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The Drifter

43 Games like The Drifter that you should try

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The Drifter is hard to replace: few games combine puzzle design, strong narrative focus and setting scifi in quite the same way. We analyzed over 2,000 titles across 6 gameplay attributes and found 43 genuine alternatives — not generic genre suggestions. I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar, Sam & Max Hit the Road and Blackwell Unbound lead the list, with I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar reaching a 96/100 similarity score. Every game here is ranked by how closely it replicates what makes The Drifter special.

iRank87/ 100

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GenrePuzzleSubgenreLogic Puzzle
Tags
NarrativeSolo
Year 2025Dev Powerhoof

Quick answer

The closest game to The Drifter is I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar — scoring 96/100 on our similarity scale. Sam & Max Hit the Road and Blackwell Unbound follow close behind.

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Games like The Drifter

43 similar games foundUpdated May 2026
I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeFirst Person
Steam👍 96%· 1.3K
Year 2021Dev Schell GamesPlaytime ~2hOn PC · PS

✓ Like The Drifter, it's known for puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Stands apart with visual first person, while skipping setting scifi

Sam & Max Hit the Road
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeSci-Fi2DPixel Art
Steam👍 95%· 1.0KRAWG👍 88%· 85IGDB83· 3
Year 1993Dev Lucasfilm · Disney InteractivePlaytime ~1hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

✓ Shared with The Drifter: puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Its own twist: visual pixel

Blackwell Unbound
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrative2DDarkPixel Art
Steam👍 94%· 774
Year 2007Dev Wadjet Eye GamesOn Linux · Android · PC

✓ If you enjoyed The Drifter, expect puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Where it differs: brings dark, oppressive atmosphere and visual pixel, while skipping setting scifi

Nancy Drew: The Deadly Device
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeCasualExploration
Steam👍 91%· 92
Year 2012Dev HeR InteractivePlaytime ~6hOn PC · Apple Macintosh

✓ If you enjoyed The Drifter, expect puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Stands apart with vibe casual and exploration and discovery, while skipping setting scifi

Syberia II
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeSci-FiThird Person
Steam👍 86%· 3.0K
Year 2004Dev Microïds Canada · 1C CompanyOn PC · PlayStation 3 · Linux

✓ Like The Drifter, it's known for puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Where it differs: brings visual third person, while skipping visual 2d

Nancy Drew: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeCasualExploration
Steam👍 96%· 397RAWG👍 86%· 22MC77
Year 2005Dev HeR InteractivePlaytime ~5hOn PC

✓ If you enjoyed The Drifter, expect puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Stands apart with vibe casual and exploration and discovery, while skipping setting scifi

The Talos Principle
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeSci-FiHardcoreExploration
Steam👍 95%· 33KIGDB87· 12OC87· 58
Year 2014Dev Croteam · Devolver DigitalOn PS4 · Linux · Android

✓ Like The Drifter, it's known for puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Stands apart with punishing difficulty, exploration and discovery and visual first person, while skipping visual 2d

Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail!
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrative2DDark
Steam👍 86%· 252
Year 1996Dev Sierra On-LineOn Linux · PC · Mac

✓ Like The Drifter, it's known for puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Stands apart with dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping setting scifi

Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrative2DCasual
Steam👍 97%· 723RAWG👍 93%· 41
Year 1994Dev Humongous Entertainment · Nightdive StudiosPlaytime ~3hOn PC · Android · Apple Macintosh

✓ Shared with The Drifter: puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Where it differs: brings vibe casual, while skipping setting scifi

Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeCasualExploration
Steam👍 91%· 213MC79
Year 2007Dev HeR InteractivePlaytime ~7hOn PC

✓ If you enjoyed The Drifter, expect puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Its own twist: vibe casual and exploration and discovery, while skipping setting scifi

Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal"
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrative2DCasual
Steam👍 95%· 698
Year 1997Dev Humongous Entertainment · Nightdive StudiosPlaytime ~4hOn PC · iOS · Android

✓ Like The Drifter, it's known for puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Stands apart with vibe casual, while skipping setting scifi

Nancy Drew: Secret of the Scarlet Hand
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeCasualLinearExploration
Steam👍 89%· 199
Year 2002Dev HeR InteractivePlaytime ~3hOn PC

✓ If you enjoyed The Drifter, expect puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Stands apart with vibe casual, linear, story-driven structure and exploration and discovery, while skipping setting scifi

Deponia
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeSci-Fi2D
Steam👍 87%· 14KRAWG👍 76%· 727MC74IGDB78· 2
Year 2012Dev Daedalic EntertainmentPlaytime ~4hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Nearly identical: puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus.

Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeCasualExploration
Steam👍 91%· 205RAWG👍 91%· 23MC69
Year 2008Dev HeR InteractivePlaytime ~8hOn PC

✓ If you enjoyed The Drifter, expect puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Its own twist: vibe casual and exploration and discovery, while skipping setting scifi

The Room Three
PuzzleLogic Puzzle
SoloNarrativeSci-FiDarkFantasy
Steam👍 95%· 13K
Year 2015Dev Fireproof GamesOn Android · PC · iOS

✓ Shared with The Drifter: puzzle design, adventure storytelling and strong narrative focus

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, dark, oppressive atmosphere and fantasy world, while skipping visual 2d

Games like The Drifter

Rankings in the same genre

Frequently asked questions

What is the best game similar to The Drifter?
The closest game to The Drifter is I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar, scoring 96/100 on our similarity scale. They share 4 gameplay attributes, including puzzle design, adventure storytelling and single-player focus. It's the most faithful alternative currently available.
What are the top games like The Drifter?
The three closest games to The Drifter are: 1. I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar (96/100, 4 shared attributes) 2. Sam & Max Hit the Road (97/100, 6 shared attributes) 3. Blackwell Unbound (96/100, 5 shared attributes). All share The Drifter's most important gameplay attributes, ranked out of 43 candidates across 6 dimensions.
Is Sam & Max Hit the Road similar to The Drifter?
Yes, very much so — Sam & Max Hit the Road scores 97/100 similarity to The Drifter. They share 6 attributes, including puzzle design and adventure storytelling. It's one of the most direct alternatives available.
What Puzzle games are similar to The Drifter?
The best Puzzle games similar to The Drifter are I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar, Sam & Max Hit the Road, Blackwell Unbound and Nancy Drew: The Deadly Device. All share the Puzzle genre alongside other key The Drifter attributes like puzzle design, adventure storytelling and single-player focus.
How is similarity to The Drifter calculated?
We compare The Drifter against every game in our catalog using 6 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 The Drifter experience, not just whether it shares the same genre label.