Should I play Horror Royale or After Dark VR first?

If you want chronology, After Dark VR (2022) came out before Horror Royale (2025). 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 Horror Royale and After Dark VR similar?

They overlap on Action, 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.

Do both Horror Royale and After Dark VR have co-op?

Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Horror Royale ships Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op; After Dark VR ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op.

Is After Dark VR free?

Yes — After Dark VR is a free-to-play Steam title. Horror Royale is paid (5.99 USD).

Horror Royale vs After Dark VR

Horror Royale and After Dark VR both land in Action, 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 Action, Adventure on Steam. After Dark VR (2022) is 3 years older than Horror Royale (2025). Horror Royale scores higher on Steam reviews (68.2% positive) than After Dark VR (60.3% 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 Horror Royale

Choose Horror Royale if you want an Indie and Casual game with Shared/Split Screen, Shared/Split Screen PvP, and Shared/Split Screen Co-op. On Steam, it's the newer release (2025) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Horror Royale launched in 2025.

Choose After Dark VR

Choose After Dark VR if you want a Strategy and Early Access game with VR Only. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. After Dark VR launched in 2022.

Both Horror Royale and After Dark VR sit in Action and Adventure on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and Online Co-op, 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.

Horror Royale vs After Dark VR — Steam metadata comparison
	Horror Royale	After Dark VR
Released	2025	2022
Genres	Action, Indie, Adventure, Casual	Action, Strategy, Adventure, Early Access
Platforms	Windows	Windows
Steam Deck	Unrated	Deck Unsupported
Price	5.99 USD	Free to play
Steam reviews	68.2% positive (44 reviews)	60.3% positive (73 reviews)
Multiplayer	Multi-player, Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op	Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op
Developers	Ben Wade	Nexxverse Games

Side by side

Both share Action, Adventure on Steam.
After Dark VR (2022) is 3 years older than Horror Royale (2025).
Horror Royale scores higher on Steam reviews (68.2% positive) than After Dark VR (60.3% positive).
After Dark VR is free; Horror Royale is paid (5.99 USD).
Both support cooperative play.
After Dark VR is Deck Unsupported on Steam Deck; Horror Royale has no Deck rating yet.