Games like The Long Dark
If The Long Dark is your kind of game, the closest matches are The Forest, Don't Starve Together and Project Zomboid — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its atmospheric, contemplative and immersive. 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 →The Long Dark is a survival simulation developed by Hinterland Studio Inc. and released in 2017 at $19.99 USD. Players navigate a frozen post-disaster wilderness where death is permanent and resources are scarce, requiring careful temperature management, navigation by memory, crafting, and wildlife avoidance to survive. Reviewers describe the handcrafted world as alive and reactive, while players characterize it as atmospheric, contemplative, and immersive despite the inherent stress of survival mechanics. The experience offers replayability through endless survival challenges, with some describing how mastering survival transforms it into a cozy escape and how elements like the soundscape of fire and cooking become hypnotic. The game runs Verified on Steam Deck and holds an 88% positive rating from over 40,000 Steam reviews.
About The Long Dark: THE LONG DARK is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.
Players who liked The Long Dark also play
Steam players who put hours into The Long Dark 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.
The Forest
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Top pick for The Long Dark fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.
Don't Starve Together
WHY THIS
Shares resource scarcity and a stressful mood with The Long Dark.
Second-strongest match for The Long Dark fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with The Long Dark.
Fight, Farm, Build and Explore Together in the standalone multiplayer expansion to the uncompromising wilderness survival game, Don't Starve.
Project Zomboid
WHY THIS
Shares crafting and a stressful mood with The Long Dark.
Third-strongest match for The Long Dark fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Long Dark.
Project Zomboid is the ultimate in zombie survival. Alone or in MP: you loot, build, craft, fight, farm and fish in a struggle to survive. A hardcore RPG skillset, a vast map, massively customisable sandbox and a cute tutorial raccoon await the unwary. So how will you die? All it takes is a bite..
Subnautica
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Ranked #4 for The Long Dark fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.
Don't Starve
WHY THIS
Shares resource scarcity and an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Ranked #5 for The Long Dark fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
Don’t Starve is an uncompromising wilderness survival game full of science and magic. Enter a strange and unexplored world full of strange creatures, dangers, and surprises. Gather resources to craft items and structures that match your survival style.
7 Days to Die
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Ranked #6 for The Long Dark fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with The Long Dark.
7 Days to Die is an open-world game that is a unique combination of first-person shooter, survival horror, tower defense, and role-playing games. Play the definitive zombie survival sandbox RPG that came first. Navezgane awaits!
Green Hell
WHY THIS
Shares a stressful mood with The Long Dark.
Ranked #7 for The Long Dark fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
Plunge into the open-world survival simulation set in the extreme conditions of the uncharted Amazon jungle. Use real-life survival techniques to craft, hunt, fight, and gather resources, set a makeshift shelter, or raise a fortress. Survive alone or team up with your friends and challenge the jungle together.
Satisfactory
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with The Long Dark.
Ranked #8 for The Long Dark fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with The Long Dark.
Satisfactory is a first-person open-world factory building game with a dash of exploration and combat. Play alone or with friends, explore an alien planet, create multi-story factories, and enter conveyor belt heaven!
Reviewers mention these as similar to The Long Dark
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 Forest
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Reviewers of The Long Dark cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.
Subnautica
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Reviewers of The Long Dark cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.
Don't Starve
WHY THIS
Shares resource scarcity and an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Reviewers of The Long Dark cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
Don’t Starve is an uncompromising wilderness survival game full of science and magic. Enter a strange and unexplored world full of strange creatures, dangers, and surprises. Gather resources to craft items and structures that match your survival style.
Kenshi
WHY THIS
Reviewers of The Long Dark cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Strategy and Indie with The Long Dark.
A free-roaming squad based RPG. Focusing on open-ended sandbox gameplay features rather than a linear story. Be a trader, a thief, a rebel, a warlord, an adventurer, a farmer, a slave, or just food for the cannibals. Train your men up from puny victims to master warriors.
Green Hell
WHY THIS
Shares a stressful mood with The Long Dark.
Reviewers of The Long Dark cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
Plunge into the open-world survival simulation set in the extreme conditions of the uncharted Amazon jungle. Use real-life survival techniques to craft, hunt, fight, and gather resources, set a makeshift shelter, or raise a fortress. Survive alone or team up with your friends and challenge the jungle together.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with The Long Dark.
Reviewers of The Long Dark cross-mention this title as a similar play.
EPIC FANTASY REBORN The next chapter in the highly anticipated Elder Scrolls saga arrives from the makers of the 2006 and 2008 Games of the Year, Bethesda Game Studios. Skyrim reimagines and revolutionizes the open-world fantasy epic, bringing to life a complete virtual world open for you to explore any way you choose.
The Walking Dead
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Reviewers of The Long Dark cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with The Long Dark.
A five-part adventure horror series set in the same universe as Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book series.
Project Zomboid
WHY THIS
Shares crafting and a stressful mood with The Long Dark.
Reviewers of The Long Dark cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Long Dark.
Project Zomboid is the ultimate in zombie survival. Alone or in MP: you loot, build, craft, fight, farm and fish in a struggle to survive. A hardcore RPG skillset, a vast map, massively customisable sandbox and a cute tutorial raccoon await the unwary. So how will you die? All it takes is a bite..
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below The Long Dark at current Steam store prices.
Garry's Mod
WHY THIS
Priced ~75% under The Long Dark on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Long Dark.
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.
Lethal Company
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under The Long Dark on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
A co-op horror about scavenging at abandoned moons to sell scrap to the Company.
People Playground
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under The Long Dark on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Long Dark.
Shoot, stab, burn, poison, tear, vaporise, or crush ragdolls in a large open space.
Vampire Survivors
WHY THIS
Priced ~75% under The Long Dark on Steam right now. Shares Indie with The Long Dark.
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 ~60% under The Long Dark on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
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?
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 The Long Dark.
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 The Long Dark.
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 The Long Dark.
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 and Simulation with The Long Dark.
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 The Long Dark.
Experience surreal environments and inexplicable characters as ENA in a new wild world.
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 The Long Dark.
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.
The Looker
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with The Long Dark.
You wake up, alone, on a strangely familiar island full of puzzles that will frustrate and annoy you.
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.
Don't Starve Together
WHY THIS
Shares resource scarcity and a stressful mood with The Long Dark.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Strategy and Indie with The Long Dark.
Fight, Farm, Build and Explore Together in the standalone multiplayer expansion to the uncompromising wilderness survival game, Don't Starve.
Project Zomboid
WHY THIS
Shares crafting and a stressful mood with The Long Dark.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Long Dark.
Project Zomboid is the ultimate in zombie survival. Alone or in MP: you loot, build, craft, fight, farm and fish in a struggle to survive. A hardcore RPG skillset, a vast map, massively customisable sandbox and a cute tutorial raccoon await the unwary. So how will you die? All it takes is a bite..
Subnautica
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.
7 Days to Die
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Long Dark.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Strategy and Indie with The Long Dark.
7 Days to Die is an open-world game that is a unique combination of first-person shooter, survival horror, tower defense, and role-playing games. Play the definitive zombie survival sandbox RPG that came first. Navezgane awaits!
Green Hell
WHY THIS
Shares a stressful mood with The Long Dark.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Long Dark.
Plunge into the open-world survival simulation set in the extreme conditions of the uncharted Amazon jungle. Use real-life survival techniques to craft, hunt, fight, and gather resources, set a makeshift shelter, or raise a fortress. Survive alone or team up with your friends and challenge the jungle together.
Satisfactory
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with The Long Dark.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Strategy and Indie with The Long Dark.
Satisfactory is a first-person open-world factory building game with a dash of exploration and combat. Play alone or with friends, explore an alien planet, create multi-story factories, and enter conveyor belt heaven!
Frequently asked about The Long Dark
- Is The Long Dark verified for Steam Deck?
- Yes — The Long Dark 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 The Long Dark cost?
- The Long Dark is listed on Steam at 19.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- What games are most similar to The Long Dark?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside The Long Dark are The Forest, Don't Starve Together, Project Zomboid.
- Who developed The Long Dark?
- The Long Dark was developed by Hinterland Studio Inc..
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 The Long Dark.
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