The best games like Undertale are those that blend a charming art style, immersive worlds, and great music. It’s such a unique game that it’s hard to fit it in a specific genre, and if you’ve played it, you’ll know how wonderfully quirky the game is.
If you’ve finished Undertale and you’re looking for more games to play, I’ve handpicked 10 unique games like Undertale for you to check out. They’re not all exactly identical to Undertale in terms of gameplay, but they’ll feel comfortingly familiar for fans.
I’ve included some from different subgenres and styles to add some variety.
10. OFF
OFF is a game that Undertale took some inspiration from, as mentioned by Toby Fox in the Undertale art book. Therefore, it’s a great pick for fans of games like Undertale who want something with a similar vibe.
OFF is an RPG with difficult puzzles, intense boss fights, and wonderful writing.
It follows the story of a character named the Batter, with the player themselves being viewed as a disembodied character that only some characters can speak to. It’s incredibly weird and absolutely intriguing.
There are multiple immersive environments to explore in this game, and the aesthetic is decently similar to Undertale. Even the text boxes and combat systems will feel somewhat familiar to fans of games like Undertale who are looking for a new game.
OFF strikes a perfect balance between exploration, combat, and puzzles. It’s a beautiful and haunting game, complete with a wonderful story.
9. Pony Island
Despite what the title might say, Pony Island is not a game about ponies. Shock horror. This is actually a suspenseful puzzle game.
Pony Island takes place in limbo, where you have to interact with a malfunctioning arcade machine designed by the devil. The story is intriguing and dark, and fans of Undertale are sure to fall in love with it.
The game is very self-aware and it makes the unique concept of the story much more digestible. The writing is fantastic, and the characters feel very realistic.
Both Undertale and Pony Island incorporate elements of psychological horror and comedy in equal measures, complete with fourth wall breaks and surreal moments. It’s absolutely worth checking out if you want a unique game to play.
8. Grimm’s Hollow
Grimm’s Hollow is a game that has clear similarities to Undertale, in the best way possible. It’s a must-play for any fans of games like Undertale, and it’s even free to play.
Grimm’s Hollow follows the story of Lavender who wakes up in a confusing new world, being told that she’s a new grim reaper. She has to try and track down her brother, who she believes is also trapped in this new world, and the story unfolds from there.
The story is fantastic, and the aesthetic is wonderful too. The sprite work is charming, and the world feels alive as you explore it.
There’s a different style of combat in this game to Undertale, as it follows a turn-based combat style with a skill tree system. It takes a while to get powerful in this game, and there’s a decent difficulty spike that experienced fans of Undertale will enjoy.
Grimm’s Hollow is a must-play for Undertale fans. It’s a truly memorable experience, packed full of interesting characters and a compelling story. If you’re looking for an RPG that takes a slightly different route to Undertale, you’ll love this.
7. One Shot
One Shot is a unique top-down puzzle adventure game in which you must guide a child through a mysterious world in order to restore its currently extinguished sun.
Players will explore a darkened world, gathering resources and interacting with other characters on their quest.
Similar to Undertale, the explorative sections of One Shot opt for a pixel art style, whereas key scenes are shown in more conceptual detail.
One Shot is very story rich, chosing to focus more on exploration and narrative rather than combat. If you’re a fan of Undertale’s bullet hell style combat and want a game with lots more of that, this is not the pick for you in this list.
However, fans of Undertale who loved its writing and the overall story will certainly love the rich narrative found in One Shot. While any kind of action is almost non-existent here, there’s a detailed and vibrant story to unpack in this game.
6. Rakuen
This game is an emotional, colorful masterpiece, and it’s one of the best story-rich games on Steam for fans of games like Undertale.
Rakuen is a story about a hospitalized boy who, alongside his mom, travels to a rich fantasy world in order to explore his own trauma and help his fellow patients find closure.
Much like Undertale, a lot of joy can be found in exploring Rakuen’s world. You are a stranger in both of these games and it is the interactions you have with the world and its inhabitants that make the experience more memorable.
Players will explore the fantasy world of Rakuen as a pixelated character just like Undertale. As with the previous recommendation in this list, Rakuen is much more focused on narrative than combat. There’s not much action to speak of.
However, if you enjoyed the narrative aspect of Undertale and were hoping for more rich stories and clever world building, Rakuen is the game for you! It’s a gem.
5. Deltarune
While it might be cheating to include the follow-up game to Undertale in a list about the best games like Undertale, I simply couldn’t miss it out. It’s likely that some Undertale fans haven’t played it yet, and it’s an absolute diamond of a game.
Deltarune keeps things feeling familiar, yet adds some new gameplay elements like turn-based battles and quick time events to the mix. Several of the combat elements from the original Undertale are present in Deltarune.
All of the lively characters and moving narrative elements in Undertale can be found in the first two chapters of Deltarune. At the time of writing, there are more chapters on the way for this game so it’s a great time to play it.
If you’re a fan of the Undertale universe and want to see more of it, you can’t miss out on this game. It’s a very enjoyable experience, and it’s packed full of the best Undertale characters and some intriguing writing choices.
4. Heartbound
Heartbound is a brilliant game that takes a lot of inspiration from EarthBound and will feel familiar for Undertale fans. It’s a dark and quirky game, with a heavy focus on the story.
This game follows the story of a boy named Lore, who is trying to find his talking dog named Baron. It’s a weird and wonderful story that unfolds very quickly, and it’s packed full of memorable characters and narrative quirks.
Visually, this game feels comforting and soft. It’s a game that’s opted for a pixel art style, but takes it in more of a colorful route than Undertale. The characters look great, and the world design is incredible.
It is worth noting that, at the time of writing, this game is still in early access. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t check it out, though. Heartbound has been receiving some immensely positive feedback already, from the gaming community and critics alike.
If you’re a fan of story-driven RPGs with dark and unique twists, this is the perfect game for you. It’s a great alternative to Undertale.
3. LISA: The Painful
LISA: The Painful, at first glance, is a charming RPG. Once you get into it, however, you soon discover that things are not always as they appear. Beneath the surface of this title lies a post-apocalyptic world with a riveting story.
LISA: The Painful’s story involves making tough decisions in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
It is possible to help other people around you, but this will come back to bite you. These choices will be shown in the loss of limbs from your character or small scars across your face. The longer you play, the more apparent it becomes that, in order to survive, you should focus more on yourself and start ignoring those around you.
Much like Undertale, the choices you make in LISA: The Painful will permanently affect the world around you. Permanent deaths of party members, drastic changes to towns, and multiple endings depending on how you play are all par for the course in LISA: The Painful.
It seems the charming style of pixel gameplay lends itself well to dark, twisted storylines. LISA: The Painful is a must-play if you loved Undertale.
2. Mother Series (Earthbound)
Undertale was heavily inspired by the Mother series, most specifically Earthbound, known as Mother 2 in Japan, and Mother 3. The charming pixel style through which you explore the overworld gives way to an incredibly powerful and thought-provoking storyline.
The creator of Undertale, Toby Fox, found a love for Earthbound during his school years. He started off creating small hacks of the game, including a Halloween hack. It was these small projects that would eventually grow into the larger-scale version of Undertale we know today.
Both Undertale and the Mother Series have disturbing elements about them, mixed with a delightful art style and soundtrack. This juxtaposition makes for a memorable experience.
On a different note, both of these titles use the power of friendship as a narrative point to different degrees. In Earthbound, your friends will help you destroy the final boss. In Undertale, choosing to spare enemies and not kill them will lead to a completely different ending.
The Mother series is almost an indirect prequel to Undertale. It incorporates all the same elements you might typically associate with Undertale and I highly recommend checking it out.
1. Omori
This is a surreal title that takes huge inspiration from the Mother series. In this game, the player take control of Sunny and his dream-world persona, known as Omori. You will need to explore both planes in order to combat Sunny’s fears and deepest secrets.
Omori has a rich and charming hand-drawn art style, combined with pixel art. Much like Undertale, characters in the overworld are shown in a pixel art style. However, unlike Undertale, key scenes, enemy battles, and items are all illustrated in glorious detail.
Both Undertale and Omori revel in creating interesting and memorable characters. There are plenty of quirky and comedic moments to be had when interacting with the cast. Omori is one of the best story-rich games on the Switch by a mile.
Furthermore, if you enjoyed the branching path system of Undertale, Omori also utilizes the same choice-based mechanics. Your decisions as the player will lead to one of several different outcomes, adding plenty of replay value.
