskbar. Type, click, play, work to collect more points. Which hats will you find?
Our Life: Beginnings & Always
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Casual with Research Story.
A twenty-dollar bill, four summers, fifteen years, and a one of a kind life. Create an experience that’s all your own in this near-fully customizable visual novel where you grow from childhood to adulthood with the lonely boy next door.
Travellin Cats in Paris
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Casual with Research Story.
Find 100 cats hidden in Paris, France in this cute hand-drawn hidden object game by Travellin Cats - the original viral hidden cat game creator!
Virtual Cottage
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Virtual Cottage gives you a comfy place to rest and be productive without any distractions. Open the game, set yourself a goal and enjoy the atmosphere.
Magic Archery
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Train a commoner to become the greatest archer in this short incremental game! Increase your stats, gather wealth from quests, buy upgrades, and infuse your arrows with magic.
Coloring Pixels
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Casual with Research Story.
A relaxing coloring by numbers game. Enjoy completing a variety of images with differing themes, complexity, and sizes.
Eternal Senia
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and RPG with Research Story.
Thoughts and expectations ARPG
Paper Lily - Chapter 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and RPG with Research Story.
Paper Lily is an RPG horror game in which you can solve puzzles in different ways. Explore a hidden world, meet strange characters, and guide Lacie as she attempts to find answers about her unusual condition.
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
Plays great on Steam Deck
Valve-Verified or Playable picks from the similar pool — ready to go on Deck out of the box.
Moonstone Island
WHY THIS
Shares a cozy mood with Research Story.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and RPG with Research Story.
Moonstone Island is a creature-collecting life-sim set in an open world with 100 islands to explore. Make friends, brew potions, collect Spirits, and test your strength in card-based encounters to complete your Alchemy training!
One Lonely Outpost
WHY THIS
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
An alien world sometimes needs a farmer’s touch to bring it to life. In this sci-fi, colonization-life sim, terraform a barren world: turn wastelands into verdant landscapes while exploring, farming, building, and unlocking all the mysteries of this strange new planet.
Seeds of Calamity
WHY THIS
Shares a chill mood with Research Story.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Take part in healing after the Great Calamity. Tend your farm, complete quests for the villagers, and explore dungeons filled with challenge and treasure in this cozy, solo-developed farming sim. Build a new life in a recovering world with your fluffy Spellbook Companion.
Stardew Valley
WHY THIS
Shares a cozy mood with Research Story.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
You've inherited your grandfather's old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home?
Fields of Mistria
WHY THIS
Shares a cozy mood with Research Story.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Simulation with Research Story.
Start your new life! Build the farm of your dreams as you discover a world brimming with possibilities. Magic, romance, and adventure all await you in this nostalgic farming / life sim RPG!
Frequently asked about Research Story
- Is Research Story verified for Steam Deck?
- Yes — Research Story 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 Research Story cost?
- Research Story is listed on Steam at 14.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- What games are most similar to Research Story?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Research Story are Moonstone Island, Littlewood, No Place Like Home.
- Who developed Research Story?
- Research Story was developed by Petal Cat Games and published by Petal Cat Games, Electronic Sheep Games.
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 Research Story.
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