THE NORMAL THING similar games & best alternatives

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THE NORMAL THING

PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac • 2020

Should you play it?

THE NORMAL THING is a story about a dog who lost his memory. Sunless forests, strange gardens, weird inhabitants... Start a little journey to retrieve your memory.

What works

  • Emotional and touching story
  • Unique artistic style
  • Accessible puzzle difficulty
  • Free to play with good quality
  • Short and engaging playtime

Things to keep in mind

  • Some puzzles are obscure or frustrating
  • Minor bugs affecting progression
  • Limited player freedom and linear gameplay
  • Chase sequences can be annoying
  • Incomplete or rough english translation

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

Less intimate

Games that feels like THE NORMAL THING but with less focus on close relationships

Less survival-focused

Games that feels like THE NORMAL THING but with less survival pressure

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 THE NORMAL THING. 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 THE NORMAL THING. These titles are not in What to play next.

THE NORMAL THING: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Survival, Violence, Competition, Thrill. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Survival, Intimacy. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Expression.

Last update: 24/08/2026