Choose Mainland
Choose Mainland if you want a Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Mainland launched in 2015.
Mainland vs Love Mystery Club
Mainland and Love Mystery Club both land in Indie, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam. Mainland (2015) is 5 years older than Love Mystery Club (2020). Mainland scores higher on Steam reviews (80.8% positive) than Love Mystery Club (76.5% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Love Mystery Club
Choose Love Mystery Club if it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Love Mystery Club launched in 2020.
Both Mainland and Love Mystery Club sit in Indie and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Mainland |  Love Mystery Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2015 | 2020 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Free To Play | Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | 0.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 80.8% positive (146 reviews) | 76.5% positive (17 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Vasily Voronkov, Ryan Joseph, Peter Kosyh | GMatrix |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Mainland (2015) is 5 years older than Love Mystery Club (2020).
- Mainland scores higher on Steam reviews (80.8% positive) than Love Mystery Club (76.5% positive).
- Mainland is free; Love Mystery Club is paid (0.99 USD).
Mainland vs Love Mystery Club — FAQ
- Should I play Mainland or Love Mystery Club first?
- If you want chronology, Mainland (2015) came out before Love Mystery Club (2020). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Mainland and Love Mystery Club similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Is Mainland free?
- Yes — Mainland is a free-to-play Steam title. Love Mystery Club is paid (0.99 USD).