Games like Journal
If Journal is your kind of game, the closest matches are Solis, Gone Home and One Night Stand — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its atmospheric, contemplative and melancholic. 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 Journal: Enter the pages of the hand painted world of Journal. A journey through the life of a young and troubled girl as she tries to face up to the choices and responsibilities that come with childhood. An experience that questions the reliability of how we choose to remember events and explores the truths hidden within our dreams.
Players who liked Journal also play
Steam players who put hours into Journal 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.
Solis
WHY THIS
Top pick for Journal fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
Solis a hand drawn adventure. The city of Solis never sleeps — and tonight, neither will you. Elixer, the company you've dedicated yourself to, has gathered its people for an end-of-year celebration with a staggering promise at its heart: eternal life.
Gone Home
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Second-strongest match for Journal fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
June 7th, 1995. 1:15 AM. You arrive home after a year abroad. You expect your family to greet you, but the house is empty. Something's not right. Where is everyone? And what's happened here? Unravel the mystery for yourself in Gone Home, a story exploration game from The Fullbright Company.
One Night Stand
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Third-strongest match for Journal fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
After a night of fun, passion, and one too many drinks, you wake up the next morning to find a complete stranger lying naked beside you in bed. What do you do?
Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Ranked #4 for Journal fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
A short psychological adventure about a stressed girl who wants to explore her ceiling.
Pine: A Story of Loss
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Ranked #5 for Journal fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
Alone in the forest glade he shared with his wife, a woodworker struggles to accept her passing. Help him hold on to cherished memories of their life together as he struggles to care for himself and his now empty home. Pine is a single-serving game focused on telling a beautiful, emotional tale.
A Mortician's Tale
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Ranked #6 for Journal fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie with Journal.
A Mortician's Tale is a short, story-driven game about a mortician tasked with running a funeral home.
OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Ranked #7 for Journal fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
Echo of Starsong is a visual novel style adventure game. Eda, a girl who can hear mysterious sound waves known as starsong, crosses paths with a young man in search of their source. Together, they venture out to the heart of space to unravel an ancient myth.
Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island
WHY THIS
Ranked #8 for Journal fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
You're a detective, and a frog, and it's time to solve a mystery.
Reviewers mention these as similar to Journal
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.
the white chamber
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Journal cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with Journal.
Sci-fi horror anime point and click adventure game. Guide a young woman through a nightmarish space station as she tries to uncover why she's there and how she can escape.
To the Moon
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Reviewers of Journal cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
A story-driven experience about two doctors traversing backwards through a dying man's memories to artificially fulfill his last wish.
Gone Home
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Reviewers of Journal cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
June 7th, 1995. 1:15 AM. You arrive home after a year abroad. You expect your family to greet you, but the house is empty. Something's not right. Where is everyone? And what's happened here? Unravel the mystery for yourself in Gone Home, a story exploration game from The Fullbright Company.
Life is Strange Remastered
WHY THIS
Shares a melancholic mood with Journal.
Reviewers of Journal cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with Journal.
Experience the BAFTA award-winning story of Life is Strange now beautifully remastered with enhanced visuals and vastly improved animation using mocap technology.
Omikron: The Nomad Soul
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Reviewers of Journal cross-mention this title as a similar play.
"I have many things to tell you and very little time… I come from a universe parallel to yours. My world is desperately in need of your help. Only YOU can save us."Responding to the desperate pleas of a mysterious character from another dimension, your soul must enter the dark and futuristic city of Omikron.
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Journal cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
The last game in the episodic Sam & Max trilogy, beautifully remastered! As the intergalactic villains who seek the Devil’s Toybox close in and Max’s psychic abilities grow beyond his control, the Freelance Police will come up against their most frightening adversary yet: the power of Max’s mind.
Minecraft: Story Mode - A Telltale Games Series
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Journal cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with Journal.
Episode 1 is now FREE - for a limited time! In Minecraft: Story Mode, playing as either a male or female hero named 'Jesse,' you’ll embark on a perilous adventure across the Overworld, through the Nether, to the End, and beyond.
Close Your Eyes
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Reviewers of Journal cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
An anthology of 7 horror tales within a connected universe. Join a murderous marshmallow bound by their past down an atmospheric descent, brought into question by an odd game show host. Follow a Witch trying to seduce her love with sweet things. Plus 5 other surprisingly twisted yet emotional tales.
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below Journal at current Steam store prices.
Garry's Mod
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under Journal on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Journal.
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 ~50% under Journal on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Journal.
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!
Cookie Clicker
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under Journal on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Journal.
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 ~50% under Journal on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Journal.
WEBFISHING a multiplayer chatroom-focused fishing game! Relax and fish (on the web!)
POSTAL 2
WHY THIS
Priced ~90% under Journal on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
Live a week in the life of "The POSTAL Dude"; a hapless everyman just trying to check off some chores. Buying milk, returning an overdue library book, getting Gary Coleman's autograph, what could possibly go wrong?
Buckshot Roulette
WHY THIS
Priced ~70% under Journal on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Journal.
Play Russian roulette with a 12-gauge shotgun. Four enter. One leaves. Roll the dice with your life. Good luck!
Brotato
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under Journal on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Journal.
Brotato is a top-down arena shooter roguelite where you play a potato wielding up to 6 weapons at a time to fight off hordes of aliens. Choose from a variety of traits and items to create unique builds and survive until help arrives.
Your Only Move Is HUSTLE
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under Journal on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Journal.
Master your technique, execute flashy combos, and outsmart opponents across the world, frame-by-frame. Slow down the clock to fine-tune your fighting style in this innovative, turn-based combat simulator. Pulverize your friends and choreograph spectacular fight scenes. No training mode required.
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Doki Doki Literature Club!
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with Journal.
The Literature Club is full of cute girls! Will you write the way into their heart? This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.
Life is Strange - Episode 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Adventure with Journal.
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.
Ultimate Custom Night
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with Journal.
Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, featuring 50 selectable characters and custom difficulties!
Bongo Cat
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with Journal.
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?
ENA: Dream BBQ
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
Experience surreal environments and inexplicable characters as ENA in a new wild world.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with Journal.
Sonic the Hedgehog...was murdered!? Get to the bottom of the mystery in this brand-new adventure!
Indigo Park: Chapter 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
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.
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
More from Locked Door Puzzle
Other recommendable Steam games by Locked Door Puzzle, ranked by review count so the studio's hits land first.
Kairo
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Another title from Locked Door Puzzle, the studio behind Journal. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
Enter the lost world of Kairo. Explore vast abandoned monuments. Bring strange and ancient machinery back to life. Slowly uncover the true purpose of Kairo and fulfil a great destiny.Kairo is an atmospheric 3D exploration and puzzle solving game.
the white chamber
WHY THIS
Another title from Locked Door Puzzle, the studio behind Journal. Shares Adventure with Journal.
Sci-fi horror anime point and click adventure game. Guide a young woman through a nightmarish space station as she tries to uncover why she's there and how she can escape.
Cosplay Maker
WHY THIS
Shares a contemplative mood with Journal.
Another title from Locked Door Puzzle, the studio behind Journal. Shares Indie with Journal.
A cosplay management and dating simulation.
Plays great on Steam Deck
Valve-Verified or Playable picks from the similar pool — ready to go on Deck out of the box.
Gone Home
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
June 7th, 1995. 1:15 AM. You arrive home after a year abroad. You expect your family to greet you, but the house is empty. Something's not right. Where is everyone? And what's happened here? Unravel the mystery for yourself in Gone Home, a story exploration game from The Fullbright Company.
Pine: A Story of Loss
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
Alone in the forest glade he shared with his wife, a woodworker struggles to accept her passing. Help him hold on to cherished memories of their life together as he struggles to care for himself and his now empty home. Pine is a single-serving game focused on telling a beautiful, emotional tale.
OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Journal.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
Echo of Starsong is a visual novel style adventure game. Eda, a girl who can hear mysterious sound waves known as starsong, crosses paths with a young man in search of their source. Together, they venture out to the heart of space to unravel an ancient myth.
Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island
WHY THIS
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Adventure with Journal.
You're a detective, and a frog, and it's time to solve a mystery.
Frequently asked about Journal
- How much does Journal cost?
- Journal is listed on Steam at 9.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- What games are most similar to Journal?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Journal are Solis, Gone Home, One Night Stand.
- Who developed Journal?
- Journal was developed by Locked Door Puzzle and published by Lupus Studios Limited.
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 Journal.
For library-aware picks tuned to your specific taste, sign in with Steam on the home page.