Single-player games like Desert Child
Below are 11 single-player Steam games similar to Desert Child, 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 Desert Child page.
Ranked picks
- 1
Platinum Kill
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Desert Child.
Dr Sharkface has plunged the world into chaos and stolen all the kittens. Team up with up to 4 friends and shoot your way through 7 levels of retro-inspired run-and-gun action - packed with wild weapons, huge bosses, and one surprisingly adorable cat.
- 2
Retro Endurance 8bit
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Desert Child.
Created by zsKnight of ZSNES is this really neat retro game collection containing a fun shuffler story mode and a challenging arcade mode. Features 52 different 8bit style games which includes local competitive multiplayer and various different game modes to play and enjoy.
- 3
Mooncall
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Desert Child.
A retro arcade rescue game. Fly your ship to save stranded foragers from a crater-scarred moon. Compete with your friends on global or private leaderboards! Don't ask about the red mushrooms.
- 4
HYPERPIPES
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Racing with Desert Child.
Race the OUTSIDE of the pipe. Gravity pulls you around the tube, so holding the top is the whole skill. Every track is grown from a seed, so no two are the same. Draft, boost, shoot and climb six leagues in a neon anti-gravity racer built around one more run.
- 5
Xenmega
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Desert Child.
A retro arcade space shooter where you blast alien fleets, dodge bomb swarms, collect power-ups, and fight solo or in local co-op to liberate occupied planets from the mind-controlling energy force code-named Xenmega.
- 6
Penetrator
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Desert Child.
In this addictive side-scrolling shoot-em-up from 1982, your mission is to penetrate through four defence rings, and blow up an illegal cache of neutron bombs - an almost impossible feat! Enemy missiles and radar bases track your movements, and the landscape is as treacherous as your enemies.
- 7
Roomrush Racer
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Racing with Desert Child.
Race across 25 tracks set in 20 chaotic rooms and choose from 27 characters. Play solo, with up to 4 players in local split-screen, or online with up to 12 players. Collect items, work together to win cups, play Roomrush Ball, and create and share custom tracks through the Steam Workshop.
- 8
Imminence
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Desert Child.
A brutal 16-bit sci-fi shoot-’em-up inspired by the golden age of the Sega Genesis. Fight across multiple worlds, upgrade your ship, and confront the forces behind the Augmentation Program.
- 9
Kardboard Kings: Card Shop Simulator
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Simulation with Desert Child.
Open your own Card shop by the seaside! Buy, trade and sell Cards, OR keep them for your own collection! Earn reputation with customers, beat your shop goals, unlock new decorations, and host exciting events to bring everyone to the best Card shop in town!
- 10
Nanomon Virtual Pet
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Desert Child.
Nanomon are byte-sized virtual pets for the corner of your screen! Raise over 25 unique monsters, and explore their cyber-world! Feed them, train them, or chill with them! By your side, nanomon evolve, learn new abilities, and venture further into the Nanoscape! What kind of monster will you raise?
- 11
World's Fastest Pizza
Single-player alternative to Desert Child — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Desert Child.
Head to Australia and use all the superpowers you can to deliver fast pizza! Watch out for pizza-haters though! World's Fastest Pizza: It's not easy, when your pizza is so cheesy...