Games like Periphery Synthetic
by shiftBacktick
Proteus and Dreamcore play most like Periphery Synthetic. Of the 17 closest games below, most share its exploration and walking simulator; 2 came out in the last year, 16 are free or under $10 and 1 has co-op. The best known is Journey, with 34,859 Steam reviews.
View on Steam · -10% $4.49 →
Ranked by how similar the games actually are, not by sales. Released and Price are remembered for next time.
Closest matches
Proteus
Jan 30, 2013 · Ed Key and David Kanaga
Both: Exploration · Walking Simulator · Relaxing
Proteus is a game about exploration and immersion in a dream-like island world where the soundtrack to your play is created by your surroundings. Played in first-person, the primary means of interaction is simply your presence in the world and how you observe it.
ExplorationWalking SimulatorRelaxingIndieCasualProcedural GenerationExperimentalFirst-PersonBeautifulAdventure👍 1,422Dreamcore
Jan 23, 2025 · Montraluz
Both: Exploration · Walking Simulator · Relaxing
Experience backrooms like never before. Dreamcore is the ultimate psychological exploration game, set in the largest liminal world ever made. No guides, no path—only intuition. Will you keep your bearings in a world designed to make you lose them?
ExplorationWalking SimulatorPsychological HorrorFirst-PersonSurreal3DHorrorNonlinearRelaxingAtmospheric👍 1,8910°N 0°W
Mar 1, 2018 · Colorfiction
Both: Exploration · Psychedelic · Walking Simulator
Ready for a wild trip of psychedelic sights and sounds? 0°N 0°W is a chill, first-person walking sim for everyone, where each run is a fresh adventure!
ColorfulSurrealExplorationOpen WorldPsychedelicPlatformerWalking SimulatorFirst-Person3DRelaxing👍 363Journey
Jun 11, 2020 · thatgamecompany
Both: Exploration · Relaxing · Walking Simulator
Explore the ancient, mysterious world of Journey as you soar above ruins and glide across sands to discover its secrets.
BeautifulAtmosphericAdventureIndieExplorationRelaxingGreat SoundtrackWalking SimulatorCo-opMultiplayer👍 34,859Dreaming Sarah
Mar 12, 2015 · Asteristic Game Studio, Anthony Septim
Both: Metroidvania · Exploration · Walking Simulator
Dreaming Sarah is an adventure platformer where you play as Sarah, a girl who is in a coma. Explore the world around her and help her wake up!
Puzzle PlatformerMetroidvaniaExplorationCasualPlatformerFemale ProtagonistWalking SimulatorSurreal2DRelaxing👍 2,301TIMEframe
Jul 7, 2015 · Random Seed Games
Both: Walking Simulator · Exploration
Time is relative. Sometimes 10 seconds can feel like an eternity... In TIMEframe you will discover a world in slow motion. Explore the remnants of a mysterious civilization on the brink of destruction.
IndieCasualWalking SimulatorAtmosphericGreat SoundtrackExplorationFirst-PersonAdventureStylizedShort👍 270Eastshade
Feb 13, 2019 · Eastshade Studios
Both: Exploration · Relaxing
You are a traveling painter, exploring the island of Eastshade. Capture the world on canvas using your artist’s easel. Talk to the inhabitants to learn about their lives. Make friends and help those in need. Visit cities, scale summits, unearth mysteries, and discover forgotten places!
AdventureFantasyOpen WorldExplorationRPGAtmosphericRelaxingFirst-PersonStory RichColorful👍 5,184Shape of the World
Jun 5, 2018 · Hollow Tree Games
Both: Walking Simulator · Exploration · Relaxing
A serene first person exploration game in a surreal, organic world that reacts to your presence. Journey through a psychedelically colorful ecosystem of flourishing flora, rambling waterfalls, burgeoning mountains, glowing monoliths and graceful creatures. A 1-3 hour escape from work, anxiety and stress.
CasualNatureIndieAtmosphericSurrealWalking SimulatorExplorationRelaxingFirst-PersonAdventure👍 264Anemoiapolis: Chapter 1
Mar 3, 2023 · Andrew Quist
Both: Exploration · Walking Simulator
The most relaxing horror game you'll ever play. Anemoiapolis exists in the uncanny valley of American architecture -- endless carpeted floors and lonely malls. Escape for your life, and enjoy the scenery.
HorrorPsychological HorrorExplorationFirst-PersonSingleplayerMysteryRealisticWalking SimulatorProcedural GenerationAtmospheric👍 1,154The Exit 8
Nov 29, 2023 · KOTAKE CREATE
Both: Exploration · Walking Simulator · Immersive Sim
You are trapped in an endless underground passageway. Observe your surroundings carefully to reach "The Exit 8".
ExplorationPuzzleWalking SimulatorHorrorImmersive SimPsychological HorrorUndergroundFirst-Person3DSurreal👍 11,001Infinite Galleries
9 days ago · NanningsGames
Both: Exploration · Walking Simulator · Relaxing
Explore procedurally generated virtual galleries from online searches, curated collections, or your own photos, on desktop or in VR.
ExplorationWalking SimulatorProcedural GenerationVRFirst-PersonRelaxingEducationCasualAtmosphericAdventureSupraland
Apr 5, 2019 · Supra Games
Both: Exploration · Metroidvania
Try the demo! A mix between Portal, Zelda and Metroid. Exploration, puzzles, terrible combat, secret upgrades and new abilities that help you reach new places. Playtime 12-25h.
Puzzle PlatformerExplorationMetroidvaniaAdventureFirst-PersonSingleplayerPhysicsPuzzleFPSOpen World👍 12,398Fractal Block World
Oct 18, 2021 · Dan Hathaway
Both: Exploration · Psychedelic
This is a surreal exploration game. Explore a massive fractal with great complexities. You can shrink infinitely to go deeper into the fractal. Or you can become larger by growing. Inner space awaits you in this infinite world.
ExplorationOpen WorldSurrealFPSVoxelIndiePsychedelicFirst-PersonAdventureNonlinear👍 1,504POOLS
Apr 26, 2024 · Tensori
Both: Walking Simulator · Exploration · Relaxing
Walking simulator. Explore, admire and listen. Uncanny. Relaxing. Unnerving. Eerie. Immersive. No monsters chasing you or jumping at your screen, but can feel oppressive at times by invoking fears of getting lost, the dark, tight spaces and liminal space architecture. Inspired by backrooms.
Psychological HorrorWalking SimulatorAtmosphericRealisticExplorationFirst-PersonSurrealSingleplayerImmersiveRelaxing👍 6,478Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
Feb 14, 2017 · The Chinese Room, Robert Briscoe
Both: Walking Simulator · Exploration · Relaxing
Dear Esther immerses you in a stunningly realised world, a remote and desolate island somewhere in the outer Hebrides. As you step forwards, a voice begins to read fragments of a letter: 'Dear Esther...' - and so begins a journey through one of the most original first-person games of recent years.
Walking SimulatorExplorationInteractive FictionPuzzleFirst-PersonRelaxingPsychological HorrorHorrorLinearAtmospheric👍 2,463Arcadian Days
Oct 23, 2025 · IMMERSIV GAMES
Both: Exploration · Immersive Sim · Walking Simulator
An immersive exploration game with light puzzle solving, inspired by Romanian landscapes and culture. Progress at your own pace in non-linear slice-of-life quests set in handcrafted open environments.
ExplorationImmersive SimSandboxWalking Simulator3DFirst-PersonCuteRelaxingNonlinearOpen World
Also worth a look
Share some of the same DNA, but further from the original.
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