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The Novelist
The Novelist asks one central question: can you achieve your dreams without pushing away the people you love? The game focuses on Dan Kaplan, a novelist struggling to write the most important book of his career while trying to be the best husband and father he can be.
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-26 · quoted reviews as of 2026-10-16.
“The Novelist is a 'narrative adventure' that is similar in many ways to games like Gone Home and Dear Esther, which is to say that it's not everybody's cup of tea. That being said, if you enjoyed those games or are open to experiencing a mature and realistic story, you might…”
— a player, Steam review · 2 hrs played“This game made me confront the fact that I was slowly destroying my relationship with my partner through neglect. That it was able to speak to me on such a human level is probably the greatest accolade I could give it.”
— a player, Steam review · 7 hrs played“Intro: I am sorry I have to say this, but I need to be honest. I believe "The Novelist" is a brilliantly written and emotional story, but I personally failed to engage with this narrative in the way that it was presented and the way I experienced it. Pros: Short and sweet…”
— a player, Steam review · 1 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players, self-collected from the Steam API since Aug 2026.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-25. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-10-20). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
macOS 64-bit Support Is Here!
Good news, Mac fans! The Novelist has been updated into a 64-bit app; this means it will be playable in macOS Mojave, the next update to macOS coming this month. Mojave will be dropping support for 32
Soundtrack Now Available!
We've just added the original score for The Novelist as DLC! You can find it here for just $4.99 USD. The original score features 14 tracks of beautiful, haunting ambient piano music. While the game g
Soundtrack Now Available!
We've just added the original score for The Novelist as DLC! You can find it here for just $4.99 USD. The original score features 14 tracks of beautiful, haunting ambient piano music. While the game g
The Novelist 1.13
We're very excited to announce The Novelist version 1.13, which is a stability and longevity update that also improves the save game system and adds Steam Cloud support. Here's the list of changes: Th
The Novelist 1.13
We're very excited to announce The Novelist version 1.13, which is a stability and longevity update that also improves the save game system and adds Steam Cloud support. Here's the list of changes: Th
Games like The Novelist
From our knowledge graph — ranked by shared traits, not a black box. Each card says why it's here.
HOME
89.5% · 1,375 reviews
shares Short, Psychological, Emotional, Interactive Fiction
Dear Esther
73.7% · 4,642 reviews
shares Experimental, Short, Emotional, Interactive Fiction
The Stanley Parable
92.3% · 32,065 reviews
shares Short, Psychological, Multiple Endings, Choices Matter
KARMA: The Dark World
90.5% · 862 reviews
shares Experimental, Psychological, Emotional, Interactive Fiction
my eyes deceive
74.8% · 544 reviews
shares Psychological, Emotional, Interactive Fiction, Multiple Endings
The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker
82.9% · 516 reviews
shares Psychological, Drama, Interactive Fiction, Multiple Endings
OneShot: World Machine Edition
98.8% · 2,342 reviews
shares Replay Value, Emotional, Multiple Endings, Choices Matter
80 Days
91.1% · 1,651 reviews
shares Replay Value, Interactive Fiction, Multiple Endings, Choices Matter
Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-13.
| Genres | Adventure, Casual, Indie |
| Player tags | Story Rich · Choices Matter · Atmospheric · Stealth · Indie · First-Person · Interactive Fiction · Multiple Endings · Singleplayer · Drama · Replay Value · Experimental (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Trading Cards · Steam Cloud · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * * |
| Official site | http://www.thenovelistgame.com |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS *: Windows XP SP2 or higher Processor: 1.8 GHz Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: 256 MB VRAM video card Storage: 800 MB available space