Cards of Cthulhu similar games & best alternatives

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Cards of Cthulhu

Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac • 2016

Should you play it?

CARDS OF CTHULHU is the Roguelike Card RPG full of madness. Experience the unique combination of strategic deck-building with fast-paced combat and face-off parody monsters from horror B movies.

What works

  • Accessible and quick to pick up
  • Unique blend of real-time card battles and roguelike elements
  • Low price with decent challenge
  • Distinctive art style
  • Progression through unlocking cards and difficulty modes

Things to keep in mind

  • Limited card variety and repetitive enemies
  • Minimal narrative and superficial lovecraft theme
  • Lack of multiplayer or social features
  • Short overall content and replayability
  • Audio and visual repetition

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

More expressive

Games that feels like Cards of Cthulhu but with more self-expression and customization

More exploratory

Games that feels like Cards of Cthulhu but with more exploration of areas and secrets

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 Cards of Cthulhu. 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 Cards of Cthulhu. These titles are not in What to play next.

Cards of Cthulhu: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Story, Exploration, Creativity, Fantasy. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Violence. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Competition, Status.

Last update: 23/08/2026