The Best Emotional Games

Update, : The Director\'s Disorder: Pilot Episode added at rank #38.
1

Gibbon: Beyond the Trees (2022)

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77
Review score
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IOS iPhone Mac OS PC Windows Nintendo Switch

Master the gibbon’s art of movement with a unique moveset that lets you swing, slide and somersault through a lush jungle canopy, and experience a free-flowing story of family and survival as you search for a home that may be lost forever.

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  • nature
  • emotional
  • 2d
  • hand-drawn
  • platform
  • story
  • colourful
  • family-friendly
  • atmospheric
  • action-adventure
  • narration
  • relaxing
  • exploration
  • endless
  • cute

2

Opus: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition (2022)

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93
Review score
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Mac OS Xbox Series X Xbox One PC Windows Nintendo Switch

Echo of Starsong is a visual novel style adventure game. Eda, a girl who can hear mysterious sound waves known as starsong, crosses paths with a young man in search of their source. Together, they venture out to the heart of space to unravel an ancient myth.


  • visual-novel
  • emotional
  • soundtrack
  • japanese
  • fiction
  • 2.5d
  • anime
  • space
  • walking-simulator
  • interactive
  • story
  • jrpg
  • exploration
  • 2d
  • atmospheric

3

Hindsight (2022)

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74
Review score
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Nintendo Switch Xbox Series X Android Xbox One PC Windows Playstation 5 Mac OS Playstation 4 IOS iPhone

What if the physical objects of everyday life, the possessions we hold close, were actual windows to the past? Peer into distant memories and unseen futures in Hindsight.


  • narrative
  • narration
  • cinematic
  • emotional
  • point-and-click
  • story
  • exploration
  • hidden-object
  • interactive
  • stylized
  • drama
  • fiction
  • puzzle
  • relaxing
  • colourful

4

CURSES (2022)

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73
Review score
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PC Windows Android vita Playstation 4

A short visual novel, CURSES is a game about a girl with troubles and dark feelings. Help her cope with them with the aid of a cynical cat and sprinkle of magic.


  • emotional
  • brawler
  • choices
  • magic
  • lgbtq
  • cats
  • conversation
  • wave
  • 1990s
  • point-and-click
  • dark
  • comedy
  • boss
  • beat-em-up
  • story

5

The Spirit and the Mouse (2022)

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89
Review score
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PC Windows Nintendo Switch

Bring kindness and light to the people of Sainte-et-Claire as Lila—a tiny mouse with a big heart! Explore a quaint French village, make electrifying new friends, and do good deeds for those in need in this lush narrative adventure game.


  • platform
  • 3d
  • collectathon
  • emotional
  • puzzle
  • cute
  • exploration
  • colourful
  • narrative
  • story
  • atmospheric
  • fantasy
  • adventure
  • single-player
  • head-scratch

6

Outcore (2022)

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98
Review score
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PC Windows

Join Lumi, a lost girl living on your desktop, and solve desktop puzzles to recover her memories in Outcore: Desktop Adventure. Fight against the worst characters ever written and experience a captivating story. Don't miss out on the unique experience of clicking the wishlist button, which scientists say can increase your lifespan. Had fun with Outcore? Check out Do Not Buy This Game, recommended by the developer's friend.

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Pros:
  • Creative and fun gameplay
  • Engaging story
  • Masterpiece with no cost
Cons:
  • Little time is needed to get used to the controls

  • emotional
  • choices
  • comedy
  • 2d
  • cute
  • pixel
  • visual-novel
  • funny
  • psychological
  • villain
  • colourful
  • story
  • anime
  • horror

7

Know By Heart (2022)

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87
Review score
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PC Windows Playstation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch

Childhood friends reunite after spending a long time apart, revisiting old memories and rekindling their friendship. However, something beyond their control will ruin this reunion.

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  • emotional
  • atmospheric
  • narration
  • story
  • romance
  • retro
  • multiple-endings
  • visual-novel
  • minimalist
  • adventure
  • 3d

8

Before Your Eyes (2021)

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89
Review score
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PC Windows Mac OS Android IOS iPhone ps1 vr2

The story of Before Your Eyes begins after your death, aboard the ship of a mythical Ferryman tasked with shepherding souls to the afterlife. In this unique VR experience, you will fully immerse yourself in a world of memories, both joyous and heartbreaking. You will learn to control the flow of the narrative with your actual eyes–blinking through precious memories of family, first love, and the rise of an artistic career.


  • narrative
  • emotional
  • innovative
  • first-person
  • story
  • walking-simulator
  • interactive
  • surreal
  • la
  • adventure
  • blink
  • fiction
  • philosophical

9

Silicon Dreams (2021)

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90
Review score
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PC Windows amiga amstrad cPC Windows amstrad PC Windowsw apple ii atari 8-bit family atari st bbc micro commodore 64 dos Mac OS msx zx spectrum Linux

It’s 2065, and you are an interrogator-model android tasked with rooting out deviants among your own kind. You must probe for lies, monitor and exploit emotional spikes, earn the trust of your subjects, and make the final call: release, or destroy?

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  • conversation
  • investigation
  • multiple-endings
  • dystopian
  • cyberpunk
  • choices
  • emotional
  • futuristic
  • sci-fi
  • detective
  • experimental
  • text
  • political
  • story
  • visual-novel

10

My Child Lebensborn (2018)

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90
Review score
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early access PC Windows Nintendo Switch Xbox One Playstation 4 IOS iPhone Android

Experience the emotional and challenging journey of raising an adopted child in post-WWII Norway in My Child Lebensborn. Balance your time and resources to provide for your child's needs while navigating a world filled with hate and bullying. This BAFTA-award winning game offers a genuine and immersive nurturing simulation that will tug at your heartstrings.


Pros:
  • Impactful story
  • Emotional journey
  • Realistic characters
  • Meaningful choices
  • Good replay value
Cons:
  • Fairly linear gameplay
  • Some may find it too emotionally taxing

  • simulation
  • emotional
  • choices
  • time-management
  • life
  • hand-drawn
  • war
  • social
  • historical
  • story
  • crafting
  • casual
  • atmospheric
  • education
  • management

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