Single-player games like The Painscreek Killings
Below are 13 single-player Steam games similar to The Painscreek Killings, 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 The Painscreek Killings page.
Ranked picks
- 1
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person story-driven mystery. Purchase this game to get both the original and the Unreal Engine 4 remaster called The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Redux.
- 2
INFRA
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
INFRA puts you into the boots of a structural analyst on a routine mission. Quickly though, your task turns into a fight for survival, all caused by deep-rooted schemes of the past. Your tools are simple: your camera and the wits to navigate a labyrinth of debris.
- 3
Firewatch
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness, where your only emotional lifeline is the person on the other end of a handheld radio.
- 4
Kona
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
Northern Canada, 1970. A strange blizzard ravages Atamipek Lake. Step into the shoes of a detective to explore the eerie village, investigate surreal events, and battle the elements to survive. Kona is a chilly interactive tale you won't soon forget.
- 5
Scene Investigators
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
Scene Investigators is a hardcore deductive reasoning game for fans of the "true crime" genre. Step into re-created crime scenes, observe closely for pieces of evidence, analyze possible motives behind the crimes, and uncover what truly happened.
- 6
The Inheritance of Crimson Manor
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
Explore a beautiful and Enigmatic Victorian Manor with a dark secret, In this gothic horror story first person exploration puzzle game filled with fine art, secret passages and mysterious mechanical puzzles playing as the executor of the last will from the enigmatic Railroad Magnate Hadley Strange.
- 7
The Forgotten City
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
The Forgotten City is a narrative-driven time loop adventure in ancient Rome. Discover the ruins of an ancient underground city, travel 2000 years into the past, and unravel the mystery of who destroyed it by cleverly exploiting the power to wind back time. The fate of the city is in your hands.
- 8
Strange Horticulture
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
Strange Horticulture is an occult puzzle game in which you play as the proprietor of a local plant store. Find and identify new plants, pet your cat, speak to a coven, or join a cult. Use your collection of powerful plants to influence the story and unravel Undermere’s dark mysteries.
- 9
Return of the Obra Dinn
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
Lost at sea 1803 ~ The good ship Obra Dinn.
- 10
The Room
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
A mysterious invitation leads to the attic of an abandoned house. In the room is a cast-iron safe laced with strange carvings and on top, a note from your distant companion. It promises something ancient and astonishing concealed in the iron chamber - you need only find a way in.
- 11
Outer Wilds
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
Named Game of the Year 2019 by Giant Bomb, Polygon, Eurogamer, and The Guardian, Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.
- 12
Paradise Killer
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
Paradise Island, a world outside reality. There’s been a murder that only "investigation freak" Lady Love Dies can solve. Gather evidence and interrogate suspects in this open world adventure. You can accuse anyone, but you’ll have to prove your case in trial. It’s up to you to decide who’s guilty.
- 13
Rusty Lake: Roots
Single-player alternative to The Painscreek Killings — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Painscreek Killings.
Experience the beginning and end of characters' lives and build your own family tree! Rusty Lake: Roots is the second premium point-and-click adventure by the creators of the Cube Escape series and Rusty Lake Hotel.