Gloom similar games & best alternatives

Gloom - gloom_1.avif
Gloom - gloom_2.avif
Gloom - gloom_3.avif
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Gloom

Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac • 2017

Should you play it?

Afflicted by severe amnesia, you drift deep into the Common Dream. You scour for the lost pages of the Necronomicon, while clinging on to any little purpose you have left. Faced with mad dreamers, horrible abominations and eldritch deities, you feel drawn to the dark Abyss deep within.

What works

  • Challenging and rewarding combat
  • Atmospheric art style and music
  • Intriguing lore and story via item descriptions
  • Addictive roguelike replayability
  • Good value for price

Things to keep in mind

  • Limited content and short game length
  • Linear level design with little exploration
  • Clunky or slow controls reported by some
  • Lack of multiplayer or social features
  • Some rng frustration and repetitive runs

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Vox Populi Vox Dei 2

  • Skautfold: Shrouded in Sanity

  • Geometry May. I swear it's a nice free game

  • Cursed Castilla (Maldita Castilla EX)

  • Have a Nice Death

  • The Devil Within: Satgat

More exploratory

Games that feels like Gloom but with more exploration of areas and secrets

  • HAAK

  • Hollow Knight: Silksong

  • BIOMORPH

  • Hollow Knight

  • Turbo Kid

  • Voidwrought

More expressive

Games that feels like Gloom but with more self-expression and customization

  • Constance

  • Dead Cells

  • URUZ "Return of The Er Kishi"

  • Lunavania

  • Dragon Is Dead

  • Mark of the Ninja: Remastered

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

Gloom: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Violence, Survival, Fellowship, Intimacy. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Exploration, Expression, Leadership.

Last update: 21/08/2026