Choose Dark Forest
Choose Dark Forest if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's currently about 62% cheaper on the Steam Store. Dark Forest launched in 2020.
Dark Forest vs CRUX
Dark Forest and CRUX both land in Action, Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Indie on Steam. Dark Forest (2020) is 4 years older than CRUX (2024). Both sit near 100% positive on Steam (Dark Forest: 10 reviews, CRUX: 11). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose CRUX
Choose CRUX if it's the newer release (2024) and ships with the modern feature baseline. CRUX launched in 2024.
Both Dark Forest and CRUX sit in Action and Indie on Steam and both list Steam Leaderboards, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (100% vs 100% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Dark Forest |  CRUX | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Casual | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 12.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 100% positive (10 reviews) | 100% positive (11 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Fake Boss | Blackout Softworks sh.p.k. |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Dark Forest (2020) is 4 years older than CRUX (2024).
- Both sit near 100% positive on Steam (Dark Forest: 10 reviews, CRUX: 11).
- Dark Forest is currently ~62% cheaper on Steam than CRUX (4.99 USD vs. 12.99 USD).
Dark Forest vs CRUX — FAQ
- Should I play Dark Forest or CRUX first?
- If you want chronology, Dark Forest (2020) came out before CRUX (2024). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Dark Forest and CRUX similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.