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Swallow the Sea similar games & best alternatives

Swallow the Sea

PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Linux • 2021

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Quick resume

You are a lowly egg cell on a journey through a swollen sea of strange and humanoid fish. Prey on smaller life and growing larger and stronger to perhaps someday be born.

Global score

97/100

Genres

Action, Adventure, Casual, Free To Play, Indie

Similar games

    Pros

    • Unique and unsettling art style
    • Immersive atmospheric audio
    • Challenging achievements and speedruns
    • Free to play
    • Short but replayable

    Cons

    • Very short gameplay length
    • Random enemy placement affects runs
    • Lack of story explanation
    • No multiplayer or social features
    • Some frustrating speedrun achievements

    Analysis

    Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Relaxation, Survival, Violence, Fellowship. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Competition, Status, Expression.

    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
      3

      "Players control movement and decisions freely in a simple but open environment with some skill-based challenges."

    • Competence
      3

      "Players develop skill to avoid enemies and optimize routes, especially for achievements and speedruns."

    • Competition
      1

      "Some competition via leaderboards and speedrun achievements, but mostly personal challenge focused."

    • Continuation
      2

      "Short game with replay value through achievements encourages repeated play sessions."

    • Cooperation
      -5

      "Single-player experience with no cooperative or multiplayer elements."

    • Creativity
      4

      "Unique grotesque art style and creature designs provide creative expression and atmosphere."

    • Domination
      -5

      "No player dominance over others; gameplay is individual and non-confrontational socially."

    • Escapism
      4

      "Offers immersive, unsettling atmosphere that distracts from real life and evokes strong emotions."

    • Expectation
      -4

      "Players engage voluntarily for intrinsic interest and curiosity, not out of obligation."

    • Experimenting
      2

      "Players explore mechanics and strategies, especially when pursuing achievements and speedruns."

    • Exploration
      2

      "Players discover new areas and creatures in a surreal underwater world, though game is short."

    • Expression
      2

      "Distinctive visual style allows some degree of self-expression through avatar progression."

    • Fantasy
      4

      "Strongly imaginative and surreal setting with grotesque, eldritch creatures and narrative."

    • Fellowship
      -5

      "No social or community features; entirely solo play experience."

    • Growth
      3

      "Players improve skills and knowledge of enemy patterns to complete challenges and achievements."

    • Health
      -5

      "Sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or health-related features."

    • Idle
      -4

      "Requires focused attention and continuous engagement during short play sessions."

    • Intimacy
      -5

      "No social or emotional relationship building; purely individual gameplay."

    • Leadership
      -5

      "No leadership or group management elements; single-player experience."

    • Progression
      4

      "Clear progression through growth by consuming prey and evolving to new stages."

    • Relaxation
      -2

      "Tense and suspenseful atmosphere creates emotional strain rather than relaxation."

    • Sensation
      3

      "Strong sensory stimulation from unsettling visuals, sound design, and music."

    • Status
      0

      "Minimal social recognition; some leaderboard presence but mostly personal achievement."

    • Story
      3

      "Narrative immersion through atmosphere and ending, though story is subtle and open to interpretation."

    • Strategy
      3

      "Requires planning and problem solving to optimize routes and avoid enemies for achievements."

    • Thrill
      4

      "High suspense and tension from being chased and needing to survive in hostile environment."

    • Value
      5

      "Free game with high quality art and gameplay offers excellent value for time invested."

    • Violence
      3

      "Gameplay involves consuming other creatures and survival through predation."

    • Survival
      4

      "Core gameplay centers on avoiding threats and surviving to grow and progress."

    Where to buy

    Come talk about it on Discord!

    Last update: 29/04/2026