Single-player games like The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island
Below are 8 single-player Steam games similar to The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island, 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 The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island page.
Ranked picks
- 1

Cliché Adventure
Single-player alternative to The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island.
Cliché Adventure is an open world top down adventure game. It can be played as single player, or with a friend. The game has five unique regions joined by a hub world. Each area contains an over world, a cave system, and a temple to explore. There are Six main boss fights, and twenty mini bosses.
- 2

Minecraft Dungeons
Single-player alternative to The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Adventure with The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island.
Fight your way through an exciting action-adventure game, inspired by classic dungeon crawlers and set in the Minecraft universe!
- 3

9th Dawn Remake
Single-player alternative to The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Adventure with The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island.
Rediscover the magic of the 9th Dawn series with this complete re-imagining of the original game. Venture into a massive 2.5D open world. Explore 45 new dungeons in single-player or online/local co-op, craft weapons, raise pets, play a deck-building card game, and take down the Castle of Maltyr!
- 4

God's Trigger
Single-player alternative to The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island.
Slay enemies with speed and precision in an over-the-top show of blood and explosions. Play solo or with others, make split-second decisions, dodge bullets, and use weapons and abilities to inflict violence in the most graphic way possible.
- 5

Absolum
Single-player alternative to The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island.
Fight as the outcast heroes of Talamh in a fierce battle to retake magic from Sun King Azra’s grasp in Absolum, an original roguelite beat ‘em up by Dotemu.
- 6

Hammerwatch
Single-player alternative to The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island.
A hack and slash action adventure, set in a fantasy pixel art environment. Play solo or co-op in this adventure from bottom to top of Castle Hammerwatch. Kill hordes of enemies with varied looks and features through four unique environments with traps, hidden secrets and puzzles.
- 7

The Last Friend
Single-player alternative to The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island.
Doggone tired of the typical brawler or tower defense that is all bark and no bite? Then join Alpha and T. Juan on a dynamic adventure that has you battling hordes of baddies and bosses on their mission to save all the Doggos!
- 8

Hyper Light Drifter
Single-player alternative to The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with The Rusty Sword: Vanguard Island.
Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with dangers and lost technologies.