When the Darkness comes similar games & best alternatives

When the Darkness comes - Trailer
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When the Darkness comes

PC (Microsoft Windows) • 2019

Should you play it?

When the Darkness comes is a walking simulator whose glitchy and dark tale tries to illustrate the hardships of depression and anxiety through a variety of imaginary digital landscapes.

What works

  • Deep, meaningful narrative addressing mental health
  • Multiple endings encouraging replayability
  • Free to play
  • Strong atmospheric audio and visuals
  • Emotional and philosophical impact

Things to keep in mind

  • Can be triggering for players with mental health issues
  • Some players find platforming sections frustrating
  • Lack of localization limits accessibility
  • No traditional gameplay challenge or variety
  • Some repetition in multiple playthroughs

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Ignited Entry

  • Children of Silentown: Prologue

  • American Arcadia

  • SOMA

  • Layers of Fear

  • 1000xRESIST

Less intimate

Games that feels like When the Darkness comes but with less focus on close relationships

  • Soul Axiom

  • Born Into Fear

  • Face It - A game to fight inner demons

  • Dark Fracture: Prologue

  • Isle of Ewe

  • Master Reboot

More violent

Games that feels like When the Darkness comes but with more combat and destruction

  • Fingerbones

  • Potato Thriller

  • A Wolf in Autumn

  • Psychopomp

  • INSIDE

  • Lorelai

More relaxing

Games that feels like When the Darkness comes but with a more relaxing feel

  • STARDROP

  • OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition

  • The Music Machine

  • UNREAL LIFE

  • Dreamfall Chapters

  • Port of Call

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 When the Darkness comes. 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 When the Darkness comes. These titles are not in What to play next.

When the Darkness comes: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Survival, Violence, Competition, Thrill. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Thrill, Survival. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Relaxation.

Last update: 21/08/2026