Choose Garden Story
Choose Garden Story if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. Garden Story launched in 2021.
Garden Story vs Starless Umbra
Garden Story and Starless Umbra both land in Indie, Adventure, RPG 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, RPG on Steam. Starless Umbra has co-op; Garden Story does not. Garden Story is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Starless Umbra has no Deck rating yet. 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 Starless Umbra
Choose Starless Umbra if you want an Action game with Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Shared/Split Screen Co-op. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend.
Both Garden Story and Starless Umbra sit in Indie, Adventure, and RPG on Steam and both list Custom Volume Controls, Keyboard Only Option, and Adjustable Difficulty, 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
 Garden Story |  Starless Umbra | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2021 | — |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, RPG | Action, Indie, Adventure, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 19.99 USD | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 90.1% positive (916 reviews) | — |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Picogram | Alcuria Games |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure, RPG on Steam.
- Starless Umbra has co-op; Garden Story does not.
- Garden Story is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Starless Umbra has no Deck rating yet.
Garden Story vs Starless Umbra — FAQ
- Are Garden Story and Starless Umbra similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Adventure, RPG 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.
- Does Garden Story have multiplayer like Starless Umbra?
- No. Starless Umbra supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op), while Garden Story is listed as single-player only.
- Does Garden Story run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Garden Story is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Starless Umbra doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.