IMHO.

Games like The Cradle of Life

If The Cradle of Life is your kind of game, the closest matches are Crystals of Power, Primus Numen and Dark Deity 2 — 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.

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About The Cradle of Life: A brutal turn-based tactical RPG where you fight on a grid, manage hunger and sanity, and uncover a world breaking apart. Your choices are permanent and the gods are always watching. Who will you serve?

RPGWindows · macOSby Garrett Mickelsen
The Cradle of Life — Steam game cover

Players who liked The Cradle of Life also play

Steam players who put hours into The Cradle of Life 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.

  1. Crystals of Power

    WHY THIS

    Top pick for The Cradle of Life fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries.

    The crystals hold the power to save Elicion—or destroy it. The choice lies in your hands.

    2025ActionStrategyIndie2.99 USDSteam ↗
  2. Primus Numen

    WHY THIS

    Second-strongest match for The Cradle of Life fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    A dark fantasy tactical RPG where you can combine classes and join together to unleash an evolving Nexus Beast.

    StrategyIndieRPGSteam ↗
  3. Dark Deity 2

    WHY THIS

    Third-strongest match for The Cradle of Life fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Verroa is a peaceful continent on the brink of war as the Asverellian Empire seeks to expand - at your homeland’s expense. Command unlikely heroes, fight challenging turn-based battles, and watch hardship forge iron into steel. Dark Deity is back, bigger and better than before!

    2025StrategyIndieAdventure24.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  4. TROUBLESHOOTER: Abandoned Children

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #4 for The Cradle of Life fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    TROUBLESHOOTER: Abandoned Children is the first season of a turn-based strategy SRPG that takes place in the world of Troubleshooter.

    2020StrategyIndieRPG24.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  5. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #5 for The Cradle of Life fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Lead the members of Expedition 33 on their quest to destroy the Paintress so that she can never paint death again. Explore a world of wonders inspired by Belle Époque France and battle unique enemies in this turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics.

    2025ActionRPG49.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  6. Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #6 for The Cradle of Life fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Enter Tahnra, a land savaged by war. You, a fresh academy graduate with humble beginnings, will grow to lead a grand army against a corrupt adversary. Gather heroes, form bonds, and lead your force in turn-based battles. Make use of tactics, terrain, morale and more to bring peace to the land!

    2022StrategyIndieAdventure19.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  7. Dark Deity

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #7 for The Cradle of Life fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Step into the world of Terrazael and lead soon-to-be legendary heroes in a quest to restore a land fractured by broken oaths, reckless wars, and untamed magic. Fight back in turn-based battles, manage character relationships, collect dangerous artifacts, and hopefully restore the world...

    2021StrategyIndieAdventure24.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  8. Kingsvein

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #8 for The Cradle of Life fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Explore and reclaim the infested castle-city of Kingsvein! Ride into its depths on your trusty wyvern, and lead your customizable party of Knights and Mystics in deep tactical combat.

    2024StrategyIndieAdventure19.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗

Free alternatives

Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.

  1. Ultimate Custom Night

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.

    Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, featuring 50 selectable characters and custom difficulties!

    2018ActionIndieFree To PlayFreeSteam ↗
  2. Grimm's Hollow

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    A spooky, freeware RPG where you search the afterlife for your brother. Reap ghosts with your scythe, explore haunted caves, and eat ghostly treats on your journey through death.

    2019IndieAdventureRPGFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  3. Star Fetchers

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.

    The introduction to a wild ride with gangsters and deep state conspiracy theories

    2020ActionIndieAdventureFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  4. Eternal Senia

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Thoughts and expectations ARPG

    2015ActionIndieRPGFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  5. Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.

    Face unspeakable horrors. Succumb to madness. Welcome to a free daemonic narrative experience inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.

    2021IndieAdventureFree To PlayFreeDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  6. Disfigure

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.

    Disfigure is a grim-dark action rogue-like where you battle relentless hordes of monsters lurking in the shadows. Unlock powerful weapons, craft god-like builds with hundreds of upgrades, slay colossal bosses, and push your limits in intense 20–30 minute survival runs!

    2023ActionIndieFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  7. Paper Lily - Chapter 1

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Paper Lily is an RPG horror game in which you can solve puzzles in different ways. Explore a hidden world, meet strange characters, and guide Lacie as she attempts to find answers about her unusual condition.

    2024IndieAdventureRPGFreeDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  8. Z.A.T.O. // I Love the World and Everything In It

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.

    USSR, 1986. A girl goes missing in the closed city of Vorkuta-5, yet not a soul seems to be concerned. Uncover the mystery behind her disappearance and transmit your signal to the universe.

    2025IndieAdventureFree To PlayFreeDeck VerifiedSteam ↗

Plays great on Steam Deck

Valve-Verified or Playable picks from the similar pool — ready to go on Deck out of the box.

  1. Dark Deity 2

    WHY THIS

    Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Verroa is a peaceful continent on the brink of war as the Asverellian Empire seeks to expand - at your homeland’s expense. Command unlikely heroes, fight challenging turn-based battles, and watch hardship forge iron into steel. Dark Deity is back, bigger and better than before!

    2025StrategyIndieAdventure24.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  2. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    WHY THIS

    Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Lead the members of Expedition 33 on their quest to destroy the Paintress so that she can never paint death again. Explore a world of wonders inspired by Belle Époque France and battle unique enemies in this turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics.

    2025ActionRPG49.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  3. Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga

    WHY THIS

    Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Enter Tahnra, a land savaged by war. You, a fresh academy graduate with humble beginnings, will grow to lead a grand army against a corrupt adversary. Gather heroes, form bonds, and lead your force in turn-based battles. Make use of tactics, terrain, morale and more to bring peace to the land!

    2022StrategyIndieAdventure19.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  4. Dark Deity

    WHY THIS

    Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares RPG with The Cradle of Life.

    Step into the world of Terrazael and lead soon-to-be legendary heroes in a quest to restore a land fractured by broken oaths, reckless wars, and untamed magic. Fight back in turn-based battles, manage character relationships, collect dangerous artifacts, and hopefully restore the world...

    2021StrategyIndieAdventure24.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗

Frequently asked about The Cradle of Life

What games are most similar to The Cradle of Life?
Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside The Cradle of Life are Crystals of Power, Primus Numen, Dark Deity 2.
Who developed The Cradle of Life?
The Cradle of Life was developed by Garrett Mickelsen and published by Milo's Games.

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 Cradle of Life.

For library-aware picks tuned to your specific taste, sign in with Steam on the home page.

20 Games Like The Cradle of Life — Ranked for 2026 · imho.run