6 games that capture the vibe of Stranger Things
I’m late to the party, but I’ve become obsessed with Stranger Things, having binge-watched the series over the last few weeks. A sci-fi horror television adventure, it’s an absolute travesty that there hasn’t been a AAA Stranger Things game made (at least, not yet). So, it’s had me thinking: what games capture a similar vibe to Stranger Things? And it turns out there are quite a few of them.
Sure, there are a couple of actual Stranger Things games out there, but their quality is questionable. Netflix released Stranger Things 3: The Game back in 2019, a pixelated adventure based on the events of season three. Unfortunately, it’s no longer available to purchase on any platforms – though you can still play it on the Netflix app on mobile. If you want a physical copy on PlayStation, I hope you’re rich, as second-hand copies are going for as much as £250 (thanks, Limited Run).
There’s also Stranger Things VR, which is still available to those of you with VR headsets on both PC and PlayStation. Allowing you to play as Vecna and enter the memories of popular characters, it sounds good in principle, but was poorly received, with a paltry Metascore of just 44.
It’s safe to say, then, that we are very much in need of a good Stranger Things game that lets us experience the capers of Dustin, Will, Mike, Lucas, Max, Eleven, Steve and Nancy. But until that happens, this list of games that capture the vibes of Stranger Things will have to suffice.
1. Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
Replace the original foursome of Stranger Things – Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Will – with four teenage girls, and Lost Records: Bloom and Rage is about the closest thing you’re going to get to Stranger Things in video game form. Set in the early 90s, it carries a similar retro vibe, and it mixes together reality and science fiction in a similar way. Lost Records: Bloom and Rage might not be quite as fantastical as Stranger Things, but the girls’ small town is very much host to something supernatural and, playing as teenager Swann, it’s down to you and your friends to investigate.
With a similar small-town setting, and taking place in a similar time, there’s no denying that Lost Records: Bloom and Rage feels very much like Stranger Things. While its supernatural sci-fi elements may be a little more low key, it’s definitely one of the best games you can play if you want to capture those same vibes.
Read our review of Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
2. The Life is Strange series
From one supernatural narrative adventure to another. Life is Strange has a lot in common with Lost Records: Bloom and Rage for good reason: the earliest games in the series come from the same developer, Don’t Nod Entertainment. While Life is Strange 2 and Life is Strange: True Colors have unique stories and different characters, all other games in the franchise focus on Max, a teenage girl who discovers she has time control powers. Her powers aren’t quite the same as Eleven’s then, but there’s certainly some similarities here.
All games in the Life is Strange series deal with supernatural powers in some way or another, so if that’s the area of Stranger Things that you want to explore more of, these games are a good place to start. They’re set in the modern day, but again, all have a small-town vibe, and focus on how supernatural elements can affect the equilibrium of everyday life.
Read our review of Life is Strange: Double Exposure
3. Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed
If I didn’t know better, I’d fully believe that Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed was a genuine Stranger Things game. Based on the Kingdom series, this is a game that forgoes story and instead focuses on light strategy and base-building. Playing as four kids on bikes (sound familiar?), it’s your job to build up defences to protect your town from monsters that invade at night. You couldn’t get more Stranger Things-y if you tried.
It’s a very easy game to get to grips with, and thanks to its gorgeous pixelated visuals, it’s a joy to look at, too. While the town you’re protecting isn’t quite Hawkins, it does capture small-town America in a similar way, so if you just suspend disbelief a little, it’s quite easy to imagine you’re preparing to fend off a wave of Demogorgons preparing to attack.
Read our review of Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed
4. Crossing Souls
Set in 1986, Crossing Souls is an adventure game about a group of kids that discover a mysterious stone that allows them to travel between two realms. That other realm isn’t quite the Upside Down, but it may as well be: from its protagonists to its setting, we get serious Stranger Things vibes from Crossing Souls, and we love it.
It may be a little long in the tooth now, having first released back in 2018, but upon release we scored it a spectacular 10/10, and we still very much have a soft spot for this retro adventure. It mixes together exploration, action, puzzle solving and adventure, letting you switch between its five main characters, all of whom have their own combat styles and abilities. Like Stranger Things, its 1980s setting is key, and it’s loaded with nostalgic references like The Goonies, Gremlins and Back to the Future. The only thing missing is a soundtrack filled with 80s chart-toppers: there’s no Kate Bush here, but there is a banging original soundtrack, inspired by the likes of John Williams.
Read our review of Crossing Souls
5. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals
Is it merely a coincidence that Netflix published Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, or did it want to capitalise on the success of its biggest TV series by backing a game that has very similar vibes? Oxenfree II is all about mysterious happenings over the radio waves, so there’s big Stranger Things season 5 vibes here. And, like Stranger Things, it’s set in a small town and has its fair share of spooky happenings.
Yeah, we’d probably call Oxenfree II more ‘spooky’ than ‘supernatural’, and it doesn’t go all-out cosmic horror like Stranger Things does at times. But with unsettling vibes that’ll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up from time to time, it’s an excellent narrative-driven game that has plenty of similarities to Stranger Things. It’s heavily dialogue-driven, so while there’s plenty of platforming and puzzling gameplay to enjoy, the story here is key. Thankfully, it’s a very good one.
Read our review of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals
6. Unusual Findings
If Stranger Things was a point and click adventure, Unusual Findings would be it. Its name is no coincidence: this is more than inspired by Netflix’s epic original series, and if you’re in the mood for a game filled with adventure and puzzle-solving, this is it. It’s set in the 1980s, it has you take control of a group of school-age boys, and it’s set in a small town. So far, so Stranger Things.
But rather than dealing with another dimension filled with monsters, Unusual Findings is about aliens. They might be from outer space rather than the Upside Down, but they’re still intent on causing chaos in a small town, terrorising certain members of the community. It’s up to your gang of lads to uncover the mystery, find out what they want and how to stop them, and that means investigating, gathering clues, and soaking up a whole load of 80s nostalgia along the way.
