Outer Wilds similar games & best alternatives

Outer Wilds - Trailer
Outer Wilds - outer-wilds_1.avif
Outer Wilds - outer-wilds_2.avif
Outer Wilds - outer-wilds_3.avif
Outer Wilds - outer-wilds_4.avif
Outer Wilds - outer-wilds_5.avif
Outer Wilds - outer-wilds_6.avif

Outer Wilds

Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch • 2020

Should you play it?

Named Game of the Year 2019 by Giant Bomb, Polygon, Eurogamer, and The Guardian, Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.

What works

  • Unique and profound exploration experience
  • Deep, emotional storytelling
  • Freedom and autonomy in gameplay
  • Thought-provoking puzzles
  • Immersive audio-visual atmosphere

Things to keep in mind

  • Steep learning curve for controls
  • Time loop can cause frustration
  • Minimal replayability after completion
  • Some players may find pacing slow
  • Not suitable for those seeking action or combat

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Enigma of Fear

  • J.U.L.I.A.: Among the Stars

  • Still There

  • Soul Axiom

  • Conductor

  • Radiolight

More expressive

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

  • Subnautica: Below Zero

  • MIO: Memories in Orbit

  • Prey

  • I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine

  • Subnautica

  • Zefyr: A Thief's Melody

Less survival-focused

Games that feels like Outer Wilds but with less survival pressure

  • COCOON

  • Down the Rabbit Hole

  • Obduction

  • Return to Monkey Island

  • The Station

  • Children of Silentown

More violent

Games that feels like Outer Wilds but with more combat and destruction

  • ROUTINE

  • Magrunner: Dark Pulse

  • Venge

  • Black The Fall

  • Share

  • Narcosis

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 Outer Wilds. 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 Outer Wilds. These titles are not in What to play next.

Outer Wilds: Less representative of its motivational profile, with noticeable differences. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Violence, Survival, Fellowship, Intimacy. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Violence, Expression.

Last update: 21/08/2026