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Drifting Lands similar games & best alternatives

Drifting Lands

PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac • 2017

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Quick resume

Drifting Lands is an hybrid of classical horizontal shoot'em'up with a lot of strong gameplay elements coming straight from the action-RPG genre. If you want an original diablo-like game or you want a different kind of shoot'em'up, you're in the right place!

Global score

79/100

Genres

Action, Indie, Role-playing (RPG), Shooter

Similar games

    Pros

    • Deep ship customization and skill system
    • Engaging bullet hell gameplay
    • Great soundtrack and visuals
    • High replayability with loot and grinding
    • Responsive controls and multiple difficulty levels

    Cons

    • Repetitive environments and enemies
    • Steep difficulty spikes
    • Some ui and control quirks
    • Loot system can be frustrating with item loss
    • Story is short and secondary

    Analysis

    A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Story, Expression. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Violence, Story. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Fellowship.

    How to use the graph
    Similar games map

    Each dot is a game. They are arranged from the same motivation profile as in the “Motivations” section below. Closer dots usually mean more similar reasons to play (exploration, competition, relaxation, etc.)—not that one game is “better” than another.

    • Larger dot with a light outline: the game you are viewing.
    • Colour: groups of games with comparable motivation patterns (statistical clusters).
    • Hover a dot to see the game name; click to open its page.
    • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom out and see more games.

    Why don’t the axes read like a score? This view uses t-SNE: it only keeps who is close to whom. The scales are not “good to bad” or hours played—they separate groups on the map. Read distance between dots, not the axis numbers.

    Motivations

    • Autonomy
      4

      "Players can freely customize ships, choose skills, and decide playstyle with multiple ships and equipment options"

    • Competence
      4

      "Requires skillful dodging and management of shields, energy, and skills; difficulty ramps up significantly"

    • Competition
      3

      "Includes leaderboards and score attack modes encouraging comparison with others"

    • Continuation
      4

      "High replayability with grinding, loot hunting, and repeated missions to improve gear and progress"

    • Cooperation
      -4

      "Primarily a single-player experience with no mention of multiplayer or cooperative play"

    • Creativity
      4

      "Extensive ship customization, skill selection, and equipment crafting allow creative builds"

    • Domination
      -3

      "No evidence of dominating others; interactions are individual and focused on personal progress"

    • Escapism
      4

      "Immersive post-apocalyptic setting and engaging gameplay provide distraction and stress relief"

    • Expectation
      -4

      "Players engage voluntarily for enjoyment and progression, not out of obligation"

    • Experimenting
      4

      "Players encouraged to try different ships, skills, and equipment combinations to find optimal builds"

    • Exploration
      2

      "Procedurally generated levels offer some variety but environments and enemies can feel repetitive"

    • Expression
      3

      "Customization of ships and skills allows personal expression of playstyle"

    • Fantasy
      3

      "Set in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world with imaginative ships and abilities"

    • Fellowship
      -4

      "Minimal social connection; mostly solo play with no multiplayer or social features"

    • Growth
      5

      "Strong focus on learning, skill improvement, and character (ship) development through loot and upgrades"

    • Health
      -4

      "Sedentary gameplay typical of PC gaming with no physical activity elements"

    • Idle
      -3

      "Requires focused attention during missions; not suitable for background or casual idle play"

    • Intimacy
      -5

      "No evidence of forming close relationships or emotional social interactions"

    • Leadership
      -4

      "No leadership or group management roles; gameplay is individual"

    • Progression
      5

      "Central mechanic is accumulating loot, upgrades, and improving ship stats"

    • Relaxation
      1

      "Some players find flow in gameplay but overall difficulty and bullet hell elements create tension"

    • Sensation
      3

      "Colorful visuals, bullet patterns, and music provide sensory stimulation and excitement"

    • Status
      2

      "Leaderboards provide some social recognition but limited social status mechanics"

    • Story
      3

      "Narrative present with missions and character dialogues, though story is short and secondary"

    • Strategy
      4

      "Requires planning skill builds, equipment loadouts, and tactical dodging and skill timing"

    • Thrill
      4

      "High tension from bullet hell gameplay and risk of losing loot and ship on death"

    • Value
      4

      "Players report good value for price with many hours of gameplay and content"

    • Violence
      4

      "Core gameplay involves combat, destruction of enemies, and bullet hell action"

    • Survival
      4

      "Players must avoid death and manage resources like shields and energy to survive levels"

    Where to buy

    Come talk about it on Discord!

    Last update: 29/04/2026