Shanghai Summer similar games & best alternatives

Shanghai Summer - shanghai-summer_1.avif
Shanghai Summer - shanghai-summer_2.avif
Shanghai Summer - shanghai-summer_3.avif
Shanghai Summer - shanghai-summer_4.avif
Shanghai Summer - shanghai-summer_5.avif
Shanghai Summer - shanghai-summer_6.avif

Shanghai Summer

PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch • 2024

Should you play it?

Shanghai Summer is an adventure game set in the millennium. Our protagonist, Baichuan, goes through a series of "anomalies" over the length of twelve days. In his pursuit of the truth, he found that his hopes and regrets from the past finally seem to converge. Will he be able to "fix" it for good?

What works

  • Emotional and reflective narrative
  • Beautiful hand-drawn art style
  • Atmospheric and fitting soundtrack
  • Multiple endings and branching storylines
  • User-friendly flowchart for story navigation

Things to keep in mind

  • Short gameplay length
  • Translation issues in some languages
  • Limited gameplay mechanics and interactivity
  • Some find story pacing slow or confusing
  • Lack of voice acting and animation depth

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

Less fellowship-oriented

Games that feels like Shanghai Summer but with less of a community feel

Less exploratory

Games that feels like Shanghai Summer but with less exploration of areas and secrets

More thrilling

Games that feels like Shanghai Summer but with more suspense and thrill

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 Shanghai Summer. 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 Shanghai Summer. These titles are not in What to play next.

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

Last update: 02/09/2026