Ethel

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Ethel is hard to replace: few games combine horror tension, strong narrative focus and linear, story-driven structure in quite the same way. We analyzed over 2,000 titles across 13 gameplay attributes and found 47 genuine alternatives — not generic genre suggestions. Rusty Lake: Roots, Rusty Lake Hotel and Tales of the Black Forest lead the list, with Rusty Lake: Roots reaching a 95/100 similarity score. Every game here is ranked by how closely it replicates what makes Ethel special.

iRank93/ 100

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GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

Tags

NarrativeDarkSolo

Year 2024Dev Anthony Russo

Stores

Quick answer

The closest game to Ethel is Rusty Lake: Roots — scoring 95/100 on our similarity scale. Rusty Lake Hotel and Tales of the Black Forest follow close behind.

#1Rusty Lake: Roots95 #2Rusty Lake Hotel95 #3Tales of the Black Forest94 #4The Cat Lady95 #5Sanitarium95

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Games like Ethel

47 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

#1Rusty Lake: Roots

95

Rusty Lake: Roots

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorror2D

Steam👍 97%· 8.7K

Year 2016Dev Rusty LakeOn Android · PC · iOS

✓ Same family of psychological horror: horror tension, puzzle design and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with visual 2d, while skipping deep simulation

Steam GOG itch.io

#2Rusty Lake Hotel

95

Rusty Lake Hotel

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorFirst Person

Steam👍 96%· 10K

Year 2015Dev Rusty LakeOn Android · PC · iOS

✓ Same family of psychological horror: horror tension, puzzle design and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with vibe casual and visual 2d, while skipping deep simulation

Steam GOG itch.io

#3Tales of the Black Forest

94

Tales of the Black Forest

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorAnime

Steam👍 98%· 15K

Dev 拾英工作室 · SakuraGamePlaytime ~2hOn PC

✓ Both are psychological horror — sharing horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Its own twist: deep RPG systems, visual novel storytelling and setting anime, while skipping deep simulation

95

The Cat Lady

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorExploration

Steam👍 94%· 6.1K

Year 2012Dev Harvester Games · Screen 7On Linux · PC

✓ Both are psychological horror — sharing horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Its own twist: visual 2d, while skipping deep simulation

95

Sanitarium

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorIsometric

Steam👍 93%· 1.3KIGDB92· 1

Year 1998Dev DreamForge Intertainment · ASC GamesOn Android · PC · iOS

✓ Same family of psychological horror: horror tension, puzzle design and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings survival mechanics and visual isometric, while skipping deep simulation

94

Sally Face

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorCasual

Steam👍 97%· 27K

Year 2016Dev Portable MooseOn Xbox · PS4 · Linux

✓ Same family of psychological horror: horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Where it differs: brings vibe casual and visual 2d, while skipping deep simulation

95

Iron Lung

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorExplorationFirst Person3D

Steam👍 92%· 11K

Year 2022Dev David SzymanskiOn PC · PS5 · Switch

✓ Both are psychological horror — sharing horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Stands apart with setting scifi and visual pixel, while skipping linear, story-driven structure

93

The Supper

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorCasual

Steam👍 99%· 4.4K

Year 2020Dev Octavi NavarroOn PC

✓ Same family of psychological horror: horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Its own twist: vibe casual, visual pixel and free to play, while skipping deep simulation

Steam GOG itch.io

#9Poppy Playtime

95

Poppy Playtime

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorFirst Person

Steam👍 88%· 138K

Year 2021Dev Mob EntertainmentOn Xbox · PS4 · Android

✓ Same family of psychological horror: horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Its own twist: survival mechanics, melee combat and free to play, while skipping deep simulation

Steam Epic Xbox

93

Mad Father

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorExploration

Steam👍 97%· 6.5K

Year 2012Dev Sen · PLAYISMOn PC · Mac · Switch

✓ Fits the psychological horror cluster, with horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Its own twist: survival mechanics, vibe casual and setting anime, while skipping deep simulation

#11Mouthwashing

95

Mouthwashing

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 95%· 37KIGDB87· 1OC84· 27

Year 2024Dev Wrong Organ · Critical ReflexOn Xbox · PC · PS5

✓ Fits the psychological horror cluster, with horror tension, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Stands apart with setting space, while skipping deep simulation

94

Pony Island

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorCozy

Steam👍 95%· 18KIGDB92· 3OC85· 17

Year 2016Dev Daniel Mullins GamesOn Linux · PC · Mac

✓ Same family of psychological horror: horror tension, puzzle design and deep simulation

≠ Its own twist: cozy, relaxing feel, visual 2d and visual pixel, while skipping linear, story-driven structure

#13The Walking Dead: Season Two

94

The Walking Dead: Season Two

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloDarkNarrativeHorrorRanged

Steam👍 97%· 34KIGDB81· 5

Year 2013Dev Telltale Games · Skybound GamesOn PlayStation 3 · PS4 · Android

✓ Same family of psychological horror: horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Where it differs: brings survival mechanics, ranged combat and melee combat, while skipping deep simulation

#14Amnesia: The Dark Descent

95

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloDarkNarrativeHorrorExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 95%· 35KRAWG👍 70%· 1.2KMC85IGDB89· 2

Year 2010Dev Frictional GamesPlaytime ~2hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

✓ Same family of psychological horror: horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, melee combat and stealth mechanics, while skipping deep simulation

95

Detention

GenreHorrorSubgenrePsychological Horror

SoloNarrativeDarkHorrorExploration

Steam👍 96%· 12KIGDB76· 3OC81· 33

Year 2017Dev Red Candle Games · Coconut Island GamesOn PS4 · Linux · Android

✓ Both are psychological horror — sharing horror tension, adventure storytelling and puzzle design

≠ Stands apart with deep RPG systems, survival mechanics and visual novel storytelling, while skipping deep simulation

Steam PS Nintendo

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best game similar to Ethel?: The closest game to Ethel is Rusty Lake: Roots, scoring 95/100 on our similarity scale. They share 7 gameplay attributes, including horror tension, puzzle design and adventure storytelling. It's the most faithful alternative currently available.
What are the top games like Ethel?: The three closest games to Ethel are: 1. Rusty Lake: Roots (95/100, 7 shared attributes) 2. Rusty Lake Hotel (95/100, 8 shared attributes) 3. Tales of the Black Forest (94/100, 7 shared attributes). All share Ethel's most important gameplay attributes, ranked out of 47 candidates across 13 dimensions.
Is Rusty Lake Hotel similar to Ethel?: Yes, very much so — Rusty Lake Hotel scores 95/100 similarity to Ethel. They share 8 attributes, including horror tension and puzzle design. It's one of the most direct alternatives available.
What Horror games are similar to Ethel?: The best Horror games similar to Ethel are Rusty Lake: Roots, Rusty Lake Hotel, Tales of the Black Forest and The Cat Lady. All share the Horror genre alongside other key Ethel attributes like horror tension, puzzle design and adventure storytelling.
How is similarity to Ethel calculated?: We compare Ethel against every game in our catalog using 13 gameplay attributes: genre, atmosphere, world structure, play modes, combat style, and more. Each category is weighted differently — genre matters more than visual style, for instance. The result is a 0-100 score reflecting how closely a game replicates the Ethel experience, not just whether it shares the same genre label.