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Games like A Dark Room

A Dark Room leans active, finishes in about 3–6h. These games share the most with it, and each one says why.

Only

  1. Candy Box 2Complete

    Also narrative, exploration, classic · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending, about 5–10h

    An ASCII adventure that starts as a counter of candies and turns into quests, spells and a lollipop farm.

    5–10h ending
    30% idle
  2. Universal Paperclips cover art

    Universal PaperclipsComplete

    Also narrative, classic · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending, about 4–8h

    You are an AI that makes paperclips. Three acts, one terrifying arc, finished in an afternoon. The genre's best short story.

    4–8h ending
    30% idle

  3. Level 13Updated

    Also text, exploration, narrative

    A text-based sci-fi adventure where you survive a decayed city, rediscover technology and rebuild civilization.

  4. THE LONGING cover art

    THE LONGING

    Also exploration, narrative · Has an ending

    Wait 400 real days in an underground palace for a king to wake. The clock runs while the game is closed, so you can explore or simply leave.

    92% steam
    has ending
    70% idle
  5. Spaceplan cover art

    SpaceplanComplete

    Also narrative · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending, about 1–3h

    A stranded ship, a potato, and a soundtrack that makes the finale land. A short, focused story idler.

    91% steam
    1–3h ending
    30% idle
  6. Journey to Ascension cover art

    Journey to Ascension

    Also narrative · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    An active looping incremental in the vein of Prismatic Adventure with no idle waits and a complete story, finished in 10 to 25 hours.

    4.4★ galaxy
    has ending
    25% idle
  7. Ensis IDLE cover art

    Ensis IDLE

    Also text · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    A text-based dark fantasy incremental in early development, meant to be played actively and finished within a few weeks. Community translations included.

    3.9★ galaxy
    has ending
    25% idle
  8. Rejected Draft cover art

    Rejected DraftComing soon

    Also narrative · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending, about 1000h

    You are the doodle the Artist threw away. Fight community-drawn sketches, absorb their powers and claw your way back for revenge.

    4.2★ galaxy
    1000h ending
    35% idle
  9. Ink Remnant cover art

    Ink Remnant

    Also narrative, exploration

    A short incremental where a mage starts with nothing in a magical city and researches upward, with new systems revealed as the story unfolds.

    4.6★ galaxy
  10. Advent Incremental cover art

    Advent IncrementalComplete

    Also narrative · Has an ending, about 20–40h

    Twenty-four days, twenty-four interlocking mini-incrementals, one workshop to save Christmas. Built on Profectus.

    4.6★ galaxy
    20–40h ending
    40% idle
  11. Ballad of Heroes cover art

    Ballad of Heroes

    Also narrative, text

    A mostly text-based RPG idler set in Greek mythology. Build a party of up to two heroes and four gods and fight to defend Olympus.

    4.5★ galaxy
  12. Midnight Idle cover art

    Midnight Idle

    Also narrative, text

    A story incremental styled after gamebooks, following an amnesiac ooze with seven unlockable classes and several prestige layers. Built for mobile too.

    4.0★ galaxy
  13. A Tale of Poop and Vengeance cover art

    A Tale of Poop and Vengeance

    Also narrative · Same active/idle balance (leans active)

    A short story-driven clicker: shovel manure, buy upgrades and work your way toward toppling the government.

    4.4★ galaxy
    25% idle
  14. My Name is Mayo 2 cover art

    My Name is Mayo 2

    Also narrative · Same active/idle balance (leans active)

    Tap a mayonnaise jar to unlock silly stories, random facts, minigames and a set of collectible 1950s-style cards. A comedic clicker sequel.

    96% steam
    25% idle
  15. Stone Story RPG cover art

    Stone Story RPG

    Also narrative · Has an ending, about 15–30h

    A hand-animated ASCII RPG that plays itself while you script its behaviour. Gorgeous and strange.

    91% steam
    15–30h ending
    50% idle
  16. Beggar's Life cover art

    Beggar's LifeUpdated

    Also text, narrative

    Start as a starving beggar in a text-based medieval city and branch into paths like priest, thief, rat friend or pyromaniac through many skills.

    62% steam
    3.7★ galaxy
  17. FEED THE AI cover art

    FEED THE AI

    Also narrative · Has an ending, about 3–9h

    A short, very active incremental about an AI you feed with data. Shape it into a Protector, Rational or Tyrant; each ending makes the next run stronger.

    90% steam
    3–9h ending
    0% idle
  18. Lumberjacked cover art

    Lumberjacked

    Also narrative, exploration

    A 3D first-person clicker: chop trees, feed logs to a chipper for cash, sharpen your axe for tougher wood, and tunnel into a forest mystery.

    83% steam
  19. My Name is Mayo 3 cover art

    My Name is Mayo 3

    Also narrative · Same active/idle balance (leans active)

    The last part of a trilogy where you click a jar of mayonnaise to earn points, unlocking story fragments and achievements along the way.

    94% steam
    25% idle
  20. Cold Star cover art

    Cold StarUpdated

    Also narrative, text

    A minimalist sci-fi incremental in the style of A Dark Room: wake a dying reactor, gather and build to survive, then reach out across the stars.

  21. Immortal Taoists-MUD Wuxia cover art

    Immortal Taoists-MUD WuxiaDormant

    Also text, narrative

    Seek immortality as a cultivator in a playable xianxia novel, joining sects, learning arts and raising spirit beasts.

  22. Post Apo Tycoon - Idle Builder cover art

    Post Apo Tycoon - Idle BuilderUpdated

    Also exploration, narrative

    Rebuild a nuclear wasteland into farmland, exploring the map for resources and reading found diaries that reveal how the world ended.

  23. Magnetic Catch cover art

    Magnetic CatchUpdated

    Also exploration · Same active/idle balance (leans active)

    Cast a magnet into rivers to haul up scrap and treasure, then sell, craft and upgrade. Every catch is manual.

    3.6★ galaxy
    25% idle
  24. Magic Research 2 cover art

    Magic Research 2

    Also narrative · Has an ending, about 50–120h

    The sequel adds exploration, a spell-crafting system and a much longer story arc.

    93% steam
    50–120h ending
    55% idle