33 Best Adventure Games You Need To Play

Adventure games have taken on many forms over the years whether they are adventure puzzlers, adventure horror, or sci-fi adventure. The genre has pushed the gaming industry forward, with developers constantly evolving and learning new ways to give players the most immersive experience possible. This list of the best adventure games you need to play.

Remember we’re dealing with adventure games here and not action adventure titles. So you should see a selection of games that doesn’t have a focus on action combat. Instead, these games puts the action component on the backseat and instead focuses on the adventurous journey ahead of you. So expect focusing on story, platforming, and making choices with some of these games.

#33 Chained Together

Platform: PC

Steam

Imagine this, you find yourself in the underworld, and when you awaken, you’re not alone, but literally Chained Together with other people. Get it? That’s the name of the game! Literally!

So, what’s a set of people/players to do? Simple, you get the heck out of there! The game is all about working together and trying to escape your underworld prison. That won’t be easy, obviously, and teamwork is essential to get through this. The further you climb, the different worlds you’ll end up in, and new challenges will await you.

You can play the title alone or with friends, with up to four of you being chained up at once.

#32 Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

Our youths are supposed to help “define our lives” in meaningful ways. Yet, in Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, that is a bit more on the nose than you might think. For Swann and her three friends, a summer adventure will change them so much that they’ll reunite 27 years later to figure out what really happened back then.

The relationships you make in the game are vital, and they’ll change based on how you interact with the others in your group.

What will you discover as you jump between the timelines? What darkness connects the four, and can they overcome it? You’ll have to play to find out.

#31 Portal: Revolution

Platform: PC

Steam

It’s time for another adventure to get some cake! No, not really, but if there is cake in Portal Revolution, we wouldn’t be surprised.

We know many of you have been waiting for an official third entry in Valve’s beloved puzzle-platforming franchise, but you’ll have to settle for a really well-made fan mod. The game takes place between the first and second titles, where you’ll be awakened by a new character and forced to solve puzzles. Why? This entity wants to restore the still-defunct Aperture.

Surely nothing wrong can happen here, right? So, if you’re game, grab your portal gun and see how many puzzling mysteries you can solve as you go through this fan-made adventure!

#30 Disney Dreamlight Valley

Platform: PS4 PS5 Xbox One XSX|S PC Switch

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Are you ready to head into the valley? Don’t worry; this isn’t a bad valley. This is Disney Dreamlight Valley! 

What’s that? Why, it’s a magical place where all sorts of wondrous things happen. Or, at least, it was until certain things happened to it. The characters of Disney and Pixar stories lived here, and they fled to their homelands when a spread of dark thorns wrecked the valley!

But that’s where you come in! You can help free the valley and bring the characters back to not only live in it but be your friends and traveling partners! Plus, the game is always updating with new content, so what’s not to love?

#29 The Invincible

Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

The Invincible is a first-person adventure game based on a novel of the same name. In this game, we’re following an astrobiologist named Yasna, who becomes a member of a crew. You and your team end up exploring the planet of Regis III. However, you soon find yourself alone, and the exploration mission quickly turns into a rescue mission. Players must find clues and evidence to point you towards your missing crew and what is going on on this mysterious planet. However, you might find that not everything here is welcoming. Every choice you make could very well bring you closer to your untimely demise. 

#28 Pikmin 4

Platform: Switch

Nintendo

Are you ready for another epic adventure involving you commanding Pikmin to complete tasks? If so, you’re in luck, as Pikmin 4 is here!

The game continues the tradition of you being a member of the Rescue Corps. But this time, you’re saving the rest of the Corps as Captain Olimar and the others have been stranded on a strange planet! You’ll wander around attempting to fix your ship, find other members, and survive the alien life that thrives there!

Utilize your Pikmin to the fullest while also using your new friend in Oatchi! There are challenges both above and below to test you, so try them all and see if you can overcome them!

#27 Dredge

Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One PS5 XSX|S Switch 

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

It’s time to go fishing! Who doesn’t love to do that? In Dredge, you’ll go to a set of islands full of history and mystery and must try to fish what you can to grow your craft.

Specifically, you’ll meet quotas and then use your earnings to outfit your boat so you can go to bigger catches and make more money.

But as noted, there’s a mystery within this island chain, and you’ll be guided to figure it out. But what is the mysterious truth that you’ve been sent to find? What does it have to do with the creatures of the depths? Hope in your vessel and find out!

#26 The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog

Platform: PC

Steam

What happens when one of the most beloved gaming icons ever is brutally murdered at a friend’s birthday party? You’ll have to find out in the point-and-click adventure epic known as The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog!

Ok, not really. Well, it is called that, but it’s not as dramatic as we made it sound. The game was an April Fool’s joke, so bear with us.

Anyway, Amy Rose has her birthday party on a “murder mystery train,” and Sonic is the one who’s killed. That means you, a new character in the series, must figure out who “murdered” him! Good luck with that, and have fun!

#25 We Were Here Forever

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 5

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

Being trapped in Castle Rock usually never ends well for anyone, ever. But with you and your partner both trapped together, you’ll have to work together to get out.

And we do mean that literally, as you’ll face puzzles in the game that are only capable of being solved by teamwork. So learn to communicate with your partner well in order to get to the next step.

Plus, you’ll have to work together to get through Castle Rock itself and learn all the terrible secrets it has to share with you. Use what you have, work together as one, and escape!

#24 Stray

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Have you ever wanted to be a cat? No, not an anime-style cat, but an actual cat, one that acts like a cat? Well, Stray lets you be that and play a very unique style game as a result.

You definitely have heard of this game if you’ve been paying attention to streams and review shows as of late, and you’ll find out exactly why this mystery and exploration game is so addicting. Then, if you REALLY want to have some fun, you’ll go and get some of the mods for it, which are as insane as you might expect.

#23 Little Witch in the Woods

Platforms: Xbox One, PC

Steam | Xbox

In the world of Little Witch In The Woods, you’ll play as Ellie, an apprentice witch who is assigned to a small village in the woods (obviously) to complete her training.

But to truly complete that training, she must bond with and help the village itself. You’ll talk to the various people and animals in the game and learn more about them, help them with their troubles, and maybe even become friends!

You’ll also explore the woods so you can go and make potions. Ones that’ll help you solve the puzzles that you’ll face in the game.

Do your job right and you’ll be a full witch in no time!

#22 Far Changing Tides

Platforms: Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 5

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

A follow-up to Far Lone Sails, Far Changing Tides is a game that puts you in the form of a new protagonist and in a new part of the world. You are a lone boy who is upon a ship and must use that ship in order to sail across the barren land in order to find a new home.

The game will put you as Toe as you explore the flooded world and seek out the mysteries of it. One of which is that of your ship. You’ll learn more about it as you travel, as well as all that it can do.

The game is meant to give you a meditative experience, but also a compelling one as you avoid dangers in your ship as well as solve puzzles. So for a more unique gaming experience, you might want to try this out.

#21 Exo One

Platform: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Steam | Xbox

Developed by Australian studio Exbleative, this simulation game is a sci-fi adventure. The premise follows humanity’s first mission outside of the Solar System and players take control of an alien spacecraft. The game has gamers travel across the surface of a surreal procedurally-generated world. The ship utilizes three modes of movement: roll, glide and fly. This allows players to explore the skies or dive into the oceans of any planet. Check out this thrilling adventure game on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

#20 What Remains of Edith Finch

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Game developers, Giant Sparrow debuted this game in 2017. What Remains of Edith Finch is a single-player adventure game that centers around Edith, a member of the Finch family. The Finch’s are afflicted by a curse that causes all but one member of each generation to die in unusual ways. The game sees Edith return to her family’s home off the coast of Washington state where she finds out about each of her family’s members’ deaths by visiting memorials set up in their bedrooms. When the game was released, it received positive reviews from both gamers and critics. Check it out across all consoles and PC today!

#19 The Room Two

Platform: PC

Steam

The Room Two is a great game for fans of puzzles. This sequel to The Room was originally developed for the iPad in 2013, with a PC version released in 2016. This 3D game has each level in a single room with different tasks for players to solve. Gameplay involves figuring out a series of connected puzzles by collecting clues. The objective of The Room Two is to exit each room and proceed to the next. The game continues on from the first in the series where players were trapped in a mysterious dimension. A third game, The Room Three was also released in 2015.

#18 Tale of Immortal

Platform: PC

Steam

Tale of Immortal is an open-world sandbox game based on Chinese mythology and cultivation. Players can grow their characters and become immortal, conquer beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Season, and make choices that will impact the game. Tale of Immortal gives players the chance to experience the journey from being a mortal to a strong, god-like being. Check out this adventure RPG on PC via Steam!

#17 Her Story

Platform: PC

Steam

Her Story is a unique game in that it’s an interactive film. Written and directed by Sam Barlow, it has players search through a database of video clips from fictional police interviews. Gamers are meant to use the short videos to solve the case of a missing man. The interviews focus on the man’s wife, Hannah Smith. This is definitely a great game for fans of true-crime documentaries. Check out this interesting and mysterious game on PC!

#16 Firewatch

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Developers, Campo Santo released this game in 2016. It follows the story of a fire lookout named Henry in the Shoshone National Forest a year after the Yellowstone fires of 1988. A month after his first day of work, the man starts witnessing strange things. Firewatch has players unravel a mystery that began several years before the start of the game. The gameplay offers a first-person view and takes place in Wyoming in the year 1989. Choosing from various dialog options also gives players the power to affect the story. Find this adventure game across all consoles and PC!

#15 To The Moon

Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | Nintendo

To the Moon is just as much a psychological drama as it is an adventure game. Developed and published by Freebird Games, it follows two doctors who offer to fulfill a during man’s last wish using artificial memories. The game features relatively few gameplay mechanics, with players controlling the two doctors, exploring the narrative, and solving puzzles as they try to reconstruct the dying man’s memories in order to fulfill his wish. It’s definitely an interesting game to check out. Find it on Nintendo Switch and PC.

#14 Night in the Woods

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Developed by Infinite Fall, Night in the Woods is a single-player adventure game that is story and exploration-focused. Players control a young woman named Mae Borowski who recently dropped out of college and has returned to her hometown. Upon arriving, she finds many things have changed unexpectedly. In a world populated by zoomorphic humans, Mae must solve a mystery concerning a horrible secret. Find this game on all consoles and PC.

#13 The Witness

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

The Witness is a 2016 puzzle game developed and published by Thekla, Inc. The game was strongly influenced by another title called Myst and involves exploration in an open-world island. The environment includes various natural and man-made structures. Players progress through The Witness by solving a series of puzzles that are based on interactions with different grids located on panels around the island. No direct instructions are given to players on how to solve the puzzles, making for an even bigger challenge.

#12 Tales From The Borderlands

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Tales From The Borderlands is an episodic interactive comedy game with elements of science fiction. It is based on the popular Borderlands series and was developed by Telltale Games. The game is set sometime after the events of Borderlands 2 and centers around Hyperion employee Rhys and Pandoran con artist Fiona. The two team up on an adventure to find and open a Vault. Fans of Borderlands and other Telltale games such as The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us are sure to enjoy this adventure game. Check it out on all consoles and PC.

#11 Day of the Tentacle

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

This 1993 graphic adventure was originally developed and published by LucasArts. It also goes by the name Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle, being a sequel to the first Maniac Mansion. The game follows  Bernard Bernoulli and his friends Hoagie and Laverne as they attempt to stop an evil Purple Tentacle, a sentient, disembodied singular tentacle. Players take control of the trio to solve puzzles while using time travel to explore different periods of history. It’s a whole lot of fun.

#10 Grim Fandango

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

This 1998 adventure game was published by LucasArts and offers gameplay where players must converse with characters and examine, collect, and use objects to solve puzzles. Grim Fandango is set in the Land of the Dead where recently departed souls are represented as calaca-like figures. The story follows travel agent Manny Calavera as he attempts to save a new arrival named Meche Colomar. She is a virtuous soul, on her journey through the area. Fans can find this game across all consoles and PC.

#9 Kentucky Route Zero

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Developed by Cardboard Computer, Kentucky Route Zero follows the story of a truck driver named Conway and the strange people he meets as he tries to cross the mysterious Route Zero in Kentucky. He is attempting to make a final delivery for an antique company. This point-and-click game is mainly dialogue-driven, with the focus of the game being storytelling and atmosphere. The animation is intriguing, along with the plot. Find it on all consoles and PC.

#8 Journey

Platform: PS4, PC

Steam | PlayStation

This indie-adventure game was originally developed by Thatgamecompany, released in 2012 on PS3. It has since been ported to PS4 and PC. In Journey, the player controls a robed figure in a vast desert, traveling towards a mountain in the distance. Other players on the same journey can be discovered, and two players can meet and assist each other, but they cannot communicate via speech or text and cannot see each other’s names until after the game’s credits. It is a unique experience. Definitely check out this adventure game!

#7 Samorost 3

Platform: PC

Steam

Samorost 3 is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game developed by Amanita Design. It is the third game in the Samorost series and the sequel to Samorost 2. The story takes place across five planets and four moons. It contains no comprehensible dialogue, only a system of animated thought bubbles and gibberish. The player controls Gnome on his journey through space full of planets, equipped with an inventory and a flute. It’s great for fans of adventure and puzzles.

#6 Outer Wilds

Platform: Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

This action-adventure game was developed by Mobius Digital. The game features exploration through a solar system stuck in a 22-minute time loop, which ends as the sun goes supernova.  The player progresses through the game by exploring the solar system and learning from clues that cause the time loop. The game received critical acclaim when it was first released and later got an expansion titled Echoes of the Eye in 2021. Definitely check it out!

#5 The Wolf Among Us

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

The Wolf Among Us is a graphic mystery-drama adventure game developed by Telltale Games. It is based on Bill Willingham’s Fables comic book series and serves as its prequel. The game consists of five episodes that were released throughout 2013 and 2014. The Wolf Among Us has players control Bigby Wolf, the sheriff of Fabletown and takes place in the 1980s near New York City. Players must investigate a series of mysterious murders to progress in the story.

#4 Life is Strange

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

This graphic adventure was developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. The game was originally released in five episodes periodically throughout 2015. The plot focuses on Max Caulfield, an 18-year-old photography student who discovers that she has the ability to rewind time at any moment, leading her every choice to enact a butterfly effect. Player choices strongly affect the story. There have recently been reports that Netlfix has plans to make it into a new series, so now’s the perfect time to check out this classic game.

#3 The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Developed by The Astronauts, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is set in an open-world environment where players can roam around and explore at will. In an opening message to players, it says it “does not hold [the player’s] hand”, and as such, features very little by way of explanation to the mechanics. To piece together the story, players must solve the deaths of the Carter family. Upon finding a dead body, paranormal abilities are given to players. It’s definitely an intriguing game, check it out on any console or PC!

#2 Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

This adventure game was developed by Starbreeze Studios and first released in 2013. The narrative takes place in a fantasy world filled with fictitious creatures such as orcs and trolls, where two young brothers set out on a journey to find a cure for their father’s illness. The gameplay is presented from a third-person view overlooking the two brothers. Gamers can find it on all consoles and PC.

#1 The Walking Dead: Season 1

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead: Season 1 was the first major game for the developers and led them to make games on other big IPs such as Back to the Future and Borderlands. This episodic adventure is based on the comic book series of the same name. The Walking Dead: Season 1 consists of five episodes, which were released between April and November 2012. The game takes place in the same fictional world as the comic, with events occurring shortly after the onset of the zombie apocalypse in Georgia. Fans of the comic or popular TV series are sure to enjoy this game.