Single-player games like Headlander
Below are 16 single-player Steam games similar to Headlander, 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 Headlander page.
Ranked picks
- 1

BLACKHOLE
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
BLACKHOLE is an award-winning hardcore platformer with over 15 hours of story-driven sci-fi comedy and gravity-twisting puzzles. Complete Edition out now!
- 2

PSYCRON
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
A fast-paced 2D handcrafted metroidvania with strange sci-fi environments. Something is roaming the halls, watching your every move.
- 3

Spectacular Sparky
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
A throwback to the golden age of white-gloved 16-bit video-game mascots, Spectacular Sparky is an action-packed platformer with wacky characters, explosive weapons and boss battles to treasure!
- 4

Shadow Complex Remastered
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
ChAIR’s fresh twist on classic side-scrolling design with modern gameplay is amplified in Shadow Complex Remastered. 10+ hrs of exploration and fast-paced combat from award-winning original game, updated with graphical enhancements, dynamic melee take-downs, and new Master Challenges.
- 5

Dex
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
Dex is a 2D, side-scrolling, open-world cyberpunk RPG with a focus on exploration and non-linear gameplay.
- 6

Apotheon
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
Apotheon is a heroic action game set within the vibrant world of Ancient Greek Mythology. Ascend Mount Olympus, wrestle the divine powers from the Pantheon of Gods, and save mankind.
- 7

Axiom Verge
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
Explore and uncover the mystery of a surreal alien world by blasting aliens and glitching your environment in this intense retro side-scrolling action/adventure.
- 8

Gato Roboto
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
Pounce inside of your cozy armored mech and set off on a dangerous trek through an alien underworld full of irritable creatures and treacherous obstacles in a valiant effort to save your stranded captain and his crashed spaceship.
- 9

Psychonauts
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
A Psychic Odyssey Through the Minds of Misfits, Monsters, and Madmen. This classic action/adventure platformer from acclaimed developers Double Fine Productions follows the story of a young psychic named Razputin.
- 10

Psychonauts 2
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
Combining quirky missions and mysterious conspiracies, Psychonauts 2 is a platform-adventure game with cinematic style and tons of customizable psychic powers.
- 11

Brutal Legend
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Headlander.
Brütal Legend is an action-adventure that marries visceral action combat with open-world freedom. Set in a universe somewhere between Lord of the Rings and Spinal Tap, it’s a fresh take on the action/driving genre, which in this case is full of imitation cover bands, demons intent on enslaving humanity and Heavy metal tunes.
- 12

Grim Fandango Remastered
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required.
One of the most acclaimed adventure games of all time is now back, better than ever. Grim Fandango Remastered has the all the beautiful art and engaging story fans remember, but has also been remastered to look, sound, and control even better than the award-winning original release.
- 13

Broken Age
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required.
A family friendly, hand-animated, puzzle-filled adventure game with an all-star cast, including Elijah Wood, Jack Black and Masasa Moyo. Funded by a record breaking crowdfunding campaign and designed by industry legend Tim Schafer, Broken Age is a timeless coming-of-age story.
- 14

Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required.
Originally released by LucasArts in 1993 as a sequel to Ron Gilbert’s ground breaking Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle is back in a remastered edition that features all new hand-drawn, high resolution artwork, with remastered audio, music and sound effects.
- 15

Spacebase DF-9
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required.
In Spacebase DF-9, you'll build a home among the stars for a motley population of humans and aliens as they go about their daily lives. Mine asteroids, discover derelicts, and deal with the tribulations of galactic resettlement in Earth's distant future.
- 16

Costume Quest
Single-player alternative to Headlander — playable solo, no multiplayer required.
A Halloween adventure from Tim Schafer's Double Fine Productions.