Games like Criterion
If Criterion is your kind of game, the closest matches are Hexograph, BallsyDrop and SCOPECREEP — picked from the ranked list below. 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 Criterion: Criterion is a space optimisation puzzle game about designing efficient solutions under constraint. Process the color fluxes. Control their strength. Solve increasingly complex networks where every tile matters. There is always a solution, the question is how elegant yours will be.
Players who liked Criterion also play
Steam players who put hours into Criterion 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.
Hexograph
WHY THIS
Top pick for Criterion fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with Criterion.
Hexograph is a hexagonal twist on nonogram puzzles. Use logic to solve handcrafted multi-color grids, read clues across three directions, untangle special hint rules, and reveal colorful hidden pictures.
BallsyDrop
WHY THIS
Second-strongest match for Criterion fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with Criterion.
Do you like causing chain reactions? BallsyDrop is a satisfying physics puzzler where one perfectly placed ball can set off massive chain reactions. Navigate through various levels with teleporters, blockades and score extra points with the timed balls!
SCOPECREEP
WHY THIS
Third-strongest match for Criterion fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Casual with Criterion.
A whispering flame craves souls. With each offering, your resolve strengthens. Fight spirits, collect their essences, and feed a hunger that may never subside in this short active incremental.
Numble
WHY THIS
Ranked #4 for Criterion fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with Criterion.
Numble takes the classic concept of Wordle and gives it a twist. This time it’s not about letters, but about cracking secret number codes.
AntiMatcher
WHY THIS
Ranked #5 for Criterion fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Casual with Criterion.
Merge, pop, burst and... annihilate?! Play with bubbles and antibubbles to discover their strange properties in this abstract puzzle game.
Flecto
WHY THIS
Ranked #6 for Criterion fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Casual with Criterion.
Flecto is a puzzle game where you place blocks in order to deflect bullets and shatter targets. Strategically use your tiles to split bullets, bounce them around each level, and destroy every target.
Tranquil Isle
WHY THIS
Ranked #7 for Criterion fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with Criterion.
Tranquil Isle is a lo-fi strategic townbuilder. Create cozy little settlements on the sun-kissed shores of your very own island paradise.
All Lanes Must Exit
WHY THIS
Ranked #8 for Criterion fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Casual with Criterion.
Build a highway interchange to connect all the roads. Don't go over-budget and don't have traffic jams. Can you complete all the levels? Yes, easily, it's not a particularly demanding game.
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Ultimate Custom Night
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with Criterion.
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 Criterion.
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?
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Casual with Criterion.
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 with Criterion.
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.
missed messages.
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Casual with Criterion.
‘goth gf’s iPhone’ airdrops you - accept or decline? A love/horror story about life, death, & memes.
NGU IDLE
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with Criterion.
NGU Idle is a Free To Play Idle game that's full of weird humor, tons of upgrades and hundreds of hours of content! Try out NGU Idle today and experience the joy of Numbers Going Up!
Travellin Cats in Paris
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Casual with Criterion.
Find 100 cats hidden in Paris, France in this cute hand-drawn hidden object game by Travellin Cats - the original viral hidden cat game creator!
Virtual Cottage
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Casual with Criterion.
Virtual Cottage gives you a comfy place to rest and be productive without any distractions. Open the game, set yourself a goal and enjoy the atmosphere.
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
Frequently asked about Criterion
- What games are most similar to Criterion?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Criterion are Hexograph, BallsyDrop, SCOPECREEP.
- Who developed Criterion?
- Criterion was developed by Nouille Studio and published by The Bueno Interactive.
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 Criterion.
For library-aware picks tuned to your specific taste, sign in with Steam on the home page.