If you loved Tale of Immortal's cultivation sandbox, play Amazing Cultivation Simulator to run a whole sect, The Scroll of Taiwu for a lifelong martial path and legacy, and Kenshi for a Western sandbox about starting as a nobody. For cultivation in card form, try Yi Xian: The Cultivation Card Game or our own Immortal Cards; for xianxia story, Sword and Fairy: Together Forever and Gujian 3.
Tale of Immortal (鬼谷八荒) is the game most people mean when they say "cultivation sim": you create a mortal, wander an open world full of rival cultivators and sects, and try to climb realm after realm before your lifespan runs out. The trouble with looking for something similar is that almost nothing copies the whole package. Other games take one slice of it — the sect, the lifelong grind, the realm ladder, the xianxia setting — and build a different game around it.
So instead of pretending there are eight Tale of Immortal clones, this guide tells you which part of the experience each game delivers, with the developer and the year it first came out. All are on PC. One entry is our own game, clearly marked.
What makes Tale of Immortal a cultivation sim
When players say they want "another Tale of Immortal", they usually mean some mix of these five things:
- A realm ladder. Power comes in named tiers, not a smooth level curve, and each tier changes what you can do.
- Risky breakthroughs. Moving up a realm is an event you prepare for — and one that can go wrong.
- Lifespan as a clock. Time is a resource. If you don't break through, you grow old.
- A living world. Other cultivators pursue their own goals, form grudges and friendships, and get stronger without you.
- Gathering and refining. Herbs, pills, techniques and treasures turn exploration into power.
No single game below has all five. Sect sims nail the realm ladder but put you in a manager's chair; martial sandboxes nail the lifelong grind but drop the immortals; story RPGs nail the setting but use ordinary RPG levelling. Read each entry's "How it differs" line before you buy.
8 games like Tale of Immortal
01 Amazing Cultivation Simulator
Developer GSQ GamesFull release 2020Early access 2019
A colony-management sim in the spirit of RimWorld, set in a xianxia world. You build and run a sect: assign work, feed and house disciples, and guide the most promising ones through cultivation breakthroughs, alchemy and feng shui.
It is the other big Chinese cultivation sim, and the closest match for Tale of Immortal's realm-and-breakthrough systems. Instead of one cultivator, you are raising a whole sect of them.
You manage many characters from above instead of controlling one hero. Combat exists, but the heart of it is logistics and character management rather than wandering the world.
02 The Scroll of Taiwu
Developer Conchship GamesEarly access 2018Chinese title 太吾绘卷
A deep martial-arts sandbox RPG. You are the heir of the Taiwu bloodline in a procedurally generated world of sects and villages, learning techniques, building a village and passing your legacy to the next generation when you die.
Like Tale of Immortal, it is a systems-heavy sandbox where a single life is a long project. The "learn manuals, master techniques, grow stronger over a lifetime" loop scratches the same itch as cultivation.
Strictly it leans wuxia: grounded martial arts rather than immortals and flying swords. It is dense and closer to a strategy sandbox than an action game.
03 Yi Xian: The Cultivation Card Game
Developer Darksun StudioFull release 2024Early access 2022Chinese title 弈仙牌
A cultivation-themed deckbuilding card battler. Every match starts with an empty deck, and as you climb from Qi Refining into higher realms you gain access to stronger cards. Its headline mode pits you against other players online, with a single-player roguelike mode alongside.
It keeps the part of Tale of Immortal many players love most — the realm ladder — and compresses it into a match you can finish in one sitting.
It is online and competitive at heart, and it is a card game, not a sandbox: there is no open world, no relationships and no lifespan clock.
04 Immortal Cards
Developer ShengyuStudioReleased June 21, 2026Chinese title 闲鱼修仙录
A roguelike deckbuilding card game set in a Chinese xianxia world. You choose one of three cultivators, build a deck from 214 spell cards, and master the Five Elements across three procedurally generated acts, with 98 encounters, 42 relics and 12 formations.
If you enjoyed Tale of Immortal's xianxia flavour but want something you can play in focused runs, this is the deckbuilder version of that world: the Five Elements system and formations shape every build, and your cultivation can end in one of 9 endings.
It is a single-player roguelike, not an open-world sandbox: no free roaming or simulated rivals. The 21 difficulty levels are there for players who want to keep climbing after their first clear.
05 Kenshi
Developer Lo-Fi GamesFull release 2018Early access 2013
An open-world squad sandbox set in a harsh, sword-and-ruin wasteland. You start with almost nothing, and your characters' stats improve by doing things — fighting, getting beaten, sneaking, working — until a beggar can become a feared warlord.
It is the best Western answer to Tale of Immortal's "start as a nobody in a world that doesn't care" feeling. Factions live their own lives, and every bit of strength you gain was earned the hard way.
Cultivation-adjacent rather than cultivation: no qi, no realms, no Chinese mythology. Progress is gradual stat growth, not breakthroughs, and the early game can be brutal.
06 Sword and Fairy: Together Forever
Developer SoftstarReleased 2021Chinese title 仙剑奇侠传七
The seventh main entry in the long-running Sword and Fairy (Chinese Paladin) series, one of the founding franchises of xianxia RPGs. A story-driven action RPG about immortals, demons and the people caught between them.
If what kept you in Tale of Immortal was the world — immortals, demons, heavenly courts — and you would like it with a written story and characters, this is where the genre's game tradition comes from.
Linear and narrative-focused. There is no sandbox cultivation; your characters grow through a conventional RPG progression.
07 Gujian 3
Developer AurogonReleased 2018Chinese title 古剑奇谭三
A large action RPG from the other major Chinese xianxia series, with real-time combat and a long main story.
A good second story-driven xianxia RPG after Sword and Fairy, with a different studio's world, tone and combat feel.
Like Sword and Fairy, it is a narrative RPG rather than a cultivation sim, so expect a guided adventure instead of a sandbox.
08 Black Myth: Wukong
Developer Game ScienceReleased 2024
A demanding action RPG based on Journey to the West. You play the Destined One, a monkey warrior, fighting yaoguai and gods through landscapes drawn from Chinese temples and mountains.
Tale of Immortal's fights are top-down and abstract; this is Chinese immortal mythology at the highest production values so far, with transformations, spells and celestial enemies.
It is mythology (shenmo) rather than cultivation fiction, and it plays like a souls-style action game: no sects, no breakthroughs, lots of boss fights.
Quick comparison
| Game | Type | How cultivation shows up | Closest to Tale of Immortal's… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazing Cultivation Simulator | Sect management sim | Disciples' breakthroughs, alchemy, feng shui | Realm and breakthrough systems |
| The Scroll of Taiwu | Martial-arts sandbox RPG | Techniques from manuals, generations | Lifelong grind and legacy |
| Yi Xian | Online card battler | Realm climb inside each match | Realm ladder |
| Immortal Cards (ours) | Single-player roguelike deckbuilder | Five Elements, formations, 9 endings | Xianxia setting, in short runs |
| Kenshi | Open-world squad sandbox | Stats that grow through use (cultivation-adjacent) | Nobody-to-legend sandbox |
| Sword and Fairy: Together Forever | Story action RPG | Conventional RPG levelling | Xianxia world and lore |
| Gujian 3 | Story action RPG | Conventional RPG levelling | Xianxia world and lore |
| Black Myth: Wukong | Souls-style action RPG | Spells and transformations | Chinese mythology, spectacle |
Pick by what you like
- "I want the same realm ladder, but running a sect" — Amazing Cultivation Simulator.
- "I want a single life to be a long, systemic project" — The Scroll of Taiwu.
- "I want the realm climb in a quick card match" — Yi Xian: The Cultivation Card Game.
- "I want a solo xianxia deckbuilder" — our Immortal Cards.
- "I want a Western sandbox where I start as nobody" — Kenshi.
- "I want a written xianxia story" — Sword and Fairy: Together Forever, then Gujian 3.
- "I want action and boss fights" — Black Myth: Wukong.
Many Chinese-developed games in this list launched in Chinese first and improved their English later, so check each store page's language table — and recent reviews that mention translation quality — before you buy. For more on the genre itself, our guide to xianxia and cultivation games on PC explains the difference between xianxia, wuxia and xuanhuan.
FAQ
What is a cultivation sim game?
A game built around cultivation in the xianxia sense: your main goal is to grow stronger by refining qi, gathering resources and breaking through realms toward immortality. Tale of Immortal and Amazing Cultivation Simulator are the best-known examples on PC.
Is Amazing Cultivation Simulator like Tale of Immortal?
They share the cultivation systems — realms, breakthroughs, alchemy — but play very differently. Tale of Immortal puts you in control of one cultivator in an open world; Amazing Cultivation Simulator is a colony-management sim where you run a whole sect.
Are there Western games like Tale of Immortal?
Not with literal cultivation that we can vouch for. Kenshi is the closest in spirit: an open-world sandbox where you start weak and grow through hard experience. Our guide to fantasy games with cultivation mechanics covers more cultivation-adjacent picks.
Is there a cultivation card game like Tale of Immortal?
Yes. Yi Xian: The Cultivation Card Game has a realm climb inside every match, and our own Immortal Cards is a single-player xianxia roguelike deckbuilder. See our cultivation card games guide.