Best Nonlinear games on Steam

Unlike generic lists, our strategy game recommendations use a rigorous analysis of Steam user reviews to identify and feature only the best, community-validated nonlinear games. For those who prefer not to search, lists of the most played, top deals nonlinear games are available at the bottom of the page.

Filters & Lists

Lunch Lady

Lunch Lady is a 1-4 player online co-op survival horror game. The school final exams are coming up and the best idea you and your friends had was to steal the test answers. Find all 10 pages and don't get caught by the murderous Lunch Lady!

Price 4.99€
Rating 8.4
Release 15 Apr 2021

CARNAL

CARNAL is a fast and challenging retro FPS straight from the mid '90s. The Sons of Anak are opening portals to extract Dark Matter from the "other side". Combat the possessed soldiers, the manifested demons helping them, and any inanimate objects standing in your way!

Price 0.99€
Rating 8.1
Release 09 Apr 2021

Paradise Lost

It's winter, 1980. Szymon, a boy raised in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, finds an abandoned Nazi bunker. Will he find what he’s looking for? Play Paradise Lost and explore an underground world, where Slavic mythology mixes with retrofuturistic technology. Discover the last story on Earth.

Price -92% 1.23€
Rating 6.3
Release 24 Mar 2021

Enter The Backrooms

An indie psychological horror experience about surviving infinity. Navigate an endless expanse of rooms, ascend through various levels, gather items and artifacts, avoid going insane, evade corrupted entities, and see just how deep the realm known as The Backrooms goes.

Price 9.69€
Rating 8.4
Release 12 Feb 2021

Tiny Lands

Take your perceptivity to a new dimension in a relaxing low-poly isometric puzzle game. Find the differences in the beautiful, fully rotatable, and zoomable 3D environments. Can you find them all?

Price -60% 2.79€
Rating 8.7
Release 21 Jan 2021

hexceed

A relaxing, hexagon based, puzzle game. An exciting new twist on a classic game without the element of guesswork! Use your critical thinking and our stimulating game mechanics to progress through hundreds of levels!

Price Free to play
Rating 8.6
Release 15 Jan 2021

Idle Slayer

Idle Slayer is an incremental game with idle and active playstyle mechanics, medieval pixel art visuals and retro 8-bit sounds and music.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.3
Release 21 Dec 2020

AOD: Art Of Defense

AOD is a new gameplay in the traditional tower defence genre. You must protect your base from waves of approaching enemies. Build and improve your towers and units and destroy your enemies in any way you can. Don't be weak, destroy them all, show who's in charge!

Price Free to play
Rating 7.3
Release 01 Dec 2020

Haydee 2

Haydee II is a third-person puzzle-shooter, but with a sexy character and a cake!

Price 20.99€
Rating 8.5
Release 23 Nov 2020

Lighthouse Keeper

This dark act takes place from a single day of the Lighthouse Keeper. Listen to keeper carefully and help him to interrupt his twenty-years-old shift at the Lighthouse.

Price 1.49€
Rating 7.4
Release 22 Nov 2020

Manifold Garden

Rediscover gravity and explore an Escher-esque world of impossible architecture. Witness infinity in first-person and master its rules to solve physics-defying puzzles. Cultivate a garden to open new paths forward, where an eternal expanse awaits.

Price -86% 2.64€
Rating 9.2
Release 20 Oct 2020

Lucifer Within Us

Solve 3 increasingly intricate murders by examining the evidence -- find the motive, the means, and the opportunity. Use testimonies of the suspects as evidence by examining every detail for contradictions... and signs of sin. Purify the possessed. Purge the daemons.

Price 19.50€
Rating 7.2
Release 15 Oct 2020

Liquidators

Chernobyl, USSR, 1986. Three nuclear plant workers go on a daring mission to prevent a radioactive fallout that would affect half of Europe. Every moment is permanent, and all is at stake.

Price Free to play
Rating 9.0
Release 30 Sep 2020

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw

Out of cash, out of luck, out on the fringe. Juno Markev has a killer to tail, a debt to pay, and more trouble headed her way. Rebel Galaxy Outlaw takes place in a greasy, blue-collar world of outlaws, truckers, cops and thieves.

Price 24.99€
Rating 6.2
Release 22 Sep 2020

A Monster's Expedition

An adorable and relaxing open world puzzle adventure for monsters who love to learn about humans!

Price 19.99€
Rating 9.0
Release 10 Sep 2020

Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town

A letter from 10 years ago, an intricate web of lies to unravel and a mystery to solve. Explore an unconventional town of pirates, dive into the past, collect items and look for clues to help Willy find out what happened to his father...

Price -12% 14.81€
Rating 8.3
Release 11 Aug 2020

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro

Guide local radio hosts Poe and Munro through six TV-like episodes of supernatural strangeness and sizzling on-screen chemistry. From the creators of The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker and The Shapeshifting Detective.

Price 10.79€
Rating 7.2
Release 19 May 2020

Ato

A world of Beauty and Mystery, Emotive Animations, Atmospheric Environments, Visually Driven Story, Metroidvania Exploration and Memorable Sword Duels.

Price 12.49€
Rating 9.0
Release 08 May 2020

MetaWare High School (Demo)

How do you see the world when nothing is real? An experimental metafictional visual novel.

Price Free to play
Rating 9.0
Release 02 Apr 2020

Horizon's Gate

Voyage into the wide world of Eral as an explorer, trader, or privateer. Defeat your enemies on land or at sea in deep but straightforward tactical combat. Unravel the secrets behind Dominio's betrayal – or sail off in search of your own adventure.

Price 19.50€
Rating 9.0
Release 09 Mar 2020

DreadOut 2

A third-person horror adventure that draws inspiration from Indonesian urban legend. Play as Linda, a high school student with the ability to sense and see ghosts. This spine-chilling sequel expands on the cult hit original, making DreadOut 2 another terrifying addition to the horror genre.

Price -70% 5.77€
Rating 7.3
Release 21 Feb 2020

CAR TUNE: Project

Car Tune: Project is a dynamic game in which the player takes on the role of a car mechanic. The goal of the game is to tune, modify, and improve the performance of cars. An extensive tuning system and realistic driving physics provide a great experience for automotive enthusiasts.

Price -10% 13.49€
Rating 7.9
Release 20 Feb 2020

Romancing SaGa 3™

The celebrated RPG classic comes West for the first time! Experience a brand-new HD remaster of the legendary 1995 RPG masterpiece introducing optimised graphics, a new dungeon to explore, new scenarios and a new game+ function.

Price -70% 9.59€
Rating 7.4
Release 11 Nov 2019

Pilgrims

Pilgrims is a playful adventure game, created by the team behind Machinarium and Samorost. Roam the land as you please and make new friends, share a laugh with your fellow travelers and help them complete their little stories, your way. How many different solutions can you find?

Price 6.99€
Rating 9.3
Release 07 Oct 2019

Most played nonlinear games on Steam

Take a look at the top nonlinear games that are currently attracting the largest player bases on the Steam platform, as of April 30th 2025.

1. Another Crab's Treasure

In a vibrant undersea kingdom on the verge of collapse, a hermit crab embarks on a treasure hunt to buy back his repossessed shell. The second game from AGGRO CRAB. Another Crab's Treasure is a souls-like, 3d platformer and funny game developed and published by Aggro Crab. Released on April 25th 2024 has received 16,362 reviews of which 15,479 were positive and 883 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.2 out of 10. The game has hit the top spot as the #1 most played nonlinear game, thanks to its 505 peak concurrent players over the last day.
9.2
15,479
883

505
players

2. Mind Over Magic

Mind Over Magic is a colony sim set at the site of a cursed magic school. Build and optimize your own magical academy, train powerful Mages, and master mighty relics in order to battle through the Underschool, a mysterious underground dungeon that holds the key to liberation from a deadly curse. Mind Over Magic is a survival, colony sim and building game developed by Sparkypants and published by Klei Publishing. Released on February 12th 2025 has received 3,357 reviews of which 2,964 were positive and 393 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.5 out of 10. While seeing 293 players online at once in the last 24 hours, this game is currently ranked #2 among nonlinear games based on player count.
8.5
2,964
393

293
players

3. Islands of Insight

Seek out and solve 10,000+ puzzles at your own pace across this sublime puzzle game. Islands of Insight is a puzzle-platformer, nonlinear and puzzle game developed by Lunarch Studios and published by Behaviour Interactive Inc.. Released on February 13th 2024 has received 2,970 reviews of which 2,126 were positive and 844 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.0 out of 10. The game currently holds the #3 spot among the most played nonlinear games.
7.0
2,126
844

19
players

4. The Bible

A digital recreation of The Bible in Kinetic Novel form! Read through and save passages in any order with an original soundtrack, or listen through the greatest story ever told in audiobook form. Featuring an extensive Trivia section to find out how well you really know the stories of Old and New. The Bible is a singleplayer, relaxing and nonlinear game developed and published by Bible Games. Released on November 14th 2022 has received 971 reviews of which 854 were positive and 117 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.3 out of 10. The game currently holds the #4 spot among the most played nonlinear games.
8.3
854
117

17
players

5. Taiji

Solve puzzle panels and uncover the meaning of the symbols within. Explore a dense world where secrets are hidden in plain sight. Taiji is a puzzle, nonlinear and difficult game developed and published by Matthew VanDevander. Released on September 09th 2022 has received 1,233 reviews of which 1,127 were positive and 106 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.7 out of 10. The game currently holds the #5 spot among the most played nonlinear games.
8.7
1,127
106

7
players

6. Turbo Kid

A nostalgic metroidvania adventure with insane weapons, skills, and pixel gore. Ride your BMX and blast your enemies as you discover the secrets of the Wasteland. Turbo Kid is a gore, action and narration game developed and published by Outerminds Inc.. Released on April 09th 2024 has received 422 reviews of which 403 were positive and 19 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. The game currently holds the #6 spot among the most played nonlinear games.
8.8
403
19

2
players

7. Myths of Rules

This is a text-based adventure puzzle game, where you must struggle to survive in a world filled with ghosts and urban legends. While collecting clues, you'll uncover the truth behind the world and find the way out. The game features a wealth of levels, unconventional rules, and a touch of horror. Myths of Rules is a word game, psychological horror and nonlinear game developed and published by Sugarcane Games. Released on August 30th 2023 has received 973 reviews of which 869 were positive and 104 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.4 out of 10. The game currently holds the #7 spot among the most played nonlinear games.
8.4
869
104

1
players

8. The Mobius Machine

Discover a vast alien world. Fight the ferocious local fauna and killer machines. Reveal its secrets and find a way to escape. The Mobius Machine is a side-scroller action adventure, with an emphasis on free-form exploration and intense combat. The Mobius Machine is a metroidvania, exploration and side scroller game developed and published by Madruga Works. Released on March 01st 2024 has received 344 reviews of which 296 were positive and 48 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.0 out of 10. The game currently holds the #8 spot among the most played nonlinear games.
8.0
296
48

1
players

9. Majotori

How many lives will your ignorance ruin? Majotori is a trivia, multiple endings and nonlinear game developed and published by Majorariatto. Released on March 28th 2017 has received 1,899 reviews of which 1,836 were positive and 63 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.2 out of 10. The game currently holds the #9 spot among the most played nonlinear games.
9.2
1,836
63

10. Eye of the Temple

Embark on a VR adventure to explore a vast and treacherous temple and uncover the ancient legend of the Eye. Keep your balance as you step between moving blocks, dodging hazardous traps and solving environmental puzzles with just your torch and whip in hand. Eye of the Temple is a vr, adventure and puzzle game developed and published by Rune Skovbo Johansen. Released on October 14th 2021 has received 401 reviews of which 374 were positive and 27 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. The game currently holds the #10 spot among the most played nonlinear games.
8.6
374
27

Best deals on nonlinear games on Steam

Discover fantastic savings with the best discounts on a variety of nonlinear games available on Steam right now, updated on April 30th 2025. Looking for even more deals? Use the search filters to explore a wider range of discounted nonlinear games.

1. Another Crab's Treasure

In a vibrant undersea kingdom on the verge of collapse, a hermit crab embarks on a treasure hunt to buy back his repossessed shell. The second game from AGGRO CRAB. Another Crab's Treasure is a souls-like, 3d platformer and funny game developed and published by Aggro Crab. Released on April 25th 2024 has received 16,362 reviews of which 15,479 were positive and 883 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.2 out of 10. Featuring a massive 53% discount, this game currently holds the #1 spot in the best deals for nonlinear category.
9.2
15,479
883

-53% 29.77€ 13.99€

2. Myths of Rules

This is a text-based adventure puzzle game, where you must struggle to survive in a world filled with ghosts and urban legends. While collecting clues, you'll uncover the truth behind the world and find the way out. The game features a wealth of levels, unconventional rules, and a touch of horror. Myths of Rules is a word game, psychological horror and nonlinear game developed and published by Sugarcane Games. Released on August 30th 2023 has received 973 reviews of which 869 were positive and 104 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.4 out of 10. Thanks to its 30% discount, this game is now the #2 best deal in nonlinear games.
8.4
869
104

-30% 2.99€ 2.09€

3. Turbo Kid

A nostalgic metroidvania adventure with insane weapons, skills, and pixel gore. Ride your BMX and blast your enemies as you discover the secrets of the Wasteland. Turbo Kid is a gore, action and narration game developed and published by Outerminds Inc.. Released on April 09th 2024 has received 422 reviews of which 403 were positive and 19 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. Thanks to its 25% discount, this game is now the #3 best deal in nonlinear games.
8.8
403
19

-25% 19.52€ 14.64€