Games like 198X

A game is here when it shares the strongest of 198X's Steam community tags, Steam genres and IGDB themes, each shared tag counting for more the fewer games carry it: two metroidvanias are alike, two action games barely. Games of 198X's own series that play like it stand apart, above the list, and take no place on it. A similar typical length breaks near-ties, and a game sold twice is shown once. A game Steam marks adult-only is listed only for a game that is one too. Games that share the same kinds with 198X stand together, under those kinds. Up to 30 games are shown, and the list stops where they grow much less alike. Where to start: the closest; the best loved of the closest fifteen with 10,000 reviews or more; the shortest of the ones 80% or more recommend; and a hidden gem, 90% or more but under 10,000 reviews.

Under each name, how it differs from 198X: a kind of game it is that 198X is not, a feature its strongest Steam tags carry that 198X's barely do, how many hours people play it beside 198X, and how its reviewers feel beside 198X's.

The sticker on a case is the hours its own page leads with: half of the game's Steam reviewers had played that long or less when they gave their verdict. It is not a time to beat. Under a name, the share of its Steam reviewers who recommend it: loved at 90% or more, liked at 80%, mixed at 65%.