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Surreal hidden gems on Steam
Every game here is tagged Surreal on Steam, sits between 1,000 and 5,000 reviews, is rated at least 80% positive, and carries a catch drawn from its own negative reviews. All 41 of them, most reviewed first. How these pages are made.
Plug & Play85% positive from 4,928 reviews2015Deck Verified
An interactive surreal animation. Players connect plugs to explore a short, abstract experience.
What players likedPlayers praise its unique, minimalist puzzle design, comparing it to an abstract, interactive art piece.
The catchThe whole thing is over in about ten minutes and has no replay value.
Games like Plug & Play →
A first-person puzzle game where players manipulate gravity to navigate an infinite, Escher-inspired world. Its core loop involves solving spatial puzzles by walking on any surface and restoring life.
What players likedPlayers praise its mind-bending puzzles, beautiful Escher-esque visuals, and gravity mechanics, feeling like a mix of Portal 2 and Superliminal.
The catchFinding the next puzzle in huge empty spaces takes far longer than solving it.
Games like Manifold Garden →
A five-act magical realist adventure game focused on narrative and atmosphere. Players explore a surreal landscape, interacting with characters and uncovering a story of debt and community.
What players likedPlayers praise its deep, magical realism narrative, comparable to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" or "Apocalypse Now."
The catchPainfully slow pacing and walls of dialogue with almost no actual gameplay.
Games like Kentucky Route Zero: PC Edition →
This is a '90s internet simulator where you investigate user violations on a simulated web. You'll browse websites, manage downloads, and customize your desktop.
What players likedPlayers praise "Hypnospace Outlaw" as a unique, immersive, and nostalgic exploration of a 90s-style internet, often compared to "Papers, Please" and "Serial Experiments Lain."
The catchPuzzles turn so vague that progress often means aimless clicking or looking up a guide.
Games like Hypnospace Outlaw →
The Bridge87% positive from 4,352 reviews20135% finish itDeck Verified
A hand-drawn logic puzzle game where players manipulate gravity to navigate impossible architecture. It offers a challenging, intellectual experience with a time-backtracking mechanic.
The catchSolutions come down to slow, precise physics fiddling and trial and error, not logic.
Games like The Bridge →
killer793% positive from 3,909 reviews2018Deck Verified
Play as Harman Smith, an old man who manifests seven assassins, switching between them at will to gun down the exploding Heaven Smile and solve puzzles across a cel-shaded revenge story.
What players likedPlayers praise its unique artistic vision, unforgettable story, and stylish design, saying it's unlike anything else they've played.
The catchClunky, restrictive controls turn basic movement and shooting into a constant fight.
Games like killer7 →
Arctic Eggs96% positive from 3,867 reviews2024Deck Verified
A narrative cooking simulator where players cook eggs for inhabitants. The core loop involves listening to stories or quickly cooking, with realistic physics.
What players likedPlayers praise Arctic Eggs as a unique, atmospheric, and philosophical cooking simulator with satisfying physics and jazzy music.
The catchCore frying mechanic feels unrefined and tedious
Games like Arctic Eggs →
Mitoza96% positive from 3,847 reviews202138% finish itDeck Playable
Surreal choice-driven exploration game. Players experience cycles of growth and decay, making decisions that impact the narrative.
What players likedPlayers praise Mitoza as a free, short, "choose your own adventure" game with an art style that offers many fun and unexpected possibilities.
The catchAmounts to picking A or B and watching animations, which gets repetitive fast.
Games like Mitoza →
Perfect Vermin93% positive from 3,842 reviews202055% finish itDeck Playable
This is a short, first-person narrative exploration game with timed puzzles. Players use a sledgehammer to destroy office items and exterminate vermin under pressure.
What players likedPlayers praise its short, gruesome horror and intriguing story that tackles real-world struggles like illness and addiction.
The catchCrashes roughly every minute for many players, often before a level is finished.
Games like Perfect Vermin →
HOLE94% positive from 3,695 reviews2024Deck Unsupported
A low-resolution, single-player FPS with gun jamming and infinite enemies. Players survive short, challenging stages by clearing jams and returning through microwaves.
What players likedPlayers praise "HOLE" as a tense, high-risk, high-reward extraction shooter with satisfying gunplay, often compared to Tarkov or The Backrooms.
The catchBadly optimised for such a tiny game, with stutter and heavy frame drops for many.
Games like HOLE →
Psychopomp GOLD97% positive from 3,214 reviews202440% finish itDeck Unsupported
This is a horror dungeon crawler with exploration and combat. Players descend into procedurally generated catacombs filled with bizarre creatures and secrets.
What players likedPlayers praise Psychopomp GOLD as a unique, mind-bending psychological horror akin to Silent Hill, ENA, and Yume Nikki, with amazing art, atmosphere, and lore.
The catchGrid based movement is slow and clunky, stretching out thin, repetitive levels.
Games like Psychopomp GOLD →
Zeno Clash86% positive from 3,186 reviews20097% finish itDeck Playable
First-person brutal melee combat in a punk fantasy world. Explore a surreal story and defeat waves of enemies.
What players likedZeno Clash is a unique first-person melee game with a distinct style and intriguing alien world.
The catchMelee combat plays clunky and janky, with hits that often fail to connect.
Games like Zeno Clash →
This is a visual novel with branching narratives and multiple endings, featuring a dark, psychological mystery feel. The core loop involves player choices impacting the story and its outcomes.
What players likedPlayers praise its intriguing story, great art, and music, often comparing it to Higurashi When They Cry for its psychological horror and mystery.
The catchThe English translation is stilted and redundant, making the writing a slog to read.
Games like Notch - The Innocent LunA: Eclipsed SinnerS →
This is a procedural, found-footage survival horror game where players explore a shifting school maze, encountering unique entities. Its core loop involves managing proximity voice and inventory to survive the unpredictable environment.
What players likedPlayers compare it to Backrooms-style games, praising its immersive, challenging, and unique levels with varied mechanics.
The catchStill buggy years into early access, with enemies clipping and getting stuck.
Games like The Classrooms →
Samorost 287% positive from 2,880 reviews200931% finish itDeck Verified
Point-and-click adventure game. Explore surreal worlds, solve puzzles to rescue a dog. Relaxing, atmospheric.
What players likedPlayers praise Samorost 2 as a classic, quirky Amanita Design point-and-click adventure with engaging puzzles and imaginative visuals.
The catchObjects stop responding to clicks, forcing level restarts or blocking the game entirely.
Games like Samorost 2 →
A genre-hopping simulation game where players complete varied mini-games to catch a rogue rubber duck. It features a lighthearted, experimental feel.
The catchThe genre mashup is shallow, with none of the borrowed styles executed well.
Games like Duck Simulator 2 →
Birth96% positive from 2,637 reviews2023Deck Verified
Adventure game with creature construction from collected parts. Solve physics puzzles and interact with creatures in a hand-drawn city.
What players likedPlayers praise this cozy, hand-drawn puzzle game for its unique blend of cute and gruesome, often compared to Rusty Lake.
The catchThe puzzles are so simple they solve themselves, and the whole game ends in two hours.
Games like Birth →
Hylics 296% positive from 2,520 reviews2020Deck Playable
Turn-based RPG with unique stop-motion visuals. Explore 3D environments, recruit allies, and battle diverse enemies using special abilities.
What players likedPlayers praise Hylics 2 as a unique, surreal JRPG with an extraordinary abstract art style, psychedelic music, and improved turn-based combat, often compared to Jack Stauber's work.
The catchThe added platforming sections are clunky and janky enough to spoil exploring.
Games like Hylics 2 →
This is a 3D adventure game with puzzle-solving and exploration. Players use unique tools to interact with the digital world and collect likes to progress.
What players likedPlayers praise its unique vaporwave aesthetic and surreal internet nostalgia, often comparing it to a first-person adventure or walking simulator.
The catchMovement is glacially slow across large areas that constantly force backtracking.
Games like Broken Reality →
Creaks96% positive from 2,066 reviews202034% finish itDeck Verified
Creaks is a hand-painted puzzle adventure game with precise animation and eerie sounds. Players solve environmental puzzles in a mansion, exploring and uncovering secrets.
What players likedPlayers praise Creaks' unique, dreamlike atmosphere, art, and music, comparing it to Machinarium but with distinct charm.
The catchThe puzzles recycle the same few mechanics and get repetitive well before the end.
Games like Creaks →
This is a 3D arcade flight game where players collect orbs and battle bosses in a dream world. It features aerial combat and score-chasing across enhanced dream stages.
What players likedPlayers praise its unique dream-like flight and platforming, unlike other games, with a beautiful presentation and fantastic soundtrack.
The catchDated, shallow gameplay and awkward controls leave little beyond nostalgia value.
Games like NiGHTS Into Dreams →
KIDS83% positive from 1,991 reviews2019Deck Verified
Interactive animation exploring crowd movement and disappearance. Experience a short, contemplative journey.
The catchRuns about fifteen minutes, far too short to justify the asking price.
Games like KIDS →
A first-person puzzle adventure where players reveal a world by splatting paint. It features surreal exploration and a storybook feel.
What players likedPlayers praise its innovative story and unique mechanics, comparing it to "What Remains Of Edith Finch" for its narrative depth.
The catchThe novelty wears off fast and painting the world quickly turns monotonous.
Games like The Unfinished Swan →
q.u.q.95% positive from 1,894 reviews202340% finish itDeck Verified
A narrative-driven adventure game with a retro art style and multiple endings, featuring exploration and a focus on player choice leading to varied outcomes.
What players likedPlayers praise its stylish art and melancholic music, finding it a short, abstract, and surreal experience akin to other games by motijan.
The catchThe plot is incoherent, with key events and imagery left with no explanation.
Games like q.u.q. →
Off-Peak90% positive from 1,820 reviews2016
This is a free, first-person adventure game where players explore a train station, interact with characters, and uncover stories at their own pace. It features original music and a contemplative, mysterious atmosphere.
What players likedPlayers praise its surreal, atmospheric "walking simulator" experience, often described as a "fever dream" that evokes nostalgia and peace.
The catchIt is a short walking sim with almost no gameplay or substance behind it.
Games like Off-Peak →
Five short horror stories named after animals, playable in any order, where point-and-click choices about time travel, black magic and immortality end with the character dead or barely surviving.
What players likedPlayers praise its unique, surreal art style and psychological horror, often comparing it to works by David Lynch and Junji Ito.
The catchStriking visuals sit on a story that is weird for its own sake and never adds up.
Games like Critters for Sale →
This is a hand-drawn, point-and-click adventure puzzle game about love and loss. Players solve puzzles in surreal memory rooms to uncover a bittersweet story.
What players likedPlayers praise this beautiful, melancholic puzzle game for its compelling story and moving portrayal of grief and lost love.
The catchThe story stays shallow and the characters are too flat to make the loss land.
Games like When The Past Was Around →
Anodyne85% positive from 1,589 reviews201310% finish itDeck Verified
A 2D action-adventure game where players explore surreal dreamscapes, solve puzzles, and fight enemies to help the protagonist wake up. The core loop involves navigating diverse environments and using a broom to overcome challenges.
What players likedPlayers praise Anodyne as a surreal, emotional take on classic top-down Zelda, offering varied puzzles and beautiful, odd world design.
The catchCombat is bland and janky, with short attack range and enemies that barely threaten.
Games like Anodyne →
This is a point-and-click adventure game featuring Renaissance art and classical music, focused on sin and the Four Last Things. It offers a traditional interface with a verb coin and inventory system.
What players likedPlayers praise its Pythonesque humor and silliness, finding it an absurdly brilliant and fun experience.
The catchThe jokes often fall flat and several puzzle solutions make little sense.
Games like Four Last Things →
Fractal Block World is a surreal exploration game with size-shifting mechanics. Players fly through procedurally generated worlds, battling monsters and collecting treasure to rescue a friend.
What players likedPlayers praise its unique fractal exploration and deep lore, akin to an absurdist, esoteric puzzle-solving action RPG.
The catchThe art and sound design are crude enough to undercut a genuinely unique concept.
Games like Fractal Block World →
Out Of Hands94% positive from 1,508 reviews202537% finish itDeck Verified
This is a surreal horror card-battler where players combine organs to create weapons and fight dream-world enemies. It features a collage art style and a psychological narrative.
The catchGenerative AI art is used throughout and clashes with the game's handmade visuals.
Games like Out Of Hands →
Hyperbolica83% positive from 1,317 reviews202225% finish itDeck Verified
A first-person exploration game featuring non-Euclidean geometry puzzles and traversal. It offers a surreal experience with mind-bending spatial mechanics.
What players likedPlayers praise its unique exploration of hyperbolic geometry, unlike anything seen in other games.
The catchGameplay rarely uses the non-Euclidean geometry meaningfully
Games like Hyperbolica →
This is a point-and-click adventure game featuring exploration and puzzle-solving. It has an Afro-Caribbean setting and a story about friendship and mystery.
What players likedPlayers praise its unique Afro-Caribbean noir atmosphere and character design, reminiscent of stop-motion puppets.
The catchMost of it is over in about two hours, and each short chapter is sold separately.
Games like The Journey Down: Chapter One →
First-person adventure game exploring a surreal hotel. Players uncover a mystery through environmental interaction and piecing together a narrative.
What players likedPlayers praise this surrealist adventure for its thought-provoking story and interconnected world-building, reminiscent of the Off-Peak series.
The catchCrashes and failure to launch are frequent, and saving only on quit loses progress.
Games like The Norwood Suite →
A short, hand-drawn point-and-click adventure with physics puzzles. Players collect rent from woodland residents in a delicate story.
What players likedPlayers praise its imaginative, whimsical, and clever puzzle gameplay with a mild horror ambience.
The catchIt is over in under half an hour and the puzzles are far too easy to resist.
Games like Landlord of the Woods →
This is a point-and-click adventure game featuring Renaissance artwork and classical music. Players solve puzzles and interact with characters to find a fugitive.
What players likedPlayers praise its humorous, unique art style and point-and-click gameplay, reminiscent of Monty Python, with varied interactions and exploration.
The catchPuzzle solutions run on moon logic, so a walkthrough is usually needed.
Games like The Procession to Calvary →
Survival game with creature adaptation and evolution. Explore a dangerous alien world threatened by a giant rolling cylinder.
What players likedPlayers praise its unique, fever-dream-like art direction, creature designs, and soundscape, offering a special action-adventure experience focused on movement and puzzles.
The catchBilled as open world but it plays as a linear, repetitive trudge between areas.
Games like The Eternal Cylinder →
First-person atmospheric horror game. Players navigate Chernobyl using a Geiger counter, managing liquidator skills to survive radioactive hazards.
What players likedPlayers praise its serious, concise depiction of the Chernobyl disaster, reminiscent of a focused, one-and-done experience.
The catchDeaths come fast and feel unpredictable
Games like Liquidators →
This is a procedurally generated roguelike dungeon crawler where players use weapons and unreliable sleep magic to escape a mind prison. It features randomized loot, meta-progression, and multiple endings.
The catchCombat is clunky and unsatisfying, which undercuts the strong atmosphere and art.
Games like Dungeons of Blood and Dream →
Decarnation88% positive from 1,088 reviews202344% finish itDeck Verified
Decarnation is a surreal horror adventure game with mini-games and a dreamlike narrative. It features a story of survival where players solve riddles and confront enemies.
What players likedPlayers praise Decarnation as an interactive psychological horror movie with beautiful pixel art and effective grotesque themes.
The catchThe story starts strong then falls flat, with a predictable and unsatisfying ending.
Games like Decarnation →
Titan Chaser82% positive from 1,044 reviews20219% finish itDeck Playable
A meditative driving simulator where players use light to guide giants away from town. It offers a relaxing open-world experience with environmental interaction and a focus on atmosphere.
What players likedPlayers praise its realistic driving physics, reminiscent of early racing simulators, for an immersive experience.
The catchDriving is clunky and you get stuck on the uneven terrain constantly.
Games like Titan Chaser →
