SELF similar games & best alternatives

SELF - self_1.avif
SELF - self_2.avif
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SELF

PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Nintendo Switch • 2020

Should you play it?

SELF is a suspenseful Kafkaesque text-based adventure game with simulation and puzzle mechanics. Could you seize the opportunity to find your father and your SELF back in this introspective journey?

What works

  • Unique artistic and narrative style
  • Thought-provoking and symbolic storytelling
  • Multiple endings and replayability
  • Immersive sound design and atmosphere
  • Accessible gameplay mechanics

Things to keep in mind

  • Story can be confusing and abstract
  • Minimal gameplay challenge
  • Short overall playtime
  • Some players find pacing slow or dry
  • Translation and minor typos reported

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feel the closest overall

  • Buddy Simulator 1984

  • Sorry, James

  • Pony Island

  • TELEFORUM

  • My Big Sister

  • Hymer 2000

  • OneShot: World Machine Edition

  • UNREAL LIFE

  • BAD END THEATER

Search more ->

Hidden Gems

Less popular games with surprisingly high similarity

If you liked…

Recommendations by what you enjoyed most

  • Creativity

    Something for Someone Else
  • Escapism

    Lucah: Born of a Dream
  • Story

    TELEFORUM

Similarity map

Explore nearby similar games and see why they’re close.

How to use the graph

Similarity map

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

  • Purple star: this page’s game — everything on the map is relative to it.
  • 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 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 (hidden on purpose).

SELF: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Survival, Violence, Competition, Thrill. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Intimacy, Thrill, Creativity.

Last update: 26/07/2026