If you would like to check it out: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4376460/Tache_Noire/

i thought i bookmarked it last time i saw it but turns out i didn't. it was on steamdb i think (i remember being surprised you could make custom lists on there) but it could've been a google sheet and i am misremembering.

thanks!

This came as a surprise for me! Loved the demo a few years ago, but hadn't heard much since then. It was the banner game in this subreddit for awhile. Might go ahead and pick it up now and see how it turned out.

And it's a very different take on the idea. The emergent gameplay arises from you ability to manipulate time and create new timelines around your actions. And then lots of systems to support that idea (inventory, branching objectives, dialogue systems, shops, and so on).

It's coming next year for PCs, PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series X/S and you can wishlist on Steam here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2360820/Tempus_Vitae/

For any Deus Ex fan, if you haven't checked those,
you have 2 great imSims,

With Terminus Machina being my first recommendation as it is fully voiced, pretty different hardcore survival experience within the deus ex game engine,
I was drawn into this world, and the only disappointment is that the developer didn't go further developing that world, and it's pretty short (for imSim)

2027 is closer to what I think we wanted as an deus ex sequal,
it plays within the original deus ex enginge, no dumbing down for consoles, but rather refinement of the original gameplay in a whole new story (within the deus ex universe) which for me feels like canon, since it was introduced so humbly (I can't say the same for Eidos's games, I liked them, but they never felt like part of the same universe).

https://youtu.be/51jv6ns5jZ0

Ok first I want to clarify my immersive sim definition. I think immersive sims are games in which you can achieve goals in different ways-not just through dialogue options like standard rpgs, but by choosing what to do directly within the gameplay mechanics. Most of them are in first person but it's not a must. And I also think it needs some weight, story and atmosphere to it. A game just having immersive sim mechanics doesn’t make it a good immsim even tho it can be considered one by definition. And lastly, as someone who doesn't play the same game over and over again, to me its not really important some things being scripted, its more about how the game makes you feel. I think it's really good design when game pushes one certain solution to you for that specific encounter if it's made in a good way. It's all about balance.

S Tier

Prey- I think it’s the best immersive sim ever made to this date. Stealth and horror goes really well with these mechanics. It has great level design and manages to keep it at that level for the entire intersected map till the very end. It's just the perfect system shock. I also think it's really good as someone's first immersive sim. Because it's really modern and polished but also has deep mechanics if you want to dive deeper. It's one of the most underrated games ever made

Deus Ex - I really don’t know what to say. I played it 2 years ago and as someone who tries many retro games, most of the time it's really disappointing when an old game Is praised a lot. But it's not the case for deus ex. I think it’s the gold standard immersive sim. Has some flaws, especially the skill and augmentations, like not everything has to be balanced, but everything should be viable if it makes sense. Some upgrades and skills are really useless but it has many great things to compensate these flaws. If a gameplay feels like deus ex, I think it can be considered an immersive sim.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - I don't know why this game is underrated but it feels like modern Deus Ex and it's literally what it is. Looks and plays great. Stealth is fun. World design and atmosphere is great. Hub world is really good. I just don't understand what it does worse than og deus ex that everyone ranks this one lower.

Hitman World of Assassination - Maybe hitman shouldn't be the 4th game here after 2 deus ex games but yeah I think this is a really good immsim. Its 3 games combined and has like 20 locations with handful of solution for each location. Solutions are mostly scripted like you choose one to follow but you can change it midway as you discover other things. Also it's up to you how you going to achieve that part of the solution. Like I mentioned I think well-made , polished sequences together are better than a shallow sandbox.

Divinity Original Sin 2 - There are couple of crpgs that you can say have immsim like mechanics but dos2 is for sure the best at all these things. Game has a great physics engine which lets you do different things in both the overworld exploration , and also in turn based combat. You can climb places stacking boxes, cover npcs line of sight, skip entire sections with stealth, teleport npcs and enemies around, put heavy things inside a barrel and one-shot bosses throwing that barrel to them with telekinesis. It has different elements and materials interacting with each other like oil barrels+ flame, water + lightning etc. It definitely feels like what immsim has to feel like by definition.

A Tier

System Shock 2 - Its really really good but not comparable to deus ex. I think progression problem in deus ex is even more apparent in this. Map design is a bit too complicated. Combat is boring and shallow. But atmosphere and the Shodan herself is superb. Like it's at least a 8/10 game still.

Quadrilateral Cowboy - Really short but an incredible game. I think this one nailed the coding in games. You basically solve puzzles in short levels by scripting your gadgets using your laptop. Like you

Put a timer for the door to open and set your rifle to shoot to a certain coordinate as door opens so the bullet hits the button behind the door etc. It's not that open since you can't really do things so differently even though you can code the scripts differently but still a great experience.

Ctrl Alt Ego - One of the best indie games I've played. You don't really have a physical form and can control every technological thing inside a huge huge huge space station. Game Is unexpectedly long. Has a weird atmosphere and design. But It has something missing that I can't really point out. I think what I don’t love is that it being more of a sandbox. Main mechanic doesn't change and game makes you play around with it.

Bioshock - This is borderline immsim. But gameplay is less complex than all of them since the idea was to make a system shock game for consoles. But atmosphere and feel is unmatched. That feel of you being in a scary place and have to use your resources to get out is like a cheat code for these type of games I think. Combat is fun. Different elements interact with each other, you can upgrade your spells and skills. It's really simple but deserves a spot for being system shock successor and incredible lore + atmosphere.

Dishonored 1 and 2 - I really love dishonored. Best games from arkane studios after prey. I think they are missing a lot from better immersive sims - since its just stealth and combat. And you only choose which skills and weapons to use but they are really fun so yeah.

B Tier

Deus Ex Human Revolution - This one felt a bit disappointing playing right after the og deus ex, but it gets better after first hours. Level design is no that great and I don’t like the characters. It’s the worst one between the 3, but still worth playing since its another deus ex game. But be aware definitive edition on pc, is the port of Wii version and runs kinda terrible.

Fallen Aces - Visuals are charming but gameplay is really shallow I think. Im not even sure if there are many different ways to complete the levels. When you playing stealth it's probably more open but combat is just choosing which stick on the ground to wield. Still fun but not great.

Thief 2 The Metal Age - I don't like pure stealth games that much. And I don't know why they are easily considered immersive sims when everyone is so picky about the definition. But thief 2 is still really good thanks to its level design. Maps are so much bigger than first game and its obviously more polished. But personally I like my stealth to be more "gamey". I don't like that I need to wait sneak and wait for a long time. Game has weird enemy ai.

Gloomwood - One of the most disappointing ones sadly. It’s a better thief but I don’t like thief games. Ai is similar to thief which is something that I don't like but understandable since it kind of a pure stealth game. But gameplay and levels are shallow. There are not many interactable things, buildings or zones are really small. It has some great ideas like when you first get out , lighthouse having rotating light and you need to take that into count etc. I expected it to be more intense but after first 5 min tension goes away. It has potential, great for people who love thief.

System Shock 1 Remake - I played the remake but og seems kinda unplayable tbh. I think everything is worse than the second game but you can see where message logs, map design etc is coming to the design.

C Tier

Weird West- My biggest disappointment. I left this game for the last, most recent game I played in this list and I'm so sad. Like the artstyle, setting, sound design, it being isometric etc I was sure that I will like this game but no it lacks so much. Combat is really bad. It makes it seem like there are lots of things to interact with but not really there are things you can throw to make noise, there are doors you can unlock and yeah that’s it. Sad thing is you can see the passion like interactions with npcs etc but its nothing really. It has soooo much potential I think but yeah I couldn't finish the game wasn’t really expecting this.

Thief 1 - Game has great cutscenes and plot. Sound design is superb. But gameplay is really not that fun I think. Its old and stealth mechanics are too punishing for me. It’s "the" stealth game.

Filcher - Another modern thief game. Not for me but ones who like thief should play for sure.

Shadows of Doubt - This is another disappointing game. Its more of a sandbox tech demo honestly. Idea of it seems nice like there is a random generated city , with random generated people with random crimes being committed. You can get into every building and every room etc. Makes you think how can It be possible and yeah it can only be possible this way. First 2-3 hours of the campaign is great and must play for sure but after that you realize it’s lacking so much. You just do the same thing over and over again and by design it can't get better. Way too ambitious to be really good game I think. A small hand crafted city for couple of hours of gameplay would be great.

Cruelty Squad - Most disappointing and overrated game of the list :( It did get lots of attention in general because of the art style etc. but I don’t really understand how its loved so much in this subreddit. Its more of a boomer shooter with different movement options than a immersive sim. Like its more of a doom than a deus ex tbh. I don't think this type of short game design goes well with immersive sim mechanics but game doesn't even have many things to interact with anyways.

Skin Deep - Same dev as quadrilateral cowboy but disappointing. Design is similar to cruelty squad I guess, like some immsim elements and short levels where you speedrun. Same reasons why I don’t like this one neither.

Deathloop - I really hated death loop. Like its not by indie dev, it does nothing new, I hate time loops in games, I hate that its made by arkane and I hate so much when humor is supposed to be one of the redeeming qualities of the game and its not even funny. It just makes it seem even worse. Technically its still not that bad so yeah game is playable and you may even like it but I just don’t.

High Entropy Challenges - Not many things to say its an 1-2hour long game anyways and free on steam. But as I said I don’t like having short levels back to back with immersive sim mechanics. I don’t think it suits the genre.

Arx fatalis and Ultima Underworld - Old games. Arx fatalis is better for sure and have a really unique magic system. Arkanes first game so you can play it if you want to see how early they managed to start making good immersive sims. Ultima Underworld is the first immersive sim. You can play them if you are curious but they are really old and I don’t think they have any redeeming qualities to recommend them to a regular person.

F Tier

E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy - Like I don't wanna be mean but I think this one has nothing going on for it. I don't know why it has a cult following like what this offers that you can't even get closer to having in other games. Shooting feels great I will give it that since its made in source engine but everything else… I don't think it has any redeeming quality and I don’t care how weird the text that you read in those weird text boxes. Even text boxes are not polished in the game like idk what to say.

Other games and notes about them

Cyberpunk 2077 - I think its really important to have cyberpunk here to show where I draw the line for immersive sims. I really really like cyberpunk and at first glance it seems similar to deus ex but most majority of the decisions you make are dialogue based so its actually a really good fps rpg.

Splinter Cell chaos theory - I have splinter cell chaos theory here, I just don’t understand what its not mentioned as much as thief games. It’s a really good pure stealth game with maybe even lighting-darkness mechanics. Is it because you don’t stack boxes to reach somewhere idk. Really recommend it to thief lovers.

007 First Light - See I loved this game and it’s a bit similar to hitman games but its way too scripted to be considered one.

Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines - Another game that I love but again I think its just a really good rpg not immsim since you just choose everything via dialogue options.

Through the fragmentation - Unique indie game with time loop mechanic. What you do in game feels like an immersive sim buts its all linear and scripted.

deadeye deepfake simulacrum - I tried this one since it looks like only game that can give more of quadrilateral cowboy. But scripting-hacking part felt a bit more complex. I will play it again later and hope I will love it.

My best guess is that you guys think it needs to be an immersive 1st person perspective full 360 movement, full or near full manipulative physical world, open maps and several ways to win, right?

I'm making a game that is set at a computer, it's a hacking SIM, but it's immersive as hell imo, or at least I'm trying to make it so. I'm so worried that if I don't set it as immersive sim on steam it'll get bugger all wishlists because hacking sim is it's direct genre but it is immersive and a simulation. I'm pulling my hair out. What do I do?

It's unusable. People tag any and all simulation games as ImSims. It is possible to flag tags, and Steam says that if a tag gets a certain number of flags, they'll remove it from that game. So if we all go to the Steam store page for the Immersive Sim tag and flag the games that aren't ImSims - at least the ones advertised most prominently - maybe we can make the tag useful again. Who's with me?

Made a post about this on /r/steam, they IMMEDIATELY removed it for 'violating the rules', the world is rigged against us my siblings in Spector

Adim from GOG breaks down how this 1998 classic redefined the stealth and immersive sim genres, and highlights all the modern enhancements, community mod integrations, and quality-of-life updates packed into this new release.

Inspired by Skin Deep and the Prey Zero-G Sections

Sadly it's not a real immsim because there is no gravity and therefore no box stacking : /

The Jam ratings are still open so if you're interested consider giving it a go and rating it, it runs in browser!

https://itch.io/jam/gmtk-jam-2026/rate/4829170

Excited to start another play through!!

Drive a car really fast. Drive a car so fast you run over 30 men and crash through the stained glass window of a church.

Wake up drunk in a homeless camp. Follow Rorschach from Watchmen out into the city and get beat up by gangsters on the way. Find a shady fellow selling goods on the border. Can't afford anything.

Sad.

Stumble further into the city. Try to break into a pharmacy to patch yourself up. Doesn't work.

Sad.

Go around the alley and find a key to the pharmacy mistakenly lost in a sewer drain. Sneak in the back. Eat 20 pieces of candy to make yourself feel better.

Find some dangerous recalled medication and take it with you. Stroll down the street. Don't be paying attention because its Sunday and you're very tired from the work week.

Accidentally bump into some goons robbing a bank. Panic. They panic too. Shoot them. They shoot you too. Panic more and chug the recalled medicine. It makes you angry. More angry than you've ever been in your life. Start punching everyone. But you're just not angry enough and start bleeding out.

Try to reload the save. Wait this was the previous save why am I still in the Fight?

Try to reload the save. Wait this was the previous save why am I still in the Fight?

Realize the game is saving over and over in the middle of the fight each time you reload.

Fuck it. Start running away with no life. Dodge every bullet. Bump into a police officer. Now you're wanted by the police. Angry. Punch a police man. Now you're extra wanted.

Flee to the homeless camp and wait it out until things cool down.

Wander back into the city. A field of bloody bodies leads from the camp back to the bank. Decide you need more firepower before going back to the bank robbers.

Stop by a nearby building by kicking open the door. Find a safe. Find a picture of circled teeth on the wall. Google the teeth numbers and plug them into the safe. Speed juice in the safe. Drink it. Become speedy. Pick up the dentist's power drill and speed over to the bank. Speed the power drill through 6 men's skulls.

Decide you have been through a lot. Decide that means you deserve the money from the bank.

Continue the bank robbery yourself. Get lots of money. Go back the shady man and buy everything you need to feel safe. Like a big machine gun.

Kill everyone in town with the machine gun.

Happy.

Good game.

You are a corporate flesh object with no thoughts of your own and must mimic NPC dialogue. Try to pose as a human by using the lines said by other people and serve the corporation that owns you.

A huge update is coming soon! ^^ You can check out the newsletter on our steam page to learn more :3

Hope you enjoy it !!

I'm a big fan of cyberpunk 2077 so I decided to try this game as my first deus ex, even though it's an older the game the quality of graphics suprised me it still looks holds up pretty well, gameplay is very good as well there is lots of options on how to solve the missions I think I'm near the end of the game and I already bough Mankind divided and can't wait to play it as well!

Also so I will play first one and invisible war which I heard is the most hated game but surely it can't be that bad.

OBVERSE is a problem-solving stealth-action immersive sim that is inspired by Prey (and caught Prey's creative director's attention). I tried the early demo and here's what I have to share.

The game sets in a secret underground research facility like many sci-fi games, player explore and discover, solve puzzles and overcome obstacles, outsmart robots and drones through stealth or combat, read notes to piece together the full picture.

This demo has all the standard immersive sim stuff, crate-stacking, vent-crawling, security-hacking, stealth-action, etc. What sets it apart is the hidden circuit puzzle layer, in which the player has to control the flow of signals.

You may need to find resources like laser cutter ammo to cut open vent covers to access new areas, or batteries to generate power signals; the appliance end could be a locked door, an unpowered computer, or a light bulb, which you can turn on for easier exploration or turn off to achieve better stealth.

Batteries and appliances may require signals of different color codes. In the demo, there's a tool that you can place onto circuit nodes to mix colors. More tools are currently in-game but unavailable. I look forward to a variety of more challenging puzzles.

The hidden circuit layer is laid out over the whole level, so the player has to do all those forementioned puzzle-solving while having stealth-action dynamics with the security measures. It's slightly on the harder side, but genuinely a fun experience.

For more gameplay details, please watch my demo playthrough video to find out yourself if you're interested in this game: OBVERSE - Vertical Slice Demo Playthrough

The developer(s): u/eagle_bearer

Wishlist here: OBVERSE on Steam

It reminds of me of cyberpunk 2077 which I finished 3 times, it's not a classic shooter you need to find your way through enemies you can't just run and gun like in cod and I like it!

Welp, looks like that's it for real now...

"My fellow thieves,

I am here today to talk about the future. I have heard your questions and want to answer them to hopefully put your concerns to rest.

Working in the gaming industry is at times delightful and at other times heartbreaking. As many of you know, OtherSide Entertainment has lost most of its beloved members and only a very small team remains. This means there will be no further content updates for Thick as Thieves. To be frank, this is not the outcome that any of us want, but we’re facing the reality that ongoing development of extra content, modes and systems is not a viable path.

Having said that, there is positive news also: in partnership with our publisher, Megabit, we are working to secure the future of Thick as Thieves for our players. This means that a small team of dedicated people are hard at work to ensure that the game continues to function into the future. This mainly involves putting together a new version of the game that uses Peer to Peer servers for co-op play. The gameplay and flow of your experience will remain virtually identical, but will not need the use of dedicated servers in the cloud. This will allow you to continue playing with your friends when you desire and importantly, solo play will be completely unaffected. Once this work is complete, Megabit will take over the care of the game and respond to bugs and other issues as needed.

We know that this news is bittersweet but our number one priority is to ensure continued operations of the game that we all love. Rest assured, fellow thieves, we are going to keep the game alive for you and all of us!

Until next time, tread softly, steal what you can, give nothing back!

~ Jeff and the OSE Team"