The Best Minimalist Games

Update 26 September 2023: Lowlander added at rank #5.

Here are our 10 Best Minimalist Games:

Mini Motorways
Shape
Ord.
hocus 2
Lowlander
SiNKR 2
Sizeable
Thronefall
Please Fix The Road
Death Crown

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Mini Motorways (2019)

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Review score

IOS iPhone PC Windows Mac OS Nintendo Switch

Mini Motorways is a city-building game that challenges you to craft the road system of a growing city. You have limited resources to manage traffic, build roads and bridges, and create roundabouts. You must carefully plan your layout in order to encourage growth and minimize traffic jams.

Buy

What we like:

Challenging gameplay
Intuitive design
Beautiful visuals
Relaxing soundtrack
Color-blind mode

What could be improved:

Can be difficult to manage traffic on complex maps
Limited resources can make it hard to keep up with the demand of the city

minimalist
puzzle
management
simulation
city-building
strategy
strategy
zen
pause
relaxing
fast-forward
grid

Shape (2023)

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Review score

Linux Mac OS Xbox One Android PC Windows

A minimalist style but inside a complex-minded With connecting word mechanism, you can make a rule for your rooms and solve the problem. Solve the puzzle and go to the door to the next room. explore new mechanism

Buy Buy Buy Buy

atmospheric
platform
minimalist
surreal
exploration
psychological
narration
philosophical
walking-simulator
2d
psychedelic
text
first-person
puzzle
emotional

Ord. (2019)

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Review score

IOS iPhone Linux Mac OS Nintendo Switch Playstation 4 Xbox One PC Windows

Ord is a captivating text-based adventure game with five unique stories to choose from. Choose your own adventure as you become a god and create your world or take on an evil warlock in a thrilling quest. With fast-paced narratives, your choices matter, and you'll be engaged in no time. Plus, create and share your own stories with Steam Workshop support. Available in multiple languages.

Buy Buy

What we like:

Cleverly conveys changes in atmosphere and mood with minimalistic visuals and sound effects
Multiple scenarios with vastly different outcomes provide high replayability
A fun and creative take on the text adventure genre
Multiple languages supported
Workshop support allows for user-generated content and experimentation with storytelling

What could be improved:

No save-states or continues, with every death resetting the player to the beginning
Poor controls and other quirks make the game feel more like an art project than a polished video game experience

text
minimalist
adventure
experience
story
narrative
perma-death
rpg
experimental
innovative
casual
book
fast-paced

hocus 2 (2021)

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Review score

Nintendo Switch Android IOS iPhone Mac OS PC Windows

■■■■■■■..........º.......º......º.......

Buy Buy Buy

casual
minimalist
isometric
puzzle
logic
relaxing
thought-provoking
single-player
escher

Lowlander (2023)

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Review score

PC Windows IOS iPhone Android

Return with us, to the days of yesteryear. When 8 colors were enough, and the pixels were individually detectable to the human eye. This is LOWLANDER, a fantasy role-playing adventure from simpler times. This might be your father’s RPG!

Buy Buy

retro-rpg
rpg
minimalist
adventure
retro
dungeon
turn-based
pixel
fantasy
dungeon-crawler
action-adventure
1980s
story
faux-retro
combat

SiNKR 2 (2019)

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Review score

PC Windows Mac OS Linux Android IOS iPhone Xbox One

SiNKR 2 is a minimalist puzzle game evolved from the award winning SiNKR. There is just you, hooks, pucks, and various contraptions. Subtle differences within level themes drive different solutions to superficially similar scenarios.

Buy Buy

minimalist
abstract
puzzle
touch-friendly
stylized
relaxing
atmospheric
strategy

Sizeable (2021)

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Review score

PC Windows

Sizeable is a relaxing and peacefull puzzle/exploration game! Shrink and grow your way through small dioramas in search of hidden objects!

Buy

relaxing
hidden-object
minimalist
puzzle
exploration
isometric
3d
top-down
colourful
casual
tactile
diorama
cute
linear
single-player

Thronefall (2023)

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Review score

early access Mac OS PC Windows

A minimalist game about building and defending your little kingdom.

Buy

city-building
minimalist
tower-defense
medieval
strategy
isometric
base-building
real-time
building
stylized
3d
defence
colourful
tower
action

Please Fix The Road (2022)

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Review score

PC Windows Mac OS Linux

Please Fix The Road is a colorful, minimalistic, laid-back and casual puzzle game in which it's probably not hard to guess... you're fixing roads! Your road repair doesn't have to be beautiful, it just needs to get the job done! Your mom will like this game too!

Buy Buy

transportation
minimalist
puzzle
building
colourful
stylized
relaxing
top-down
family-friendly
city-building
inception
jigsaw
jazz
warm-hearted
difficult

Death Crown (2019)

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Review score

PC Windows Nintendo Switch Xbox One Playstation 4

Death Crown is a minimalist real time strategy game in a 1bit style, where you will be play Death herself, commanding her legions of death, and punishing humanity's Kingdom for its overconfidence.

Buy Buy Buy