Do these games have a particular order to play?

[Die Dame des Berges]

I mean to the moon, finding paradise, impostor factory etc. Is there an order to play them, or is each story self contained?

[Solyaris]

1. To the Moon
2. To the Moon story DLCs (Holiday Specials)
3. A Bird Story
4. Finding Paradise
5. Impostor Factory

If you have them all, and if it is your first time, you might as well play them in order. Each story is self contained, but there are recurring characters and concepts that are developped throughout and therefore there's the progression of an overall narrative throughout all the games. Even though I think they could possibly be played separately in isolation, the fact that they are still somewhat closely linked means that the optimal way to do things is to go through them in order (for maximum enjoyment and appreciation, if you will).

Personally, that's how I would advise a friend.

It's okay if you don't have A Bird Story. It's rather short, and pretty much an interlude. Though I like it as much as the others and find that it brings something to the table that isn't negligible.

[zaphodikus]

The intent is that people play them in the above order, however the timeline does not exactly roll that way, although playing them in a random order as long as To the Moon is first, will also work because they do sort of stand alone pretty well.

[PewienCzlowiek]

Originally posted by zaphodikus:

The intent is that people play them in the above order, however the timeline does not exactly roll that way, although playing them in a random order as long as To the Moon is first, will also work because they do sort of stand alone pretty well.

What would be the chronological order of events, if it's not the order of release?

[zaphodikus]

I think, the problems here are, that the Sigmund Corp series is a parallel spin-out, so you can batch-play them completely last if you like, or binge them all together but only after TTM. AND... that The Mirror Lied is a time-hopper, so you can play it at any point and what you learn may change, but you will have to either play it again to make sense of things, if you decided to not play the main plot games in the order they were published.

https://tothemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Freebird_Games