Choose Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
Choose Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising if it's a focused single-player run rather than a multiplayer commitment. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising launched in 2009.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising vs Shadow Ops: Red Mercury
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising and Shadow Ops: Red Mercury both land in Action 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 are Action games on Steam. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (2009) is 5 years older than Shadow Ops: Red Mercury (2014). Shadow Ops: Red Mercury scores higher on Steam reviews (73.4% positive) than Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (66.6% 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 Shadow Ops: Red Mercury
Choose Shadow Ops: Red Mercury if you want the Multi-player side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 73.4% positive across 124 reviews.
Both Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising and Shadow Ops: Red Mercury sit in Action 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
 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising |  Shadow Ops: Red Mercury | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2009 | 2014 |
| Genres | Action | Action |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | Price unknown | 6.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 66.6% positive (803 reviews) | 73.4% positive (124 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Multi-player |
| Developers | Codemasters | Zombie Studios |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (2009) is 5 years older than Shadow Ops: Red Mercury (2014).
- Shadow Ops: Red Mercury scores higher on Steam reviews (73.4% positive) than Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (66.6% positive).
- Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Shadow Ops: Red Mercury has no Deck rating yet.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising vs Shadow Ops: Red Mercury — FAQ
- Which is better, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising or Shadow Ops: Red Mercury?
- On Steam reviews Shadow Ops: Red Mercury scores higher (73.4% positive) than Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (66.6% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Shadow Ops: Red Mercury is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising or Shadow Ops: Red Mercury first?
- If you want chronology, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (2009) came out before Shadow Ops: Red Mercury (2014). 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 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising and Shadow Ops: Red Mercury similar?
- They overlap on Action 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 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising have multiplayer like Shadow Ops: Red Mercury?
- No. Shadow Ops: Red Mercury supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player), while Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is listed as single-player only.
- Does Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is rated Deck Playable by Valve. Shadow Ops: Red Mercury doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.