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When the Darkness comes similar games & best alternatives

When the Darkness comes

PC (Microsoft Windows) • 2019

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Quick resume

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.

Global score

92/100

Genres

Adventure, Free To Play, Indie

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    Pros

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

    Cons

    • 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

    Motivations

    • Autonomy

      Game with the same Autonomy vibe

      4

      "Players make meaningful choices affecting multiple endings and character routes, reflecting high personal control and decision-making."

      Capsule for MetaWare High School (Demo) MetaWare High School (Demo)

      "Players make meaningful choices affecting multiple endings and gameplay experience, reflecting personal decisions and control."

    • Competence

      Game with the same Competence vibe

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      "Gameplay involves simple puzzles and exploration with minimal challenge, focusing on narrative rather than skill."

      Capsule for Last Day of June Last Day of June

      "Gameplay involves some skill in navigation and puzzle-like platforming, but overall focuses on narrative and emotional experience rather than technical challenge."

    • Competition

      Game with the same Competition vibe

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      "No competitive elements; focus is on personal experience and introspection without comparison to others."

      Capsule for Awkward Dimensions Redux Awkward Dimensions Redux

      "No competitive elements; focus is on personal experience and introspection without comparison to others."

    • Continuation

      Game with the same Continuation vibe

      3

      "Players often replay to explore multiple endings and different dialogue paths, showing attachment and habitual engagement."

      Capsule for Emily is Away Too Emily is Away Too

      "Players often replay multiple times to explore different endings and deeper meanings, showing attachment and habitual engagement."

    • Cooperation

      Game with the same Cooperation vibe

      -5

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

      Capsule for SIGNALIS SIGNALIS

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

    • Creativity

      Game with the same Creativity vibe

      3

      "Players explore different narrative paths and endings, expressing creativity through choices and story exploration."

      Capsule for Tiny Bunny Tiny Bunny

      "Players explore different narrative paths and endings, with some freedom in choices; creative expression mainly through interpretation."

    • Domination

      Game with the same Domination vibe

      -5

      "No elements of exerting control or superiority over others; experience is personal and introspective."

      Capsule for The Midnight Walk The Midnight Walk

      "No elements of exerting control or superiority over others; experience is personal and introspective."

    • Escapism

      Game with the same Escapism vibe

      4

      "Strongly focused on emotional and mental health themes, providing a form of escape and reflection on real-life struggles."

      Capsule for Sea of Solitude Sea of Solitude

      "Strongly used as a means to explore and process difficult real-life emotions and mental health issues, providing psychological escape and reflection."

    • Expectation

      Game with the same Expectation vibe

      -4

      "Players engage voluntarily out of personal interest and intrinsic motivation to experience the story."

      Capsule for Tricolour Lovestory Tricolour Lovestory

      "Players engage voluntarily out of personal interest and intrinsic motivation to understand themes and experience the narrative."

    • Experimenting

      Game with the same Experimenting vibe

      3

      "Players explore different perspectives and choices on multiple playthroughs, encouraging experimentation within the narrative."

      Capsule for BOKURA BOKURA

      "Multiple playthroughs with different choices encourage exploration of new narrative outcomes and game mechanics."

    • Exploration

      Game with the same Exploration vibe

      3

      "Players uncover secrets, clues, and multiple endings, fostering curiosity-driven discovery."

      Capsule for Cooking Companions: Appetizer Edition Cooking Companions: Appetizer Edition

      "Players discover new areas, secrets, and endings through repeated playthroughs, driven by curiosity."

    • Expression

      Game with the same Expression vibe

      -3

      "Limited customization; expression mainly through player interpretation rather than avatar or environment modification."

      Capsule for Knock-knock Knock-knock

      "Limited customization; expression mainly through player choices and interpretation rather than avatar or environment modification."

    • Fantasy

      Game with the same Fantasy vibe

      2

      "The game blends fantasy elements with metaphorical storytelling about real-life mental health themes."

      Capsule for Constance Constance

      "Abstract and metaphorical narrative with some surreal and horror elements, but grounded in realistic mental health themes."

    • Fellowship

      Game with the same Fellowship vibe

      -5

      "Primarily a solitary experience with minimal social interaction or community involvement."

      Capsule for INDIKA INDIKA

      "Primarily a solitary experience with minimal social interaction or community involvement."

    • Growth

      Game with the same Growth vibe

      4

      "Players reflect on mental health, relationships, and personal development through narrative."

      Capsule for Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star

      "Encourages personal reflection, emotional growth, and understanding of mental health through narrative and gameplay."

    • Health

      Game with the same Health vibe

      -5

      "No physical activity or health-related gameplay elements; sedentary experience."

      Capsule for Road 96 🛣️ Road 96 🛣️

      "No physical activity or health-related gameplay elements; sedentary experience."

    • Idle

      Game with the same Idle vibe

      -4

      "Requires focused attention and emotional engagement; not suited for background or casual play."

      Capsule for That Dragon, Cancer That Dragon, Cancer

      "Requires focused attention and emotional engagement; not designed for background or casual play."

    • Intimacy

      Game with the same Intimacy vibe

      2

      "Emotional intimacy through deep narrative and psychological themes, but no social or relationship-building mechanics."

      Capsule for Without a Dawn Without a Dawn

      "Emotional intimacy through narrative and themes of personal struggle, though limited direct social interaction."

    • Leadership

      Game with the same Leadership vibe

      -5

      "No leadership or group management elements; experience is individual."

      Capsule for Everlasting Summer Everlasting Summer

      "No leadership or group management elements; experience is individual."

    • Progression

      Game with the same Progression vibe

      2

      "Progression through story advancement and unlocking multiple endings rather than item or power accumulation."

      Capsule for Rising Angels: Reborn Rising Angels: Reborn

      "Progression through narrative and unlocking endings and achievements rather than item or power accumulation."

    • Relaxation

      Game with the same Relaxation vibe

      -2

      "Experience is tense and anxiety-inducing rather than relaxing or cathartic."

      Capsule for Psalm 5:9-13 Psalm 5:9-13

      "Experience is emotionally intense and sometimes stressful rather than purely relaxing or cathartic."

    • Sensation

      Game with the same Sensation vibe

      3

      "Strong atmospheric audio-visual design evokes emotional and sensory responses."

      Capsule for Masochisia Masochisia

      "Strong atmospheric audio-visual design evokes emotional and sensory responses, including tension and unease."

    • Status

      Game with the same Status vibe

      -5

      "No social status or recognition systems; focus is on personal experience."

      Capsule for God of War God of War

      "No social status or recognition systems; focus is on personal experience."

    • Story

      Game with the same Story vibe

      5

      "Narrative-driven experience with deep psychological and religious themes central to gameplay."

      Capsule for Gray Dawn Gray Dawn

      "Narrative-driven experience with deep philosophical and psychological themes central to gameplay."

    • Strategy

      Game with the same Strategy vibe

      0

      "Minimal strategic or planning elements; gameplay is mostly exploration and puzzle interaction."

      Capsule for Layers of Fear (2016) Layers of Fear (2016)

      "Minimal strategic or problem-solving elements; gameplay focuses on exploration and narrative."

    • Thrill

      Game with the same Thrill vibe

      3

      "Contains suspenseful and eerie moments that create tension and emotional thrills."

      Capsule for IMMORTALITY IMMORTALITY

      "Contains suspenseful and unsettling moments that create tension and emotional thrill."

    • Value

      Game with the same Value vibe

      5

      "Highly praised for being free, with excellent content and perceived return on time invested."

      Capsule for Rock Life: The Rock Simulator Rock Life: The Rock Simulator

      "Highly praised for meaningful content and free availability, providing excellent return on time invested."

    • Violence

      Game with the same Violence vibe

      -5

      "No violent or destructive gameplay; focus is on emotional and constructive storytelling."

      Capsule for If Found... If Found...

      "No violent or destructive gameplay; focus is on emotional and psychological themes."

    • Survival

      Game with the same Survival vibe

      0

      "Some narrative elements of evading threats but no gameplay survival mechanics."

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      "No survival mechanics or threat avoidance; experience is narrative and exploratory."

    Analysis

    Less representative of its motivational profile, with noticeable differences. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Expression, Fellowship, Cooperation, Competition. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Intimacy, Value. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Violence.

    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.

    Where to buy

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    Last update: 30/04/2026