Single-player games like Cave Story's Secret Santa
Below are 15 single-player Steam games similar to Cave Story's Secret Santa, ranked by player overlap. Every pick carries Steam's Single-player category, so multiplayer-only titles or always-online games don't sneak in. imho.run pulls the category data from Steam directly — Single-player here matches what the store labels.
Want the full alternatives list (paid + free + Steam Deck + cheaper picks)? See the parent games like Cave Story's Secret Santa page.
Ranked picks
- 1
SuperDuck!
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
Explore levels, create paths for the ducklings to reach the exit and save them from being stranded in this puzzle platformer.
- 2
Bad Cat
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
There are many different burgers in the world: a bacon burger, a chicken burger, a royal burger. But there is also a cat named Burger, and this guy is definitely too tough for you.
- 3
Bananaguy
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
Bananguy returns for a new epic adventure! Collect "Power Coins" and explore goofy worlds in the ultimate search for the legendary golden banana!
- 4
Chicken Journey
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
Play as an adorable chicken in this relaxing platformer. Jump, climb and solve puzzles to find the answer to the ULTIMATE question a chicken can ask...
- 5
Asleep: Act 1
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
Immersed in her nightmares, in a chaotic reality, confused and all alone. The only safe place is her room, but not forever... She wanders through an empty city and strange places while fleeing from creatures lurking in the darkness to find out what's going on. You are in the skin of Ana Lúcia.
- 6
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
El Hijo is an exciting spaghetti-western stealth game, in which you guide a 6-year-old boy on his quest to find his mother.
- 7
Lucius Demake
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
Lucius game has been demade, and is now ready for mayhem. Enjoy all the gore now in fewer pixels and fewer colors. The original game has been fully demade to achieve the atmosphere of an 80's style gory adventure. Lucius is now killing all the pixels and there isn't a damn thing anyone can do about it.
- 8
FoxTail
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
FoxTail is a classic quest inspired by the mid-90s games. Complex quests and freedom in solving them, an interesting plot, beautiful graphics and, of course, an atmosphere of mystery and adventure.
- 9
Cave Story+
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
Run, jump, shoot, fly and explore your way through a massive action-adventure reminiscent of classic 8- and 16-bit games.
- 10
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a randomly generated action RPG shooter with heavy Rogue-like elements. Following Isaac on his journey players will find bizarre treasures that change Isaac’s form giving him super human abilities and enabling him to fight off droves of mysterious creatures, discover secrets and fight his way to safety.
- 11
Castle In The Darkness
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
Castle In The Darkness is a fun and challenging shout out to the early days of video games! It's an action exploration platformer with some RPG elements, much like games from the Castlevania or Metroid series. It's super fast-paced, challenging, and full of secrets!
- 12
1001 Spikes
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
Discover the lost treasures of Ukampa in South America as Aban Hawkins searches for his estranged father, world-famous archeaologist, Jim Hawkins. Aban Hawkins races into the frozen tundra of the antarctic, undiscovered temple ruins and the vast caverns of South America in search of his father and the legendary treasure rumored to lie...
- 13
NightSky
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required.
Nominated as a IGF Seamus McNally Finalist, NightSky is an ambient action-puzzle game that offers a gameplay experience unlike any other—cerebral challenges fill uniquely designed picturesque worlds. The player must maneuver a sphere by using realistic physics to advance; each of these worlds is broken into different areas.
- 14
Crystal Crisis
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required.
An all-star cast of heroes has gathered to test their mettle in this cute and chaotic new color-matching ONLINE combat game! Crystal Crisis is presented like a fighting game, but players attack by arranging falling crystals and clearing them from the screen. It’s the ultimate Online puzzle battle throwdown!
- 15
Save me Mr Tako: Tasukete Tako-San
Single-player alternative to Cave Story's Secret Santa — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with Cave Story's Secret Santa.
A Blast From the Portable-Gaming Past! Mr Tako will solve puzzles, explore mysterious dungeons and fight tenacious bosses on his mission to end the war between the octopus kingdom and the human world. Will you help this brave octopus to spread his message of tolerance and unity?