Thousand Year Old Vampire is a fantastic shout. Here are a few smaller ones I’m fond of- I’ve written up my playthroughs for these three:
- michtat the dream wizard (5-15 minutes, adorable graphics, a small wizard kitty guides you through a dream)
- Iron Valley (technically not strictly a journalling game, but easily adapted to one, excellent if you’re a fan of Stardew Valley and enjoy the use of tables for adding randomization)
- Of Moon and Leaf (this is one I would use to introduce someone brand new to the concept to playing solo journalling games, really beautiful balance of gentle structure and free space to get creative, lovely dreamy world presented with a hint of danger if you want it to lean darker)
And some random others I’ve enjoyed:
- Alone Amongst the Ruins (uses a very popular system, focuses on the humanity in the aftermath of the apocalypse and untold stories of survivors and those who have passed)
- Alone In Between (classic haunted house set up, I love the emphasis on communication with the ghost and different signs from the undead)
- Alone Among the Court (great condensation of the court intrigue scenario, would make a lovely taster to tempt someone into joining a TTRPG table for Butterfly Court, which is my go to game to introduce newcomers to play-by-post TTRPG sessions, having run it twice)
- Across the Sea (has the sort of soggy, damp feeling to a classic gothic set up, very cute subsystem with interactions with the villagers as well)
- Keepsake (if you ever wanted to be the barowner of the D&D scenario where all the adventurers return to their old watering hole after a journey of a lifetime to regale the patrons with their heroic deeds, this is the game for you- very beautifully laid out pages also)
- DRIFTS (fascinating sci-fi set up with the role memory plays in the alien landscape, provides a great opportunity to really dig in deep with worldbuilding and exploring the desert planet)
- BLOOM (this feels like a game that Nulla would really like- you’re a teenage girl struggling to survive on an island infected with a ravenous, monstrous plague that transforms people, plants, and animals alike- and its soaked in body horror, as you scrabble to survive, but love persists in the story, too)
I should note that this is not at all a comprehensive list to this style of game- and is more of an arrangement of those that I really enjoyed, that would perhaps not typically make someone’s top ten list of obvious examples of the all time greats. Smaller little ones* that I’ve picked up and collected overtime, like a similar list of Twine subgenres of Horror games I compiled awhile ago. All great fun though, and trend to being on the shorter side.
*Iron Valley and BLOOM are pretty well regarded, but most of them are relatively less known as far as I’m aware.