My IF favorites

Recommendations by xkia

My absolute favorites in no particular order - IFs that I would easily recommend. Many have great humor, clever mechanics/puzzles, an engaging story, and/or an emotional throughline. All were wonderful and brought me great satisfaction/joy.

Games do skew recent since I've only been playing since around 2018 but hey ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ this isn't a list of all-time greats! You can find those elsewhere.

I hope you might find something you like here!

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1. The Bat
by Chandler Groover
(2024)
Average member rating: (55 ratings)

xkia says:

Loved the humor. Good puzzles and absolutely ridiculous premise. Took around 3 hours.

2. Stay?
by E. Jade Lomax
(2020)
Average member rating: (36 ratings)

xkia says:

I recommend playing this blind.

I cried during this game. I loved the way the writing + the mechanics made me feel the weight of the story. Took me about 3-4 hours.

3. Child's Play
by Stephen Granade
(2006)
Average member rating: (55 ratings)

xkia says:

Loved the humorous writing and the premise of being a baby with all the hurdles that come with it. Delightfully crafted NPCs and well-designed puzzles. Although it was tricky for me as one of the first IFs I ever played, I have repeatedly thought about it since ~2018. Took me several days to get through.

4. Visit Skuga Lake - Masterpiece Edition
by Ryan Veeder
(2023)
Average member rating: (15 ratings)

xkia says:

Really fun mechanic for spellcasting that felt more accessible/intuitive to me than in classics like Suveh Nux. Witty writing. Game made me feel good for figuring things out. Took 6-7 hours.

5. Superluminal Vagrant Twin
by C.E.J. Pacian
(2016)
Average member rating: (133 ratings)

xkia says:

I love this game so much.

Probably ~4 hours; I did need hints but it didn't detract from the game at all.

6. The Impossible Bottle
by Linus Åkesson
(2020)
Average member rating: (85 ratings)

xkia says:

Just so cool. I absolutely needed help on this one and I wished I had tried to figure out the mechanics myself. Absolutely worth playing for the puzzles.

7. A Long Way to the Nearest Star
by SV Linwood
(2022)
Average member rating: (50 ratings)

xkia says:

Well-written and emotional. I had some difficulty with some of the puzzles and did need help but enjoyed it nonetheless.

8. 80 DAYS
by inkle, Meg Jayanth
(2014)
Average member rating: (99 ratings)

xkia says:

Rich and exciting. I enjoyed Meg's take on Jules Verne's classic work.

9. Type Help
by William Rous
(2025)
Average member rating: (37 ratings)

xkia says:

Brilliant and deeply engrossing. I enjoyed The Roottrees are Dead and played this shortly afterwards to scratch my sleuthing itch as this was listed as an adjacent-flavored game.
Although Type Help is not a 'horror' game, I get spooked easily and unraveling the mystery slowly freaked me out (it does not help if you play it into the wee hours of the morning). Nonetheless I would highly recommend this game for the nature of its writing and concept and brilliant execution from early through late acts.

I did require use of some lovely person's scripted tool to find the last handful of files of the game but on the whole was proud to have completed it mostly on my own. 6-8 hours.

10. Familiar Problems
by Daniel Stelzer, Ada Stelzer, Sarah Stelzer
(2024)
Average member rating: (15 ratings)

xkia says:

Delightful little game. Love the humor in the descriptions and choices, puzzles were short but tidy, really nice walkthrough and just a ton of built-in help systems which I think make the game friendly for a new player. Took around 1 hour.

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