Browse Fiction genre groups
themes
entities
concepts
| After Earth(Earth-that-Was) | Set in a time period after Earth (or whatever the homeworld of the protagonist's species is) has become uninhabitable, forgotten, or inaccessible. The people having escaped into space, another dimension/reality, or some other place. | notifications | 1985 / 2016 | 51 games |
| Alien invasion | Features aliens invading Earth or the protagonist's planet of residence, airspace or space territory, or is generally a major theme or plot point. | notifications | 1978 / 2022 | 566 games |
| Arabian fantasy | A type of historical fantasy typically set in the Middle Eastern region of the world and typically within the antiquity period - sand and sultans. | notifications | 1981 / 2016 | 97 games |
| Arcanepunk | A fantasy world where science/technology and magic co-exist. | notifications | 1991 / 2015 | 24 games |
| Bathos | A genre of comedy that creates humor by (abrupt) transitioning between serious and commonplace or even ludicrous. | notifications | 2003 / 2020 | 14 games |
| Biopunk | A cyberpunk derivative that focuses on biotechnology. | notifications | 2007 / 2022 | 9 games |
| Body horror (Biological horror;Organic horror) | A horror genre that focuses on graphic destruction or degeneration of the body, often with people turning unwillingly into grotesque monstrosities while still retaining some or all of their former sensibilities. | notifications | 1998 / 2023 | 57 games |
| Classical fantasy | A type of historical fantasy derived from ancient Greek/Roman myths, though unlike historical fantasy proper does not require to be set in some past age. | notifications | 1985 / 2008 | 4 games |
| Contemporary fantasy | Sub-genre of fantasy where the fantasy elements are just out of sight for normal people in our regularly dull everyday world. Not disconnected from the modern world. | notifications | 1982 / 2022 | 161 games |
| Cyberpunk | A sci-fi sub-genre featuring dystopic chaos or radical change in society in the midst of high tech. Hackers, AI, mega corporations, punks, ... | notifications | 1981 / 2024 | 270 games |
| Dark fantasy | Sub-genre that includes elements of both fantasy and horror, usually being more heavy on fantasy. | notifications | 1986 / 2024 | 147 games |
| Detective mystery (Murder mystery;Whodunnit) | Collecting clues, often involves solving a crime; always some mystery to solve. A type of crime fiction | notifications | 1977 / 2024 | 624 games |
| Dieselpunk | A cyberpunk derivative set in an age of petroleum engines but before the rise of the information age or simply in era where such are in lesser role than mechanical engines. | notifications | 2000 / 2017 | 32 games |
| Displacement fiction | A fiction genre where the protagonist finds themselves in an utterly unfamiliar location. Especially if this was not on purpose, and even more so if they do not understand the locals, their language and/or customs. | notifications | 1991 / 2016 | 81 games |
| Drama | A fiction genre that is concerned mainly with interactions between people rather than events external to them. | list_alt | 0 game | |
| Dying Earth (Dying world) | The world the story takes place in is slowly dying. | notifications | 1999 / 2010 | 7 games |
| Eco-terror | An exploitation film sub-genre about super-sized insects, animals, or similar terrorizing the world. | notifications | 2005 / 2013 | 8 games |
| Erotic | Anything intended to stimulate sexually. May or may not involve nudity or sexually suggestive storylines. | notifications | 1982 / 2021 | 160 games |
| Fantasy | list_alt | 0 game | ||
| Folk horror | Folk horror uses elements of folklore or other religious and cultural beliefs to instil fear in audiences. Folk horror films often feature rural settings and themes of isolation, religion and nature. | notifications | 3 games | |
| Gaslamp fantasy (Gaslight fantasy;Gaslight romance) | Edwardian/Victorian era setting with associated technologies (which might include steam) pushed to fantastic limits. An alternative to steampunk. | notifications | 1983 / 2019 | 44 games |
| Gothic fiction | notifications | 2011 / 2014 | 2 games | |
| Gothic horror | notifications | 1 game | ||
| Gunpowder fantasy | A type of historical fantasy set in early modern period with no fantastic inventions but has elements of basic fantasy like magic and mythical creatures. | notifications | 2006 / 2016 | 9 games |
| Hard fantasy | A sub-genre of fantasy where the rules of the world are rational and understandable. As opposed to "it's magic" explanations, even magic has clear rules and limits others than the author knows. | notifications | 2011 / 2014 | 3 games |
| Hard Sci-Fi (Hard science fiction;Hard SF) | Sci-Fi that gives emphasis to scientific detail, technical detail (technology, biology, etc.) or scientific accuracy. | notifications | 1982 / 2017 | 14 games |
| Heroic fantasy | notifications | 2009 / 2016 | 6 games | |
| High fantasy (Epic fantasy) | The most widely used fantasy sub-genre. Generally involves grand battles or other conflicts that endanger the whole world or large portion of it, magic is prominent as are fantastic creatures. | notifications | 1981 / 2023 | 199 games |
| Historical fantasy | A sub-genre of historical fiction with elements of myth and legend thrown in. | notifications | 1983 / 2017 | 46 games |
| Historical fiction | A fiction genre that provides a historic setting, but does not follow any notable historical events or figures though may include them as part of the setting (but not really part of the actual story). | notifications | 1985 / 2013 | 21 games |
| Horror | list_alt | 0 game | ||
| Lovecraftian horror | A horror genre following the themes of hopelessness, utter insignificance of mankind, and cosmic horrors. | notifications | 1987 / 2024 | 46 games |
| Low fantasy | Sub-genre of fantasy that downplays the fantastic elements (e.g. magic) while still retaining the general fantasy theme. | notifications | 1982 / 2021 | 88 games |
| Medieval fantasy | A type of historical fantasy. | notifications | 1990 / 2005 | 7 games |
| Medieval Scifi(Medieval Science Fiction) | A genre of science fiction that involves middle ages or medieval-like cultures as major element. | notifications | 1991 / 2014 | 2 games |
| Mythic fiction | notifications | 2000 / 2018 | 20 games | |
| Non-science fiction | Any tags that describe something that tends to make a game considered SciFi even if it's purely factual element. | list_alt | 0 game | |
| Occult | Esoteric groups holding strange or unnatural knowledge of things the ordinary folk have no inkling of or do not believe in. Occult is strongly related to paranormal horror with a magical, demonic or otherwise unnatural twist. | notifications | 1989 / 2017 | 30 games |
| Paranormal (Supernatural) | Paranormal elements/occurrences are included, such as telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. | notifications | 1982 / 2023 | 176 games |
| Planetary romance | A sub-genre of science fiction or science fantasy, characterized by adventures on (often several) unusually detail rich foreign worlds. | notifications | 1991 / 2023 | 36 games |
| Postcyberpunk | A derivative genre of Cyberpunk where corporations and human augmentation no longer are seen as alien or bad, removing the common dystopian world from the equation. | notifications | 2013 / 2014 | 6 games |
| Power fantasy | A genre of fiction that empowers the protagonist above anyone else. | 0 game | ||
| Psychological horror | Horror sub-genre marked generally by lack of horrifying monsters, jump scares, and such. Building more on foreboding atmosphere and uncertainty, along with protagonist's inadequacy in defending themselves in case something does come their way. | notifications | 1983 / 2024 | 73 games |
| Psychological thriller | A sub-genre of thrillers with heavy focus on characters. | notifications | 2009 / 2012 | 7 games |
| Raygun Gothic | Incorporates the visual styles of Googie, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco, often seen in retro-futuristic works. | notifications | 1997 / 2011 | 10 games |
| Robot menace (Machine menace) | Some form of robotic/artificial being or beings serve as an antagonistic force either primary or secondary to the main villain or villains. | notifications | 1979 / 2022 | 90 games |
| Samurai Western | An obscure sub-genre of samurai and western fiction. | notifications | 1999 / 2018 | 4 games |
| Soft Sci-Fi (Soft science fiction;Soft SF) | A science fiction sub-genre that places focus on soft sciences, such as social, psychological, and such. | notifications | 1975 / 2016 | 33 games |
| Space opera | Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction and emphasizes space warfare and is set mainly in outer space. It often features technological advances in FTL, futuristic weapons and technology, on a backdrop of galactic empires and wars with aliens. | notifications | 1979 / 2011 | 22 games |
| Space Western | A sub-genre of science fiction that brings the aesthetics of Old West to new frontiers. Does not require space age despite the name. | notifications | 1987 / 2020 | 20 games |
| Steampunk | A sub-genre of Sci-Fi and Fantasy where steam is widely used to power technology. Often, but not necessarily, with Western and/or Victorian overtones. | notifications | 1984 / 2022 | 144 games |
| Surreal horror | notifications | 2000 / 2015 | 29 games | |
| Sword and sandal[sword-and-sandal] | notifications | 1990 / 2013 | 32 games | |
| Techno-fantasy | A science fiction sub-genre that depicts things not possible with modern or past technology and does not dwell on the details of how or why of it, or gives only vague (useless) descriptions for them. | notifications | 1998 / 2016 | 69 games |
| Urban fantasy (Modern fantasy) | A fantasy sub-genre which focuses on the setting being primarily or solely a city (urban), though often implied to be modern or futuristic such. | notifications | 1984 / 2017 | 174 games |
| Weird science | A sci-fi genre that delivers the science in a very fantastic manner, often by throwing any pretense of science out of the window. | notifications | 1997 / 2016 | 46 games |
| Weird West | notifications | 1994 / 2022 | 22 games | |
| Western (Wild West;American old west) | Video games set in the Old West (also known as Wild West) or that are defined by a western style. | notifications | 1973 / 2024 | 457 games |
| Bara (薔薇;Bears;メンズラブ;Men's Love) | A gay fiction sub-genre which depicts romantic and/or sexual relations between masculine men (hairy, beefy, notable body fat, etc.). | notifications | 2007 / 2016 | 2 games |
| Clockpunk [Clock punk] | A genre defined by (fantastic) technology driven by clockwork mechanisms (gears and springs). Often with Victorian, Renaissance, or Baroque overtones. | notifications | 1998 / 2017 | 33 games |
| Military fiction(War fiction) | Main cast is presented as military personnel participating in war, battles, combat, fighting, or military life, or any other military activities. | notifications | 1982 / 2017 | 508 games |
| Satire | notifications | 2009 / 2019 | 21 games | |
| Science Fiction | list_alt | 0 game | ||
| Seriocomedy (Dramedy;Comedy-drama) | Fiction genre that combines serious and humorous content. | notifications | 3 games |
| Adventure | A genre characterized by exotic locations, exciting (and likely risky) endeavors, [i]adventuring[/i], and so forth in an exuberant manner. | notifications | 1999 / 2015 | 6 games |
| Crime fiction | notifications | 1981 / 2021 | 75 games | |
| Crossover | Merge characters and worlds from different franchises, where favorite characters from different stories team up or fight each other in one big game. | notifications | 1982 / 2022 | 234 games |
| Entity versus Supernatural Entity conflict (Man versus supernatural;Man versus Fanciful;Man versus Alien) | A narrative concept and key to the plot of the game. It is the conflict that the protagonist of the game must face. | notifications | 1980 / 2013 | 77 games |
| Epic | A genre characterized by its drama that affects everyone, grandeur, and heroism. | notifications | 1995 / 2015 | 38 games |
| Epistolary | Storytelling primarily through discovery of documents or letters. | notifications | 2012 / 2016 | 13 games |
| Fantasy elements | Any tags that describe game elements originally found in fantasy games only, or generally seen as a defining traits of the genre. | list_alt | 0 game | |
| Farce | A comic drama of improbable situations, nonsense, foolishness, buffoonery, absurdity, mockery, extreme waste, masquerades, & charades. | notifications | 1976 / 2016 | 6 games |
| Found Footage | Draws heavily on visual epistolary storytelling. Often presented as a discovered visual recording & few to no survivors or additional evidence extant. | notifications | 2013 / 2023 | 12 games |
| Genre Choice | Player can choose the genre of the game. ie: parody or straight, comedy or drama. | notifications | 2010 / 2020 | 5 games |
| Historic fiction (Historic what if) | Offers an actual time and place but lets the player go way beyond historical bounds & take the story to historically inaccurate places. | notifications | 1981 / 2013 | 4 games |
| Horror elements | Any tags that describe game elements originally found in horror games only, or generally seen as a defining traits of the genre. | list_alt | 0 game | |
| Lost World | A fiction genre involving a place lost in time and/or place. | notifications | 1984 / 2018 | 25 games |
| Magical Girl (魔法少女;Mahō Shōjo;Majokko) | A genre featuring young girls who transform into powerful heroines with magical abilities to combat evil forces. | notifications | 1973 / 2017 | 125 games |
| Magical realism[Magic realism] | A fiction genre where the magical, supernatural, etc. is deemed utterly mundane and thus not bothered to explain any more than how a revolving door functions (for example). | notifications | 1998 / 2015 | 23 games |
| Neo-Noir | Emulates Neo-Noir works of the cold war era and later. | notifications | 2014 / 2017 | 8 games |
| Noir (Film noir) | Emulates the Hollywood noir films, often crime dramas, of the 1940s-1960s. | notifications | 1986 / 2024 | 49 games |
| Parody | A satirical or ironic & deliberately exaggerated imitation of another work, movie, game, genre, or of its style for some degree of comic effect. | notifications | 1980 / 2024 | 284 games |
| Science fantasy (Science versus Fantasy;Technology versus Magic) | Elements of science fiction and fantasy genres appear in same setting more or less seamlessly, blurring the lines between the two genres. | notifications | 1983 / 2024 | 471 games |
| SciFi elements | Any tags that describe game elements originally found in sci-fi games only, or generally seen as a defining traits of the genre. | list_alt | 0 game | |
| Slice of Life | A fiction genre that depicts ordinary life, not always with any notable plot, conflict, or ending. | notifications | 1996 / 2022 | 95 games |
| Speculative fiction | 0 game | |||
| Spy fiction | notifications | 1996 / 2014 | 34 games | |
| Sword and sorcery | A fantasy sub-genre, also known as "heroic fantasy", that deals with more personal battles, such as fame or saving your loved ones, instead of the world endangering adversaries of high fantasy. | notifications | 1985 / 2016 | 47 games |
| The Classic Conflicts | The originals are: Man vs. Self Man vs. Society Man vs. Nature Man vs. Machine/Technology Man vs. Fate For videogames, its a bit more complicated. | list_alt | 0 game | |
| The Subject of Violence (The Concept of Violence) | This group is not about violent content. The game might not even show it & may actually have none. Rather, violence as a game mechanic and/or its causes, consequences, methods, etc... | notifications | 1975 / 2022 | 13 games |
| Thriller | notifications | 1992 / 2017 | 10 games | |
| Tragedy | A sub-genre of drama fiction focusing on human suffering, usually that of the protagonist. | notifications | 2002 / 2015 | 10 games |
| Wǔxiá (武俠;武侠) | A type of historical fantasy that focuses on martial arts, often rather fantastic kind of it. | notifications | 1988 / 2014 | 15 games |
| Yaoi (BL;Boy's love) | A sub-genre gay fiction focusing on romantic and/or sexual relationship between (young) males, primarily targeted at and created by females. | notifications | 2002 / 2006 | 4 games |
| Zombie apocalypse | A specific scenario in apocalypse fiction involving zombies, lots of 'em. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. | notifications | 1978 / 2024 | 238 games |