Similar games
Games like Sword of the Sea
Giant Squid · 2025 · Windows
Steam: 88 % positive of 1,672 reviews, as of Oct 28
Surf across magnificent waves of sand and glistening waters on an epic quest to restore a lost ocean. From the visionary artist behind ABZÛ, The Pathless, and Journey, Sword of the Sea is an atmospheric surfing adventure with fast movement inspired by classic skateboarding and snowboarding games.
24 games that play like Sword of the Sea and 24 that look like it. Closest by gameplay: Wavetale, ABZU and The Alto Collection.
Player tags
Steam reviews
What players say
Players love its art, movement and soundtrack, but many find it short and expensive for what it offers, and performance problems come up often.
Most players recommend Sword of the Sea and praise its visuals, relaxing exploration and fluid movement on the sword, which many compare favourably to Journey, Abzu and The Pathless. Austin Wintory's soundtrack and the wordless storytelling are also frequently highlighted. The main complaints are a runtime of roughly three to five hours at full price, and weak optimisation, with many players struggling to hold a steady frame rate even on strong hardware and some reporting crashes or stutters. Several players also mention the collectibles and the lack of combat or puzzles compared with earlier games. Recent reviews are more mixed than the overall Steam score, with more negative voices focused on performance and value.
Praised
- Striking visuals and art
Players describe the environments and animal animation as gorgeous and worth pausing to admire, with a strong photo mode.
Many players - Smooth, fun movement
Riding the hoversword over dunes, ice and water feels fluid and satisfying, and many enjoy simply moving around the world.
Many players - Excellent soundtrack
Austin Wintory's score is repeatedly singled out as a major highlight that enhances each area and the emotional moments.
Many players - Relaxing, emotional atmosphere
Players describe the game as meditative and moving, with a wordless story that stirs strong feelings and encourages slow exploration.
Some players
Criticised
- Poor optimisation and performance
Players report low frame rates, stutters and heavy hardware demands, even at moderate settings on high-end PCs.
Many players - Short for the price
Players find the runtime of roughly three to five hours too short for a full price, though some think it is fair on sale.
Many players - Thin gameplay and few mechanics
Players feel the game lacks depth, puzzles, combat or challenge, and that the movement system is simplified compared with The Pathless.
Some players - Tedious collectibles
Players find the many collectibles and backtracking for upgrades disruptive to the flow of the game.
A few players
- Who it suits
- Players who enjoy atmospheric, wordless exploration games like Journey or Abzu, and who value art and music, will likely find it rewarding, especially on sale.
- Who should skip it
- Players wanting a long game, challenge or combat, or those with modest hardware who may struggle with performance, should skip it or wait for a discount.
Short vs. long playtime: Players with more than ten hours tend to mention backtracking and collectibles more and are more likely to call performance and price a problem, while shorter-playtime players mostly focus on the visuals and atmosphere.
Summarised by AI from 78 Steam reviews (English, helpful and recent), as of Oct 28, 2026.
Best matches
Plays and looks like Sword of the Sea
These games are close to it by gameplay and by look, so they appear in both lists below.
By gameplay
Plays like Sword of the Sea
Matched from Steam descriptions and player tags. The tags under each game are the ones both games share.
Wavetale
88 % positive of 2,644
Shared: Stylized · Action-Adventure · Nature
ABZU
92 % positive of 22,080
Shared: Exploration · Story Rich · Fantasy
The Alto Collection
94 % positive of 268
Shared: Stylized · Snowboarding · Action-Adventure
Skate Story
95 % positive of 2,824
Shredders
93 % positive of 3,865
Shared: Snowboarding · Nature · Third Person
Steep™
82 % positive of 32,034
Shared: Exploration · Snowboarding · Skiing
Hoverflow
92 % positive of 155
Shared: Exploration · Stylized · Action-Adventure
Virtual Surfing
65 % positive of 161
Shared: Adventure
Subnautica
97 % positive of 343,380
Shared: Exploration · Adventure · Atmospheric
FAR: Lone Sails
95 % positive of 24,581
Shared: Exploration · Action-Adventure · Nature
Driftwood
92 % positive of 1,203
Shared: Exploration · Stylized · Skateboarding
FAR: Changing Tides
93 % positive of 5,135
Shared: Stylized · Action-Adventure · Adventure
More matches
- Sail Forth92 % positive of 602Shared: Exploration · Action-Adventure · Story Rich
- Jet Island96 % positive of 1,626Shared: Adventure
- Wuthering Waves86 % positive of 57,837Shared: Exploration · Story Rich · Third Person
- Demon Tides96 % positive of 854
- Raft92 % positive of 324,997Shared: Adventure · Singleplayer
- Surfingers83 % positive of 366
- Sable86 % positive of 5,408Shared: Exploration · Stylized · Story Rich
- Northern Journey96 % positive of 3,528Shared: Exploration · Action-Adventure · Nature
- Subnautica: Below Zero90 % positive of 99,732Shared: Exploration · Story Rich · Adventure
- skate.69 % positive of 92,368
- Journey94 % positive of 35,067Shared: Exploration · Stylized · Story Rich
- Stardust Skate98 % positive of 300Shared: Stylized · Skateboarding · Third Person
By look
Looks like Sword of the Sea
Matched from screenshots. Each card shows the screenshot closest to the look of this game.
Risk of Rain 2
93 % positive of 242,449
Journey
94 % positive of 35,067
Solar Ash
89 % positive of 1,366
Sky: Children of the Light
87 % positive of 25,719
Omno
91 % positive of 1,859
Wavetale
88 % positive of 2,644
Omno: Prologue
97 % positive of 271
Arise: A Simple Story
90 % positive of 2,763
DAVE THE DIVER
96 % positive of 144,329
Valheim
92 % positive of 475,740
Jusant
92 % positive of 4,167
The Pathless
90 % positive of 1,983
More matches
- Zefyr: A Thief's Melody96 % positive of 412
- MycoRelic88 % positive of 171
- Akatori: Сhapter One92 % positive of 983
- ABZU92 % positive of 22,080
- Europa86 % positive of 789
- LOST EMBER87 % positive of 4,200
- RiME90 % positive of 3,235
- AER Memories of Old85 % positive of 5,068
- InnerSpace64 % positive of 173
- Superflight96 % positive of 11,053
- Temtem82 % positive of 31,280
- Aloft82 % positive of 3,096
At a glance
What games like Sword of the Sea have in common
- The tags they share most often with Sword of the Sea: Exploration (12 of 24), Stylized (8) and Action-Adventure (7).
- They came out between 2016 and 2026, 2 of them after Sword of the Sea (2025).
- Best rated by Steam players: Subnautica (97 % positive of 343,380).
How these matches work
Matches come from embeddings of Steam descriptions, player tags and screenshots, computed offline. “Plays like” compares what the games are about and how players tag them; “Looks like” compares their screenshots. The share of positive reviews is based on Steam user reviews.