Games like When They Arrived
Below are 22 hand-picked alternatives to When They Arrived for fans of action, indie, adventure, ranked by imho.run's hybrid recommender. Each pick is scored on three signals: collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries (which players who logged hours in When They Arrived also play), content overlap on genres, categories, and storefront tags, and review-mined "vibe" embeddings that catch tonal similarity even when the genre label differs. Sections below cover closest matches, reviewer cross-mentions, cheaper alternatives, free-to-play picks, more from Second Reality. No login required — these picks work anchor-only.
Get personalized picks →About When They Arrived: Alan went hunting in his grandfather's country house. There was an invasion of the aliens. Cities are destroyed. You need to use survival skills and ingenuity to survive and save the planet. Build, explode, explore the world, develop your skills, try all ways to stop the aliens invasion."What would I do after the alien invasion?
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below When They Arrived at current Steam store prices.
POSTAL 2
WHY THIS
Priced ~75% under When They Arrived on Steam right now. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
Live a week in the life of "The POSTAL Dude"; a hapless everyman just trying to check off some chores. Buying milk, returning an overdue library book, getting Gary Coleman's autograph, what could possibly go wrong?
The Test
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under When They Arrived on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with When They Arrived.
You will answer a series of questions that will reveal truths from deep within. These questions may make you uncomfortable, but with great knowledge comes great sacrifice. Can you make it all the way through The Test, and if you do, are you sure you want the answers you seek?
Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
WHY THIS
Priced ~63% under When They Arrived on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with When They Arrived.
A short story about what sort of challenges everyday little things can be. Help the girl buy milk, be the first not to disappoint her.
Blood and Bacon
WHY THIS
Priced ~75% under When They Arrived on Steam right now. Shares Action and Adventure with When They Arrived.
This Co-op Shooter , has Day and Night levels, multiple maps, players will take on 25 enemy types and numerous bosses, like Gargantuan Monsters and Minibosses every 10 days as you explore, shoot and run for your life against the onslaught of porcine monstrosities.
Placid Plastic Duck Simulator
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under When They Arrived on Steam right now. Shares Simulation with When They Arrived.
The ultimate high-tech rubber duck simulation, Placid Plastic Duck brings you dangerous levels of relaxation. With chill music, dreamy 3D graphics, and many different happy ducks, your only priority is to float around. Zero Ducks given.
shapez
WHY THIS
Priced ~75% under When They Arrived on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with When They Arrived.
shapez is an easy-going, minimalistic factory building game about the automation of shapes through extraction and satisfying production lines. Adapt to increasingly complex shapes and grow your factory across an infinitely expanding map. Your only limitation is your creativity!
The Test: Hypothesis Rising
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under When They Arrived on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with When They Arrived.
The second chapter in The Test trilogy. Answer a series of in-depth questions to reveal hidden truths about yourself and unlock secrets to discover how your life can change drastically with just a few, slight modifications. ...But are you sure you want the answers you seek?
The Test: Final Revelation
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under When They Arrived on Steam right now. Shares Simulation with When They Arrived.
The third chapter in The Test Trilogy. Answer a series of in-depth questions to reveal hidden truths about yourself and unlock secrets to discover who you really are as a person. The Final Revelation is upon us... but are you sure you TRULY want the answers you seek?
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Star Fetchers
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
The introduction to a wild ride with gangsters and deep state conspiracy theories
Meteor 60 Seconds!
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
Meteor 60 seconds! is a simple, fun, comic-like action game that simulates your life if there were a meteor heading towards Earth and you had 60 seconds to live. Do anything you want to do with your last 60 seconds, even if it's illegal! What about planting an apple tree?
The Riftbreaker: Prologue
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
The Riftbreaker: Prologue allows you to experience the events taking place before the story campaign of the main game. Explore an entirely new world. Gather resources. Build up a base. Defend yourself from thousands of alien creatures.
Aimlabs
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
Aimlabs is the aim trainer of choice for over 45 Million players, from beginners to esports pros. Our unique aim analysis optimizes your gameplay, targets your weaknesses & builds key skills for any FPS game! Time to warm up with our unlimited scenarios & rank up in-game!
Clicker Heroes
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Adventure with When They Arrived.
Click your way through hordes of monsters, earn gold, and recruit quirky heroes with powerful skills. Progress even while you're idle, and watch the numbers climb into the absurd. It’s a never-ending journey of clicks, crits, and colossal damage.
Blackwake
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
Blackwake is a multiplayer naval FPS focused on teamwork and cooperation. Fire the cannons, sink enemy ships or board them with firearms and steel.
TrackMania Nations Forever
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.
A free game in the truest sense of the word, TrackMania Nations Forever lets you drive at mind-blowing speeds on fun and spectacular tracks in solo and multiplayer modes.TrackMania Nations Forever offers a new "Forever" version of the Stadium environment, a solid solo mode and 65 brand new, progressively challenging tracks.
Endless Sky
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
Endless Sky is a 2D space trading and combat game inspired by the classic Escape Velocity series. Work your way up from a relatively wimpy shuttle, cargo ship, or fighter, to a highly upgraded and customized flagship or to a massive fleet of warships or freighters.
Narrow it down
More from Second Reality
Other recommendable Steam games by Second Reality, ranked by review count so the studio's hits land first.
Cafe Owner Simulator
WHY THIS
Another title from Second Reality, the studio behind When They Arrived. Shares Indie and Simulation with When They Arrived.
Open your dream restaurant at FPP. Create a unique exterior and interior, hire the best workers and chefs, create a place where people will love to eat, spend time and spend their money. Simulation of the restaurant business.
12 HOURS
WHY THIS
Another title from Second Reality, the studio behind When They Arrived. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
The protagonist was in a very nightmarish and realistic lucid dream, he needed to find a way to wake up, avoiding the creepy creature that was chasing him. Find a way to wake up, each time the level is generated randomly.
The Searchers of Legends : Origin
WHY THIS
Another title from Second Reality, the studio behind When They Arrived. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
Psychological, story indie horror, made in the style of Penumbra and Amnesia. An interesting story with a lot of details, the ability to interact with almost all the objects around, the random of some events and the unpredictable behavior of the characters, dangers, riddles and a terrible atmosphere are waiting for you!
12 HOURS 2
WHY THIS
Another title from Second Reality, the studio behind When They Arrived. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
You got into an unusual dream. The goal of the game is to wake up, going through difficulties, avoiding the vigilant guard of the museum. The artificial intelligence of the enemy is very developed. How far will you go to unravel the secrets of Douglas? What does he hide from prying eyes?
Cafe Owner Simulator: Prologue
WHY THIS
Another title from Second Reality, the studio behind When They Arrived. Shares Indie and Simulation with When They Arrived.
Prologue to the Cafe Owner Simulator, where you can restore your own abandoned building, complete tasks at various levels, and start building a restaurant business from zero.
The Legacy
WHY THIS
Another title from Second Reality, the studio behind When They Arrived. Shares Action and Indie with When They Arrived.
Cooperative survival and horror genre. You and your family have returned to your native land, on which a terrible curse and darkness has fallen. Will you be able to survive in a harsh and dangerous environment and stop the evil? It depends only on you, on your skills and ability to help each other.
Frequently asked about When They Arrived
- How much does When They Arrived cost?
- When They Arrived is listed on Steam at 3.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- Who developed When They Arrived?
- When They Arrived was developed by Second Reality.
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 When They Arrived.
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