Games like Outer Wilds
If Outer Wilds is your kind of game, the closest matches are The Station, Stray and Firewatch — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its cosmic existential storytelling, exploration feels genuinely earned and atmospheric. 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 →Outer Wilds is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Mobius Digital and published by Annapurna Interactive. Players explore a solar system trapped in a time loop, piloting a spaceship to uncover an ancient mystery. The game uses information as progression rather than traditional upgrades, with a ship log tracking discoveries and observation-based puzzles revealing the way forward. The non-linear structure rewards curiosity as players piece together what happened to the Nomai civilization. Reviewers highlight the unique time-loop mechanic and atmospheric storytelling, with players describing the exploration as genuinely earned and the experience as contemplative and mysterious. The game holds a 95% positive rating from over 50,000 Steam reviews, runs verified on Steam Deck, and is available for $24.99 USD.
About Outer Wilds: 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.
Players who liked Outer Wilds also play
Steam players who put hours into Outer Wilds 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.
The Station
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Top pick for Outer Wilds fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
The Station is a first-person sci-fi mystery set on a space station sent to study a sentient alien civilization. Assuming the role of a recon specialist, players must unravel a mystery which will decide the fate of two civilizations.
Stray
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Second-strongest match for Outer Wilds fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Lost, alone and separated from family, a stray cat must untangle an ancient mystery to escape a long-forgotten cybercity and find their way home.
Firewatch
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Third-strongest match for Outer Wilds fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
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.
Aporia: Beyond The Valley
WHY THIS
Shares non linear exploration and an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Ranked #4 for Outer Wilds fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
CRYNEGINE Indie Game of 2017. Featuring an incredibly detailed ancient world and a breathtaking soundtrack, Aporia: Beyond the Valley takes open world storytelling to new heights of adventure.
Observation
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Ranked #5 for Outer Wilds fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Observation is a sci-fi thriller uncovering what happened to Dr. Emma Fisher, and the crew of her mission, through the lens of the station’s artificial intelligence S.A.M.
No Man's Sky
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Ranked #6 for Outer Wilds fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action and Adventure with Outer Wilds.
No Man's Sky is a game about exploration and survival in an infinite procedurally generated universe.
Breathedge
WHY THIS
Shares a contemplative mood with Outer Wilds.
Ranked #7 for Outer Wilds fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action and Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Survive in outer space! Together with your immortal chicken, discover the truth behind your sudden spaceship crash. Craft tools, pilot vehicles, and even control space stations to survive and explore the wreckage.
The Outer Worlds
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Ranked #8 for Outer Wilds fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries.
The Outer Worlds is an award-winning single-player RPG from Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division. As you explore a space colony, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the colony's corporate equation, you are the unplanned variable.
Reviewers mention these as similar to Outer Wilds
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
Blue Prince
WHY THIS
Shares an emotional mood with Outer Wilds.
Reviewers of Outer Wilds cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Welcome to Mt. Holly, where every dawn unveils a new mystery. Navigate through shifting corridors and ever-changing chambers in this genre-defying strategy puzzle adventure. But will your unpredictable path lead you to the rumored Room 46?
Subnautica
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Reviewers of Outer Wilds cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.
Red Dead Redemption 2
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Reviewers of Outer Wilds cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Action and Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde Gang are outlaws on the run. With federal agents and bounty hunters massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal, and fight their way across the rugged heartland in order to survive.
Return of the Obra Dinn
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Reviewers of Outer Wilds cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Lost at sea 1803 ~ The good ship Obra Dinn.
TUNIC
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Reviewers of Outer Wilds cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Action and Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure.
The Forgotten City
WHY THIS
Shares an emotional mood with Outer Wilds.
Reviewers of Outer Wilds cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
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.
The Witness
WHY THIS
Shares non linear exploration and an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Reviewers of Outer Wilds cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
You wake up, alone, on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you.
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below Outer Wilds at current Steam store prices.
Lethal Company
WHY THIS
Priced ~60% under Outer Wilds on Steam right now. Shares Action and Adventure with Outer Wilds.
A co-op horror about scavenging at abandoned moons to sell scrap to the Company.
Left 4 Dead 2
WHY THIS
Priced ~60% under Outer Wilds on Steam right now. Shares Action with Outer Wilds.
Set in the zombie apocalypse, Left 4 Dead 2 is a co-operative action horror FPS takes you and your friends through the cities, swamps and cemeteries of the Deep South, from Savannah to New Orleans across five expansive campaigns.
People Playground
WHY THIS
Priced ~60% under Outer Wilds on Steam right now. Shares Action with Outer Wilds.
Shoot, stab, burn, poison, tear, vaporise, or crush ragdolls in a large open space.
Fallout: New Vegas
WHY THIS
Priced ~60% under Outer Wilds on Steam right now. Shares Action with Outer Wilds.
Welcome to Vegas. New Vegas. Enjoy your stay!
Vampire Survivors
WHY THIS
Priced ~80% under Outer Wilds on Steam right now. Shares Action with Outer Wilds.
Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you. Be the bullet hell!
R.E.P.O.
WHY THIS
Priced ~72% under Outer Wilds on Steam right now. Shares Action with Outer Wilds.
An online co-op horror game with up to 6 players. Locate valuable, fully physics-based objects and handle them with care as you retrieve and extract to satisfy your creator's desires.
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Doki Doki Literature Club!
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.
The Literature Club is full of cute girls! Will you write the way into their heart? This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.
Life is Strange - Episode 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Episode 1 now FREE! Life is Strange is an award-winning and critically acclaimed episodic adventure game that allows the player to rewind time and affect the past, present and future.
Ultimate Custom Night
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action with Outer Wilds.
Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, featuring 50 selectable characters and custom difficulties!
ENA: Dream BBQ
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Experience surreal environments and inexplicable characters as ENA in a new wild world.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.
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 Action and Adventure with Outer Wilds.
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.
STRAFTAT
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action with Outer Wilds.
STRAFTAT is a 1v1/2v2 ONLINE first person SHOOTER with quick rounds in over 350 MAPS ; Including all WEAPONS, proximity chat and 4 players FFA.
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
Plays great on Steam Deck
Valve-Verified or Playable picks from the similar pool — ready to go on Deck out of the box.
Stray
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
Lost, alone and separated from family, a stray cat must untangle an ancient mystery to escape a long-forgotten cybercity and find their way home.
Firewatch
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Adventure with Outer Wilds.
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.
No Man's Sky
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Outer Wilds.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Adventure with Outer Wilds.
No Man's Sky is a game about exploration and survival in an infinite procedurally generated universe.
Frequently asked about Outer Wilds
- Is Outer Wilds verified for Steam Deck?
- Yes — Outer Wilds is Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve has confirmed it runs well on the Deck with full controller, text legibility, and default configuration support.
- How much does Outer Wilds cost?
- Outer Wilds is listed on Steam at 24.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- What games are most similar to Outer Wilds?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Outer Wilds are The Station, Stray, Firewatch.
- Who developed Outer Wilds?
- Outer Wilds was developed by Mobius Digital and published by Annapurna 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 Outer Wilds.
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