Recommend me a game > Get on wishlist

If you want a Journey, I'd recommend Journey. It's a hard game to explain because I still have yet to play it, but it's a very relaxed experience about trying to cross this vast desert and get to the top of a mountain to reach a light.

It was free on PS4 back in April for they "Play At Home" initiative, but that's passed. It's coming to Steam pretty soon.

Quick question: Are games outside of Steam ok? And are non-PC games ok?

And do you have like a pre-exiting wishlist or list of games you already really loved. Those 2 games give me way too many ideas.

And is there a particular vibe you like. Like horror, light-hearted, weird and absurd,sad, happy, cute...???

For the journey - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Some combat, but it's mostly about the journey. Take a look and judge for yourself :)

Sunless Sea or the more polished sequel Sunless Skies are games where the Journey IS the game. Highly recommended.

Be ready for an slow start, and a little bit of wiki

To the Moon and it's sequel Finding Paradise. It's about doctors who fulfill someone wishes by going into their memory. It has a little to no gameplay (kinda walking simulator with some puzzle) but trust me it's a memorable experience and the story is absolutely amazing.

OneShot and Rakuen as RPG maker games and GRIS as an easy platformer.

How do you like puzzle games? (Obviously 'Brothers' is considered a puzzler, but a fairly light one.)

'The Witness' is a really good play if you like puzzles. You make your way through a beautifully designed island, and it is entirely devoid of combat.

Someone beat me to To The Moon series...

Moons of Madness is unique and well executed, though it is on the pricey side of games.
Lovecraftian, but not cliche, nails the atmosphere and world building a game of this subgenre is expected to have.
You may have it in your library from a giveaway, give it a spin if you haven't already!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/110800/LA_Noire/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/303210/The_Beginners_Guide/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/17410/Mirrors_Edge/

If you dont mind old games, I recommend Ico for Ps2

I'd recommend "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit" free in Steam

Pitching in some recommendations not for the blue heart but for the sake of recommending you some great games :P

Lost Words: Beyond the Page - https://store.steampowered.com/app/599610/Lost_Words_Beyond_the_Page/
This isn't on Steam yet but you can stream it through Stadia and I think you can get a month or two of Stadia for free right now. You can also try the Steam demo

Hazel Sky - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1094920/Hazel_Sky/
Not on Steam yet but I think you might like this as well :) Managed to play the demo during LudoNarraCon and it's pretty amazing

Wayward Strand - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1080450/Wayward_Strand/
Not on Steam yet as well and I've only played the demo during LudoNarraCon and I love it. There's a mystery you get to solve aboard a decommissioned ship-turned-hospital and you'll get to chat with a lot of different characters, most of them are elderly and some of them are very lovable. Love the art here as well!

Spiritfarer - https://store.steampowered.com/app/972660/Spiritfarer/
2D farm/cooking sim with a sense of adventure + breathtaking graphics + a heartwarming spiritual-themed story. Game's different from the examples you've given but I thought maybe you'll like this as well :)

Roki - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1067540/Rki/
I've only played the demo and I liked it enough. It has simple puzzles and a great story, but this is just my first impression. Might change once I get to experience the whole game :) Still, thought you might want to take a look yourself.

Another Sight - https://store.steampowered.com/app/888630/Another_Sight__Definitive_Edition/
I'd say this game has a gameplay that's similar to Brothers (loved that game too :) ), but this is a bit darker I guess.

LUNA The Shadow Dust - https://store.steampowered.com/app/465100/LUNA_The_Shadow_Dust/
This is really good too. Great story-telling and puzzles that aren't too difficult overall. Again, a review if you're interested :)

The Gardens Between - https://store.steampowered.com/app/600990/The_Gardens_Between/
If you love a game with a story about friendship and light puzzles, this is one of the best :) Review

Evan's Remains - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1110050/Evans_Remains/
Just finished this and I'm still reeling from the emotional rollercoaster I've been through. Simple puzzles and a great story with a twist

Some Distant Memory - https://store.steampowered.com/app/824850/Some_Distant_Memory/
Incredible storytelling here that will put you on an emotional rollercoaster Review

Nordlicht - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1089310/Nordlicht/
If budget is a concern, this game has amazing storytelling, fun little puzzles, and it's very cheap to buy (during a sale - it's only $1.24). Personally, I'd buy multiple copies of this game to give away here if I could... stupid region restrictions :/ Review

Tacoma - https://store.steampowered.com/app/343860/Tacoma/

Songbird Symphony - https://store.steampowered.com/app/909820/Songbird_Symphony/
If you don't mind a little rhythm action gameplay, this has a really heartwarming story about a young bird's need to belong and his adventures. There are music battles though :P anndddd... you guessed it - here's the review if you're interested :)

Seconding 11-11 Memories and Silence as well!

Iris and the Giant - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1127610/Iris_and_the_Giant/
I wrote a review for this game in case you're interested to learn more :)
Sorry, just noticed that you mentioned minimal or no combat. This game is all combat but I'd still recommend this game all the same. Maybe take a look at a gameplay vid and decide for yourself if you'd like it :)

I am hoping to find games with an emotional impact, but all tones are welcome (scary, serious, funny, lighthearted)!

The Shattering - https://store.steampowered.com/app/596000/The_Shattering/
This is somewhat scary and depressing but I really like the visuals here and the storytelling. Wrote a review for it too in case you're interested :)

And of course, Little Nightmares - https://store.steampowered.com/app/424840/Little_Nightmares/

I'll see if I have more to recommend :)

I see somebody already recommended GRIS - +1 to that. That game is amazing ;) and there is 0 combat + you can't die.
Out of that I would like to recommend Limbo and Inside - both from the same developers. :)

and a bonus game: its highly focused emotions, but there is some combat unfortunately... This war of Mine - I would say you wont regret it ;)

80 Days. With Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days as its conceptual jumping-off point, the game is a text- and narrative-heavy adventure that's essentially all about journeying around. It's so filled to the brim with choices and locations that you can play it a dozen times and have distinctly different experiences each time. It's out on PC, Switch, and mobile devices. Though it's universally acclaimed, it might have slipped by you unnoticed--I didn't realize it was something I'd be interested in before hearing someone pitch it on a podcast a few years ago.

Subnautica is a fantastic game. I don't want to spoil anything, so heres some excerpts taken from the store page:

'You have crash-landed on an alien ocean world, and the only way to go is down. Subnautica's oceans range from sun drenched shallow coral reefs to treacherous deep-sea trenches, lava fields, and bio-luminescent underwater rivers. Manage your oxygen supply as you explore kelp forests, plateaus, reefs, and winding cave systems. The water teems with life: Some of it helpful, much of it harmful.
...
'What happened to this planet? Signs abound that something is not right. What caused you to crash? What is infecting the sea life? Who built the mysterious structures scattered around the ocean? Can you find a way to make it off the planet alive?'

It is a truly amazing experience, there is a deeper underlying story that you slowly unravel, but it is in no way linear. You slowly stumble upon the story on your own, only nudged in the right direction by radio transmission, and updates from your PDA. I've personally got over 100 hours on it, I can vouch for the game, and the story. It's a beautiful looking, and beautifully written game.

If you're into platformers, I recommend Knytt series. The first two games are free (Knytt & Knytt stories) and the 3rd is on Steam (Knytt Underground).
I also suggest Jazzpunk. It's a first person comedy adventure and it's far from being serious, but it gives me some nice feelings when I play it.

Looking through my games that I've played and others haven't mentioned, I'm thinking of these:

A Short Hike
You're in a small, open world forest and your goal is to climb the mountain that's there. Easily the coziest game I've played and I think it is one of the very highest rated games on Steam by ratio of reviews. Gathering everything you need to explore the forest and the mountain definitely feels like a journey.

The Deponia series
Classic point and click from Daedalic, a funny game series that takes you on an adventure through the world of Deponia. Journey with no combat could be true for many Daedalic games too, but this one stood out to me.

Rakuen
A sick boy in a hospital gets to travel to the fantasy world Rakuen from his favorite book. A must play if you like To The Moon/Finding Paradise, similar in style to those.

Wandersong
A bard goes on a journey to save the world using the power of music. No combat, you travel through this world trying to gather all the pieces of the song that can save the world.

You'll love Little Nightmares if you enjoyed Limbo/Inside. Imo it's the best one out of the 3.

SOMA: It has some gameplay elements but it's basically a walking simulator with quality psychological horror.
ENSLAVED™: Odyssey to the West™ Premium Edition: Platformer. Has an engaging story and beautiful environments. (This one actually have a lot of combat though)

I recommend Machinarium and My Memory of Us.
I enjoyed playing both and they're great in terms of having an engaging journey and emotional story.

I'd like to second Deponia, GRIS, Mirror's Edge and Rakuen already mentioned. I'd also like to add Ori and the Blind Forest and it's sequel Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and Okami as adventure games without too much emphasis on combat.

I would like to recommend Firewatch - it's breathtakingly beautiful, it's features no combat, and it has a really touching and realistic story about two people trying to escape their problems while working as fire lookouts in the Shoshone National Forest.

Hm, some good suggestions in this thread already. From what I can remember left an impression on me in recent times, Epistory was a nice little gem if you like typing games (don't know if it counts as combat). There's also a sequel out (Nanotale), though I haven't played that one yet.

Also, for some cheesy bonus points, I'm going to point out that the person who recommended the Freebird Games series seemed to have forgotten A Bird Story which is the appetizer/prequel to Finding Paradise, although it is not mandatory for enjoying the story either way, it adds some flavour to it (it should optimally be played before Finding Paradise).

Thanks for creating this discussion as well, it seems like we share interest in many of these games so I'm looking forward to see other people's suggestions too.

Edit: I could also suggest a whole bunch of VNs, but I suppose that's too much in the 'no interactivity' department for most people's tastes.

The Stanley Parable - very non-usual game with a lot of possible ways to go and things to do
Portal / Portal 2 - obviously.
The Talos Principle - very nice puzzles and explorable (is this even a word?) environment
Thomas Was Alone - well, if you're more into 2D side-view things than 1st-person.
Escape the Game - totally free and absolutely awesome.

Trine 1 & 2
Beautiful (in many ways) platformers with puzzles, some action and very fairytale'ish story, music and visuals.
Also Contrast
Short, but soulful story about girl and her (well, not exactly her) shadow. No combat at all, only story, puzzles and platforming.