CALENDULA similar games & best alternatives

CALENDULA - calendula_1.avif
CALENDULA - calendula_2.avif
CALENDULA - calendula_3.avif
CALENDULA - calendula_4.avif
CALENDULA - calendula_5.avif
CALENDULA - calendula_6.avif

CALENDULA

PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac • 2016

Should you play it?

How to play a game that doesn't want to be played? Calendula is an experimental meta game about trying to play a game. Use your logic to thrive against conventions and get surrounded by a dark atmosphere.

What works

  • Unique and creative meta-game design
  • Engaging and thought-provoking puzzles
  • Strong atmospheric and audio-visual presentation
  • Compelling abstract narrative
  • Mind-bending and immersive experience

Things to keep in mind

  • Very short playtime
  • Some bugs affecting progression
  • Limited replayability
  • Story can be confusing or unclear
  • Price considered high for length by some players

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • THE ENIGMA MACHINE

  • Go Home Annie: An SCP Game

  • The Almost Gone

  • Ugly

  • Journey of a Roach

  • Children of Silentown

More survival-focused

Games that feels like CALENDULA but with a stronger survival pressure

  • Silence of the Sleep

  • Never Again

  • Teslagrad

  • Teslagrad Remastered

  • Share

  • Venge

More continuation-driven

Games that feels like CALENDULA but with an even stronger pull to keep playing

  • Fausts Alptraum

  • Submachine: Legacy

  • Knytt Underground

  • Chroma Zero

  • COCOON

  • Soul Axiom

More relaxing

Games that feels like CALENDULA but with a more relaxing feel

  • Planet of the Eyes

  • FORM

  • Dreaming Sarah

  • Type:Rider

  • NightSky

  • The Mooseman

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 CALENDULA. 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 CALENDULA. These titles are not in What to play next.

CALENDULA: Less representative of its motivational profile, with noticeable differences. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Expression, Fellowship, Cooperation, Competition. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Survival, Violence, Value.

Last update: 21/08/2026