6 Simulation games like The Closing Shift that you should try

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Ranking compiled by Lluis Enric Mayans, Founder & Head of ContentUpdated May 19, 2026How this is calculatedOrdered by an attribute-similarity model, not editorial opinion.

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We filtered the 50 games similar to The Closing Shift down to the 6 that fit the “Simulation” category. Grand Theft Auto III, Bully: Scholarship Edition and Need for Speed™ top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to The Closing Shift.

iRank85/ 100

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GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

The best simulation games like The Closing Shift

6 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to The Closing Shift. Each one has been evaluated across 19 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

#1Grand Theft Auto IIIClosest overall match

iRank89

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkNarrativeOpen WorldExploration

Steam👍 87%· 15KRAWG👍 86%· 1.6KMC93IGDB95· 2

Year 2001Dev DMA Design · CapcomPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and deep simulation

≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, racing gameplay and sandbox freedom, while skipping survival mechanics

The one that established the template: a 3D open city with radio stations, missions on call and free roaming between them. Historically it matters enormously. It has aged the hardest of the era — no mission checkpoints, no map markers for much of it, a silent protagonist, and shooting that amounts to auto-aim and hoping.

Where it drifts furthest from The Closing Shift: visuals and tone.

It predates The Closing Shift by 21 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Game mode100Progression100Combat75World70Tone43

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Steam PS

#2Bully: Scholarship EditionClosest on combat

iRank82

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeNarrativeDarkOpen WorldExploration

Steam👍 84%· 41KRAWG👍 86%· 765MC72IGDB80· 3

Year 2008Dev Rockstar New England · Rockstar GamesPlaytime ~2hOn PC · Xbox · Nintendo

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, deep simulation and strong narrative focus

≠ Where it differs: brings sandbox freedom, sandbox world and visual third person, while skipping survival mechanics

Set in Bullworth Academy, a fictional British private school, this game tells about school bullying and the troublesome period of growing to adolescence. You assume the role of Jimmy Hopkins, a 15-year-old boy and a “problem child”, who was already kicked out of many schools for his misbehavior.

Where it drifts furthest from The Closing Shift: visuals and tone.

It predates The Closing Shift by 14 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Progression100World70Tone43

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Steam Xbox

#3Need for Speed™Closest on world

iRank63

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeOpen WorldExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 69%· 28KRAWG👍 50%· 824MC66OC65· 78

Year 2015Dev Ghost Games · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~4hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with deep simulation, adventure storytelling and open world exploration

≠ Its own twist: racing gameplay, multiplayer gameplay and co op, while skipping survival mechanics

Become the ultimate icon of today’s urban car culture in Need for Speed™, featuring Five Ways to Play and a huge open world to race and explore from dusk ‘till dawn. * FIVE WAYS TO PLAY – Earn reputation and master all Five Ways to Play - Speed, Style, Build, Crew and Outlaw - to win your own way.

Where it drifts furthest from The Closing Shift: visuals and game mode.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against very positive for The Closing Shift.

Genre100Combat100World100Progression100Game mode42Visuals39

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeCasualOpen WorldExploration

Steam👍 96%· 1.7K

Dev Master IndiePlaytime ~2hOn PC

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, deep simulation and vibe casual

≠ Where it differs: brings sports simulation, racing gameplay and multiplayer gameplay, while skipping survival mechanics

Jet Island is a giant land mass, floating in space. Nearly 16 km across, stone structures and ruins are scattered across this ancient land. Scientists are baffled as to why a long forgotten alien race created this place. However, for those who have made the journey to this world, one thing is clear.

Where it drifts furthest from The Closing Shift: game mode and tone.

Genre100Combat100World100Progression100Tone43Game mode34

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Steam

#5Clutch

iRank69

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldHorrorExploration

Steam👍 73%· 252MC51IGDB80· 1

Year 2009Dev Targem Games · Game Factory InteractivePlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing deep simulation, dark, oppressive atmosphere and open world exploration

≠ Its own twist: racing gameplay, ranged combat and post-apocalyptic world, while skipping adventure storytelling

Clutch is a fast-paced arcade racing game which will challenge the resilience of anyone's nerves. You play as a person who has survived a catastrophe of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), while everyone else in the city has been transformed into a bloodthirsty zombie.

Where it drifts furthest from The Closing Shift: visuals and tone.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mostly positive, against very positive for The Closing Shift.

It predates The Closing Shift by 13 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Game mode100World100Progression100Combat59Setting44

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeOpen WorldExplorationMultiplayer

Steam👍 85%· 652

Year 2009Dev Synetic · Kalypso MediaPlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Same family of open-world action games: deep simulation, open world exploration and melee combat

≠ Its own twist: racing gameplay, multiplayer gameplay and offline, while skipping adventure storytelling

Like its predecessors, Crash Time 3, the new installment of the well-known action racing game series, offers varied gameplay in top quality. The German game forge Synetic has once more taken the graphics engine a significant step further.

Where it drifts furthest from The Closing Shift: game mode.

It predates The Closing Shift by 13 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100World100Progression100Game mode44

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Steam

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