Mystery Games Like Outer Wilds: 13 Picks on Steam

The best games like Outer Wilds give you that rare feeling of understanding a universe only because you went out and looked. There are no skill trees and no better gear, just a head full of clues and the moment they all click together. Here are 13 games like Outer Wilds on Steam that chase that feeling in different ways, with the strongest fits first.

What makes Outer Wilds so hard to follow?

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Outer Wilds is an open world mystery about a small solar system trapped in an endless time loop. You play the newest recruit of Outer Wilds Ventures, a fledgling space program. About 22 minutes after you wake up, the sun goes supernova and everything resets. Then you wake up again by the same campfire. Nothing comes with you except your ship’s log and your own memory.

That last part is the heart of the game. You never earn a stronger jetpack or a key to the next area. Every place was reachable from the start; you just didn’t know where to look, or when. The planets change across each loop. Sand slowly swallows an underground city, and the surface of another world crumbles beneath your feet. Most of the story comes from the ruins of the Nomai, an ancient alien species, and you read their branching conversations with a translator tool.

Steam lists Outer Wilds as released on Jun 18, 2020. Mobius Digital developed it and Annapurna Interactive published it. It is single-player only and has full controller support (Steam recommends a gamepad). It sits at Overwhelmingly Positive from more than 109,000 user reviews, and its store page notes a Best Game win at the 2020 BAFTA Games Awards.

Fans sometimes call this design knowledge-based progression. Half-jokingly, they also call these games “metroidbrainias”: you advance by understanding things, not by collecting new abilities the way you do in a metroidvania. That gives us three things to look for in games like Outer Wilds:

• A world you can explore in whatever order you like.
• Progress that lives in your head, not your inventory.
• A mystery whose answer makes you rethink everything you saw before.

No other game pairs all three with physics-driven space flight, so the picks below are grouped by which part of Outer Wilds they echo. For more lists like this one, browse our games like the ones you love hub.

Mystery games like Outer Wilds where knowledge is the only upgrade

These are the closest matches. Nothing in your pockets changes, but everything in your head does.

The Forgotten City

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If the time loop was your favorite part, start here. Of all the games like Outer Wilds on Steam, this one does the loop most directly. The Forgotten City sends you 2,000 years into the past, to the final days of a cursed Roman city where one person’s sin dooms everyone. When things go wrong, you wind back time and try again. You carry what you learned about the townsfolk and their secrets into the next attempt.

Outer Wilds is about places; this game is about people. You question a tight-knit community, face moral choices with life-and-death stakes, and solve problems with reason, charm, bribery, intimidation or violence. The store page is clear that violence only gets you so far. The mystery is non-linear and has multiple endings.

Best for: players who loved the loop structure and want more conversation and story. Steam lists it as single-player with full controller support, released Jul 28, 2021, from Modern Storyteller and publisher Dear Villagers. Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive.

Return of the Obra Dinn

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In 1807 the merchant ship Obra Dinn drifts into port with damaged sails and no visible crew. You board it as an insurance investigator for the East India Company. Your job is to work out who was aboard and what happened to each of them. It’s a first-person mystery built on exploration and logical deduction, with a striking art style that uses very little color.

It scratches the same itch as the Outer Wilds ship log: a growing web of half-answered questions that you fill in one confident guess at a time. Nothing does the thinking for you. Your breakthroughs come from noticing a detail in a scene you’ve already studied five times.

Best for: deduction lovers who kept notes while playing Outer Wilds. It’s single-player with full controller support. Steam lists it as released Oct 18, 2018, from Lucas Pope and publisher 3909, on Windows and macOS. Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive.

The Witness

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You wake up alone on a strange island full of puzzles, with no memory of how you got there. The Witness has more than 500 puzzles spread across an open world, and the store page promises that each one brings a new idea. You can wander freely, and the island teaches its rules through the puzzles themselves instead of through text.

The link to Outer Wilds is the moment your understanding shifts and you see the world differently. Some of the island’s best discoveries aren’t on a puzzle panel at all. Once you notice that, the whole place starts to feel new.

Best for: patient puzzle fans who enjoyed working things out without a quest marker. It’s single-player, released Jan 26, 2016, by Thekla, Inc. Steam lists it on Windows and macOS. Reviews: Very Positive.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

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Simogo’s mystery shares a publisher with Outer Wilds (Annapurna Interactive) and much of its spirit. An eccentric man summons a woman to an old baroque hotel somewhere in central Europe to take part in a project. It turns into a game of illusions that grows more dangerous and surreal.

It’s non-linear and packed with handcrafted puzzles that keep handing you new riddles. Like Outer Wilds, it rewards a notebook and a good memory far more than quick reflexes.

Best for: players who want something stranger and more cerebral. It’s single-player with full controller support, released May 16, 2024, on Windows. Reviews: Very Positive.

Lost languages and ancient ruins to decode

Reading Nomai text was half the fun of Outer Wilds. These games like Outer Wilds build whole mysteries around old civilizations and the words they left behind.

Heaven’s Vault

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Among games like Outer Wilds, this is the closest cousin in theme. You play Aliya Elasra, an archaeologist exploring a strange region of space called the Nebula with her robot sidekick, Six. When a roboticist goes missing, she follows a trail of discoveries into a forgotten past. The core puzzle is translating a hieroglyphic language. You guess at what words mean, test those guesses on new inscriptions, and slowly come to understand the language.

You can move through the story in any order, and the adaptive narrative remembers your choices and discoveries. It comes from inkle, the studio behind 80 Days, so expect lots of writing and conversation.

Best for: anyone who stopped to read every Nomai wall. It’s single-player with full controller support, released Apr 16, 2019, on Windows. Reviews: Very Positive.

Chants of Sennaar

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Chants of Sennaar is inspired by the myth of Babel. It puts you in a vast tower shared by five peoples who no longer speak to each other. You learn their five interconnected languages by watching and listening, then use what you’ve learned to help them understand one another again.

It’s gentler and more guided than Outer Wilds, but the payoff is the same. A wall of nonsense at the start becomes something you can read by the end, purely because you worked it out. If you want a feel-good, story-driven follow-up, this is the one.

Best for: a warm, focused puzzle adventure. It’s single-player with full controller support, released Sep 5, 2023, from developer Rundisc and publisher Focus Entertainment, on Windows. Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive.

Riven

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Riven is Cyan Worlds’ ground-up rebuild of its 1997 original, with new material added. You travel to a beautiful world on the verge of collapse, shaped by a man named Gehn who sees himself as a god. Through careful observation you piece together its history, solve its puzzles and attempt a daring rescue.

This is the purest form of “the world is the puzzle.” The store page promises that the environment tells the story as you make sense of scattered bits of information. That asks for the same close attention you gave the planets in Outer Wilds. It’s slow and demanding, and that’s the point.

Best for: puzzle veterans who want a big challenge. It’s single-player with full controller support and VR support, released Jun 25, 2024, on Windows and macOS. Reviews: Very Positive.

Myst

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Myst is the classic that this whole style of game grew from, reimagined by Cyan Worlds for both regular screens and VR. You arrive on a starkly beautiful island and travel to other long-dormant places called Ages. Along the way you piece together a story of family betrayal and make choices that affect how it ends.

It’s a more approachable starting point than Riven. The optional puzzle randomization means that even returning players can’t rely on memory alone.

Best for: newcomers to classic adventure puzzles. It’s single-player with full controller support, VR support and subtitle options, released Aug 26, 2021, on Windows and macOS. Reviews: Very Positive.

Secret-packed worlds that reward poking at everything

These are the least obvious games like Outer Wilds on this list. They play nothing like a first-person space mystery, but they share its best trick: the world has layers you only see once you understand it. If you also love big, interconnected maps, our metroidvania games like Hollow Knight are a good next stop.

TUNIC

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You play a small fox in a ruined land full of lost legends and monsters. As you explore, you collect pages of the game’s own Instruction Manual, and each page reveals maps, tips, techniques and deeper secrets. That manual is what puts TUNIC in Outer Wilds territory. Often what stops you isn’t a locked door but something you haven’t understood yet.

One warning: TUNIC has real combat, with dodging, blocking and parrying, and it can be demanding. If you liked that the danger in Outer Wilds came mostly from its environments, expect a different kind of challenge here.

Best for: players who want secrets alongside action. It’s single-player with full controller support, released Mar 16, 2022, from TUNIC Team and publisher Finji, on Windows and macOS. Reviews: Very Positive.

ANIMAL WELL

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ANIMAL WELL drops you into a dense, interconnected labyrinth as a small creature with almost no way to fight. You light candles for safety, fill in your map, and find items that each have several uses, often surprising ones. The store page says the main game is just the beginning and that players will be finding hidden puzzles for years.

Like Outer Wilds, it focuses on tension rather than action and rewards you for noticing harmless-looking details that turn out to matter. It’s the best pick here if you loved the feeling that the developer hid something in plain sight.

Best for: dedicated secret hunters. It’s single-player with full controller support (gamepad recommended), released May 9, 2024, from Billy Basso and publisher Bigmode, on Windows. Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive.

FEZ

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Gomez is a 2D creature in a 2D world until he learns that a third dimension exists. You rotate the world between four 2D views to move around 3D structures. The open-ended world is full of secrets, puzzles and hidden treasures.

The platforming is relaxed; the depth is in the mysteries. FEZ is known for secrets that go far beyond the main path, including codes that players had to crack on their own. That makes it a natural fit if you filled pages of notes during Outer Wilds.

Best for: puzzle fans who like a laid-back pace. It’s single-player with full controller support, released May 1, 2013, from Polytron Corporation and publisher Trapdoor, on Windows, macOS and Linux. Reviews: Very Positive.

Exploration with a sense of awe and danger

Maybe the solar system itself was the draw: the dread of Dark Bramble, or that tense moment when your oxygen runs low. If so, these two are the most atmospheric games like Outer Wilds here.

Subnautica

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You crash-land on an alien ocean world, and the only way to go is down. Subnautica is a survival game, meaning you gather resources and craft what you need to stay alive. You scavenge, craft diving gear and submarines, build bases on the sea floor, and manage your oxygen as you push from sunny coral reefs into deep trenches and lava fields.

It has crafting and survival systems that Outer Wilds doesn’t, but fans pair the two for the pull of the unknown. You see something in the dark below, you aren’t sure you want to go there, and you go anyway. A larger mystery about the planet gives that exploration a purpose.

Best for: players who loved Outer Wilds’ mix of wonder and fear. It’s single-player with full controller support and VR support, released Jan 23, 2018, from Unknown Worlds Entertainment, on Windows and macOS. Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive from more than 382,000 reviews. If the fear is what you’re after, our best horror games on Steam go further.

Sable

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Sable is the calm option. You guide Sable through her Gliding, a rite of passage across vast deserts dotted with the remains of spaceships and ancient wonders. You ride a hoverbike, climb huge ruins, meet other nomads and explore entirely at your own pace.

There’s no clock and far less tension, but drifting through what an older civilization left behind will feel familiar to anyone who loved the Nomai ruins. The original soundtrack is by Japanese Breakfast. For more low-pressure picks, see our best cozy games on Steam.

Best for: players who want exploration without pressure. It’s single-player with full controller support, released Sep 23, 2021, from Shedworks and publisher Raw Fury, on Windows. Reviews: Very Positive.

How to choose your next game after Outer Wilds

Start with what you actually loved. Each of these games like Outer Wilds borrows a different piece of it, so matching that piece matters more than matching the setting.

A worked example

Say the moment that hooked you was realizing that a place only opens up at a certain point in the loop. That’s knowledge plus timing. The Forgotten City is the direct match, because it builds its mystery on knowing who will be where, and when. If you then want a harder test of pure reasoning, try Return of the Obra Dinn. End with The Witness, which drops the story almost entirely and leaves only the joy of understanding. That route takes you from the most Outer Wilds-like structure to the purest form of the idea.

Mistakes to avoid

• Reading solutions too early. Most games like Outer Wilds only work once. A walkthrough turns a discovery into a chore. When you’re stuck, take a break or ask a friend for a small nudge, not the answer.
• Expecting space flight. None of these copy Outer Wilds’ physics-driven ship. Pick them for the curiosity, not the cockpit.
• Judging by the genre label. TUNIC is listed as action and Subnautica as survival, yet both are full of the discovery you’re after.
• Skipping notes. Heaven’s Vault, Chants of Sennaar, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and FEZ all reward having pen and paper nearby.
• Starting with the hardest. Riven and The Witness are demanding. If you’re new to puzzle-heavy games, Myst or Chants of Sennaar are easier ways in.

Every pick here is single-player, just like Outer Wilds, and the platforms in each card are the ones Steam lists for the PC version. Once you’ve worked through these games like Outer Wilds and want a bigger world to wander, our open-world games like Skyrim are a different flavor of exploration. You can also browse the best games on Steam by genre.

Questions and answers

What is the gameplay of Outer Wilds?

Outer Wilds is a first-person, single-player exploration game. It's set in a small solar system stuck in a time loop of about 22 minutes. You fly a ship between planets using momentum-based physics, explore on foot with a jetpack and read alien Nomai writing with a translator. Only your ship's log carries over between loops, so you progress by learning where to go and when, not by gaining upgrades.

Is Outer Wilds the same game as The Outer Worlds?

No. The names are close, but they are separate games. Outer Wilds is a single-player open world mystery from Mobius Digital, published by Annapurna Interactive. It's about a solar system caught in an endless time loop. You make progress by exploring and reading alien ruins, not by leveling up a character. Every pick in this list was chosen for fans of Outer Wilds, the space mystery.

What game has the best exploration if you liked Outer Wilds?

For exploring places, Subnautica is the strongest pick. It gives you an alien ocean to explore deeper and deeper while you manage oxygen and build bases on the sea floor. If you'd rather explore ideas, The Witness and Riven reward close observation of every corner of their worlds. Sable is the relaxed option, with a desert full of ancient ruins to wander at your own pace.

What are the top 3 indie games like Outer Wilds?

Return of the Obra Dinn, The Forgotten City and Chants of Sennaar make a strong first three. All three are single-player indie games with Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam. Obra Dinn is pure deduction aboard a ghost ship. The Forgotten City traps you in a time loop in an ancient Roman city. In Chants of Sennaar you decipher languages to reunite the peoples of a vast tower.

Are there games like Outer Wilds and Subnautica?

Subnautica is the natural partner to Outer Wilds. Both mix wonder with danger and keep pulling you toward places you're nervous to visit, though Subnautica adds crafting and survival. For a calmer version of that awe, try Sable and its desert of ancient ruins. For the mystery side, Heaven's Vault has you exploring a nebula and translating an ancient language, much like reading Nomai texts.

Is Outer Wilds multiplayer?

No. Steam lists Outer Wilds as single-player only, and every game in this list is single-player too. These games are built around your own discoveries, so they work best when you play alone, though comparing theories with a friend playing at the same time can be fun. Outer Wilds has full controller support on Steam, and Steam recommends playing with a gamepad.