Choose NERTS! Online
Choose NERTS! Online if you want an Action and Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. 1,467 Steam reviews back the pick.
NERTS! Online vs Highland Panic
NERTS! Online and Highland Panic both land in Indie, Casual 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, Casual on Steam. NERTS! Online (2021) is 2 years older than Highland Panic (2023). NERTS! Online is free; Highland Panic is paid (9.99 USD). 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 Highland Panic
Choose Highland Panic if you want a Strategy experience. Highland Panic launched in 2023.
Both NERTS! Online and Highland Panic sit in Indie and Casual on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP, 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
 NERTS! Online |  Highland Panic | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2021 | 2023 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Free To Play, Casual | Strategy, Indie, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.6% positive (1,467 reviews) | 1 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer |
| Developers | Zachtronics | Midnite Oil Software L.L.C. |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Casual on Steam.
- NERTS! Online (2021) is 2 years older than Highland Panic (2023).
- NERTS! Online is free; Highland Panic is paid (9.99 USD).
NERTS! Online vs Highland Panic — FAQ
- Should I play NERTS! Online or Highland Panic first?
- If you want chronology, NERTS! Online (2021) came out before Highland Panic (2023). 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 NERTS! Online and Highland Panic similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Casual 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.
- Is NERTS! Online free?
- Yes — NERTS! Online is a free-to-play Steam title. Highland Panic is paid (9.99 USD).