Choose Fear Therapy
Choose Fear Therapy if you want the Online PvP and PvP side of the pairing. 1,081 Steam reviews back the pick.
Fear Therapy vs Cursed Despair
Fear Therapy and Cursed Despair both land in Indie, Early Access 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, Early Access on Steam. Fear Therapy (2021) is 3 years older than Cursed Despair (2024). Cursed Despair is currently ~80% cheaper on Steam than Fear Therapy (0.99 USD vs. 4.99 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 Cursed Despair
Choose Cursed Despair if you want an Action experience. On Steam, it's currently about 80% cheaper on the Steam Store. Cursed Despair launched in 2024.
Both Fear Therapy and Cursed Despair sit in Indie and Early Access on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online Co-op, and 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.
Side-by-side comparison
 Fear Therapy |  Cursed Despair | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2021 | 2024 |
| Genres | Indie, Early Access | Action, Indie, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 0.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 69.1% positive (1,081 reviews) | 5 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Black Flag Studios | Lunatic Eclipse Studio |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Early Access on Steam.
- Fear Therapy (2021) is 3 years older than Cursed Despair (2024).
- Cursed Despair is currently ~80% cheaper on Steam than Fear Therapy (0.99 USD vs. 4.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Fear Therapy is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Cursed Despair has no Deck rating yet.
Fear Therapy vs Cursed Despair — FAQ
- Should I play Fear Therapy or Cursed Despair first?
- If you want chronology, Fear Therapy (2021) came out before Cursed Despair (2024). 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 Fear Therapy and Cursed Despair similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Early Access 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 Fear Therapy and Cursed Despair have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Fear Therapy ships Online Co-op, Co-op; Cursed Despair ships Online Co-op, Co-op.
- Does Fear Therapy run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Fear Therapy is rated Deck Playable by Valve. Cursed Despair doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.