Choose A Short Hike
Choose A Short Hike if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 99.1% positive across 12,104 reviews.
A Short Hike vs The Pathless
A Short Hike and The Pathless both land in Indie, Adventure 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 Indie, Adventure on Steam. A Short Hike (2019) is 2 years older than The Pathless (2021). A Short Hike scores higher on Steam reviews (99.1% positive) than The Pathless (90.8% positive). 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 The Pathless
Choose The Pathless if you want an Action experience. 1,166 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both A Short Hike and The Pathless sit in Indie and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 A Short Hike |  The Pathless | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2021 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Action, Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Playable |
| Price | 3.99 USD | 39.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 99.1% positive (12,104 reviews) | 90.8% positive (1,166 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | adamgryu | Giant Squid |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- A Short Hike (2019) is 2 years older than The Pathless (2021).
- A Short Hike scores higher on Steam reviews (99.1% positive) than The Pathless (90.8% positive).
- A Short Hike is currently ~90% cheaper on Steam than The Pathless (3.99 USD vs. 39.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: A Short Hike is Deck Verified, The Pathless is Deck Playable.
A Short Hike vs The Pathless — FAQ
- Which is better, A Short Hike or The Pathless?
- On Steam reviews A Short Hike scores higher (99.1% positive) than The Pathless (90.8% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, A Short Hike is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play A Short Hike or The Pathless first?
- If you want chronology, A Short Hike (2019) came out before The Pathless (2021). 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 A Short Hike and The Pathless similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Adventure 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.