1997 similar games & best alternatives

1997 - 1997_1.avif
1997 - 1997_2.avif
1997 - 1997_3.avif
1997 - 1997_4.avif
1997 - 1997_5.avif
1997 - 1997_6.avif

1997

PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch • 2023

Should you play it?

Detective visual novel about mysteries of rural Russian town in 90-s, anime style.

What works

  • Engaging and intriguing story
  • High-quality full russian voice acting
  • Nostalgic 90s russian atmosphere
  • Multiple endings encouraging replay
  • Pleasant visual backgrounds and animations

Things to keep in mind

  • Limited player choices and interactivity
  • Some plot inconsistencies and narrative gaps
  • Mixed quality in character art and cgs
  • Lack of backward skip function
  • Few meaningful branching paths

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Lavender Quartz 境界秤動

  • Midnight Witch

  • It gets so lonely here

  • Ghost in the pool

  • Saint Kotar

  • Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring

Less violent

Games that feels like 1997 but with less combat and destruction

  • Ceiba

  • Port of Call

  • A Space For The Unbound - Prologue

  • Invisible Apartment

  • Puff Love Story

  • South of the Circle

More experimental

Games that feels like 1997 but with more room to experiment and tinker

  • She Sees Red - Interactive Movie

  • Mandemon

  • Nocturnals

  • The Music Machine

  • Endless Jade Sea -Midori no Umi-

  • 氷点下30度の絶望

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with 1997. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with 1997. These titles are not in What to play next.

1997: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Strategy, Survival, Thrill, Competence. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Violence, Thrill, Survival.

Last update: 22/08/2026