Single-player games like 1001 Spikes
Below are 18 single-player Steam games similar to 1001 Spikes, 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 1001 Spikes page.
Ranked picks
- 1
Downwell
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
Downwell is a curious game about a young person venturing down a well in search of untold treasures with only his Gunboots to protect him.
- 2
Cave Story+
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
Run, jump, shoot, fly and explore your way through a massive action-adventure reminiscent of classic 8- and 16-bit games.
- 3
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is the complete Shovel Knight collection, containing all 5 games in the epic saga! Dig, blast, slash, and bash your way through a fantastical, 8-bit inspired world of pixel-perfect platforming, memorable characters, and world-class action-adventure gameplay.
- 4
Castle In The Darkness
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
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!
- 5
Aeon Drive
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
Rush through the cyberpunk landscapes of Neo Barcelona in Aeon Drive, an action-platformer with a speedrunning twist! Whether solo or in up to 4 player co-op, sprint and dash through many areas of the neon-infused city - and use your time and space-bending abilities to get ahead.
- 6
Electronic Super Joy
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
Electronic Super Joy is a brutally hard platformer set in a world of pulse-pounding electronic music. Run, jump, smash & fly your way through 45+ weird & different levels, with low-gravity, world rotation, giant monsters & swarming missiles.
- 7
Jamestown
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
Jamestown: Legend Of The Lost Colony is a neo-classical top-down shooter for up to 4 players, set on 17th-century British Colonial Mars. It features all the intensity, depth, and lovingly handcrafted pixels of a classic arcade shooter, with a modern twist: deeply-integrated cooperative gameplay.
- 8
Spelunky 2
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
Spelunky 2 builds upon the unique, randomized challenges that made the original a roguelike classic, offering a huge adventure designed to satisfy players old and new. Meet the next generation of explorers as they find themselves on the Moon, searching for treasure and missing family.
- 9
Super Meat Boy
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie with 1001 Spikes.
The infamous, tough-as-nails platformer comes to Steam with a playable Head Crab character (Steam-exclusive)!
- 10
La-Mulana
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
LA-MULANA is an “Archaeological Ruin Exploration Action Game,” bringing the classic appeal of adventure with the punishing difficulty of retro-inspired gaming. Search inside ancient ruins, seeking out the “Secret Treasure of Life” – which sleeps in the sprawling ruins of “LA-MULANA” and is said to be the beginning of all civilization.
- 11
Spelunky
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie with 1001 Spikes.
Spelunky is a unique platformer with randomized levels that offer a challenging new experience each time you play. Journey deep underground and explore fantastic places filled with all manner of monsters, traps, and treasure.
- 12
Escape Goat
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
Escape Goat is a puzzle platformer where you take control of a goat, who has been imprisoned for witchcraft, and overcome traps and obstacles to escape the Prison of Agnus. Fear not, for with your supreme agility, sturdy horns, and the help of a magic mouse friend, you can turn the tables on foes and use the environment to your advantage.
- 13
Montezuma's Revenge
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Adventure with 1001 Spikes.
This is the official version of the 80's classic game Montezuma's Revenge rebooted by the original developer. It's the classic puzzle solving action adventure platformer you loved in your youth.
- 14
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with 1001 Spikes.
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.
- 15
NightSky
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie with 1001 Spikes.
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.
- 16
Crystal Crisis
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with 1001 Spikes.
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!
- 17
Save me Mr Tako: Tasukete Tako-San
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with 1001 Spikes.
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?
- 18
Cave Story's Secret Santa
Single-player alternative to 1001 Spikes — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with 1001 Spikes.
After Balrog recovers the Christmas presents that were stolen by Chaba, the cowardly Mimiga named Santa must sneak into every house and return the missing packages. Be the Mimiga Who Saves Christmas!