Cookie Clicker (2021)

Developer: Orteil, DashNet
Publisher: Playsaurus
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Genres: Casual, Indie, Simulation, Strategy
Rating: 4.8 of 5, 91,956 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 62 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More games like this Watch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

Feels like a deceptively simple, absurdly satisfying treadmill of exponential growth, punctuated by wry, unsettling jokes about the cost of progress.

incrementalsatiricaladdictivewhimsicalcosmic horror undertonesmindlessreward loopquirky

What players say

Players warn that the game is dangerously addictive, with some calling it worse than gambling. Many say it starts slow but grows deeper with minigames like farming and stock market. Grinding for achievements can take years, and the number climbing is strangely satisfying. It runs well on low-end laptops.

Screenshots

More games like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.