25 Games Like Journey
Our list of games like Journey features more adventure titles that blur the lines between art and gaming while exploring unique environments.
Journey is an independent video game that was originally released in 2012 for the PlayStation platform before expanding to additional platforms years later. Aiming to capture a sense of wonder and discovery the game launched to critical acclaim for its blend of artistic design and unique game mechanics. Set in a world free of words players explore sand dunes across an endless desert with your mountain destination looking over you. Slowly through exploration players will unlock the secrets of this world and the eroded civilization that once called this place home.
Gameplay wise players lead their own robed figure across this landscape on a journey towards the large mountain in the distance. Uniquely players can run into other players during their adventure and while the same wordless rules apply to these encounters this doesn’t stop players from helping each other through other means. Along the way players will glide across the sand dunes, jump or emit a musical sound to interact with the environment or others.
The games like Journey here offer a similar experience with adventure games that offer artistic design and environments as part of their gameplay. From other games that feature no spoken words to environments that will mesmerise you these games have it all.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is an adventure game that blends an impressive story and interesting list of mechanics to create an emotional journey of two brothers as they tackle a range of challenges together. The game was first released in late 2013 on Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and has steadily been released on other platforms following initial launch success. The story of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons closely follows the journey of two brothers with players controlling both characters...[Read Review]
The Endless Forest
In The Endless Forest players can explore a beautiful and peaceful game world as a deer while encountering and interacting with other players. The game is available as a free to play adventure through a small downloadable Windows client and while it lacks overarching goals or objectives The Endless Forest is a relaxing sandbox style experience. While it doesn’t support speech or text players are able to communicate through the Forest Action system which lets players complete basic actions to com...[Read Review]
Shelter 2
Creating another survival journey Shelter 2 adopts the same fundamental gameplay and style of the original while offering you a whole new emotional adventure of survival. Swapping out the badger from the original game players in Shelter 2 will this time guide a mother lynx through the harsh environment with its own range of challenges and deadly encounters. This setup allows new players to experience the same emotional journey of survival as returning players who are already familiar with the Sh...[Read Review]
Machinarium
Machinarium offers a unique and addicting puzzle adventure game across a number of platforms that utilises a point and click control scheme and a world without dialogue. Originally released for Windows in 2009 the game quickly expanded to mobile and console platforms allowing all gamers to explore the story adventure of Machinarium. You’ll start off solving puzzles in Machinarium but quickly get engaged in the story and almost forget that you are playing a puzzle game with the unique setting tha...[Read Review]
Never Alone
Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) takes an interesting setting and transforms it into a compelling video game focused on story and puzzle gameplay across a total of 8 game chapters. With a strong atmosphere blending with puzzle and platform mechanics Never Alone tells an insightful story of Alaska Natives that itself had development input by Indigenous people. Following initial release the game has grown the number of available platforms while also releasing a single expansion pack, Never Alone: F...[Read Review]
Dear Esther
Dear Esther is an adventure story without weapons, puzzles and other traditional video game mechanics which allow it to instead focus solely on the narrative and exploration instead. Controlling the main protagonist across a diverse range of environments you’ll step through unique locations with their own piece of the story that is slowly fed to players allowing you to piece it together one small element at a time. Originally released in 2008 as a free to play mod this first iteration was ...[Read Review]
Flower
Flower is a relaxing musical driven adventure that was originally exclusive to the PlayStation consoles before eventually coming to PC. From the same company (Thatgamecompany) that brought you Flow and eventually went on to develop the award winning Journey this title is visually enjoyable but still offers some challenge across the dozen or so game levels. Flower itself starts off with a single flower as players use the power of the wind to break one small petal away from the plant. With this sm...[Read Review]
Ico
Ico (ICO) mixes puzzles and action-adventure together with an impressive game design from a well known studio (Team Ico) creating an experience that is both mysterious and full of fantasy elements. Core to the design of Ico was the minimalist approach undertaken during the game development to ensure the player could focus on the story and setting to reach a high immersion level. Originally released for PlayStation 2 Ico was later bundled with Shadow of the Colossus for release on the PlayStation...[Read Review]
The Unfinished Swan
The Unfinished Swan offers a unique adventure and story experience where you chase an escaped swan through a strange magical world. Available as a PlayStation exclusive title (PS3, PS4 and PS Vita) originally (later releases on Windows and iOS) The Unfinished Swan takes place in a colourless game world with a focus on completing puzzles to progress by introducing colour into the game world. Your protagonist in this unique swan based adventure is 10 year old Monroe, an orphan who was allowed to o...[Read Review]
The Last Guardian
With action-adventure gameplay, a strong bond with a strange giant animal and an unnamed young boy The Last Guardian has pieces of games you’ve likely seen. Combining them into a single high quality journey of connection, companionship and challenge The Last Guardian is a PlayStation 4 exclusive from Team Ico who have an impressive history of console titles. Told as a recollection from an old man reflecting on his youthful adventures The Last Guardian throws players into the body of a smal...[Read Review]
Lifeless Planet
Lifeless Planet involves the exploration of rocky planet with a few basic platform and puzzle features thrown in as you endeavour to find out more about your surroundings and survive. Originally available for Windows Lifeless Planet is now available on a range of console platforms allowing all gamers to explore the lifeless surroundings as you unlock the surprisingly hidden secret of this planet. Set on a distant planet that feels like it was inspired by Mars and Mars-like fiction Lifeless Plane...[Read Review]
To the Moon
To the Moon is an adventure game released in 2011 by Freebird Games and explores the story of two doctors on a mission to fulfil a dying man’s last wish. Having released several other games in this story driven RPG Maker niche players can expect to find a refined story telling process with To the Moon being one of the most well received of Freebird Game releases and containing dozens of hours of content. To the Moon uses a unique story premise that revolves around a technology that can cre...[Read Review]
Grow Home
Grow Home is an adventure where you’ll literally have to grow your own Star Plant to be able to return home one vine-like branch at a time. Selling itself as more of an adventure than a platform title (despite the heights that Grow Home throws at you) this short robotic adventure is focused on the exploration based journey than the sense of challenge. Set in a colourful game world of unique style players control B.U.D. (Botanical Utility Droid) a robotic life form in charge of growing a pl...[Read Review]
Eufloria
Eufloria offers strategy gameplay in an artistic wrapping with the result being a fantastic relaxing game that offers just the right balance of difficulty and presentation. Available on a range of platforms (starting on Windows) the game is uniquely satisfying, relaxing and challenging with the success leading to other platform releases and eventually the HD release. Set in a space like environment your objective in Eufloria is to overtake the universe with your seedlings which grow from the tre...[Read Review]
Moon Hunters
Live out the legends of the stars in Moon Hunters a game that lets you explore a mythical world of mystery with between 1 and 4 players. While a single game of Moon Hunters will take only a few hours it’s the legacy that you create in each adventure and the hidden secrets that encourage you to start a new journey again and again. It’s a game full of so many mysteries that aren’t apparent at first glance and will require many hero adventures to fully appreciate the gravity of th...[Read Review]
Osmos
Osmos is a relaxing puzzle game available across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android devices released in 2009 that explores a simple premise although layers it with an increasing sense of difficulty. Using simple mechanics and great core game design Osmos has captured plenty of praise for its enjoyable, atmospheric and in time challenging gameplay loop for computer and mobile players. The premise of Osmos is simple with players advancing through each of the game levels on offer by increasing th...[Read Review]
Lost in Shadow
Lost in Shadow is a unique 2D platform game that has you trapped as your own shadow, limiting you to interaction with only the shadows of objects. The game was released in 2011 for the Nintendo Wii. In Lost Shadow you’ll be spending your time in the background of some impressive game environments as you only have control of the main character’s shadow. In your adventure you’ll attempt to climb the mysterious shadow tower while completing unique puzzles and fighting off other shadow beings. Playe...[Read Review]
Nihilumbra
Nihilumbra blends puzzles and platforming gameplay together in order to deliver an interesting and dark adventure game originally for iOS and now available on a range of platforms. Entering the game world as Born, a creature that comes from the nothingness that is the Void you’ll adventure out into the foreign land and advance through the story to understand yourself. The Void wants you back though and chases you relentlessly around the world, refusing to stop until you rejoin the nothingn...[Read Review]
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus is an action adventure of grand scale that was first launched in 2005 on the PlayStation 2. In time the game was remastered for PlayStation 3 (2011) and PlayStation 4 (2018) that both offered an almost identical experience to the original albeit with higher quality graphic assets. Regardless of your choice of release/platform players will find themselves in a unique fantasy setting that is centred around the adventure to defeat a number of large scale colossi that each pre...[Read Review]
Proteus
Proteus joins the ranks of other video games that aim to offer an artistic exploration experience rather than traditional gaming. Like others in this gaming niche though it still manages to offer an impressive, immersive and engaging adventure as you explore a randomly generated game world. With no other objective other than to take the time to enjoy your surroundings players can create their own stories from adventuring over hills or finding new unique biomes. If you enjoy going on exploration ...[Read Review]
Limbo
Limbo is a 2D puzzle platform title that takes the genre into a darker setting than usual. Leveraging this dark setting to create an emotional tale of a young boy while also adding challenge and puzzle like elements to the otherwise basic platforming Limbo features fantastic and unique game design that you won’t soon forget. Creating this atmosphere primarily through visual presentation Limbo takes place entirely in a black and white game world. It’s similar to film noir style with the way...[Read Review]
Botanicula
From the same studio that brought you Machinarium comes Botanicula, a similar point-and-click game that boasts intricate and captivating graphics along with a calming background soundtrack. Originally a computer based adventure Botanicula was paired with an iOS and Android release a few years after its original development. The story of Botanicula is centred on five adorable “tree creatures” that resemble a big walnut, an onion, a lanky mushroom, a twig and a hovering feather who are...[Read Review]
Shelter
Shelter is a survival based game where players control a mother badger who attempts to protect her cubs through a journey of migration from one home to another. While the game is a simple experience for Windows and Mac it’s also a unique journey of survival and connection with nature. Shelter is set in a wilderness setting with a number of biomes with players assuming direct control over the mother badger who is accompanied by her 5 badger cubs. The journey of Shelter takes players from th...[Read Review]
Papo & Yo
Papo & Yo is an interesting fantasy adventure originally released on PlayStation 3 and later brought across to Windows, Mac and Linux a year after release. Papo & Yo blends the core adventure with a range of puzzles as you follow a young Brazilian boy in a dream like world of mystery and strange settings. While these puzzles litter the dream like world the majority use fairly simple mechanics with the emphasis more on the adventure rather than puzzle challenge. The game centres around Qu...[Read Review]
Entwined
Exploring a unique story of a fish and a bird that are in love Entwined joins the growing list of video game titles that combine art and gaming through simplistic but powerful game design to create an experience more about the adventure and superb presentation than actual gameplay. Supported by fantastic visual style and vibrant soundtrack pieces Entwined is a relaxing game designed for players to sit back and absorb the experience in a Zen like state. Following the souls of said fish and bird t...[Read Review]