Choose Thrive
Choose Thrive if you want a Casual game with Custom Volume Controls, Stereo Sound, and Playable without Timed Input. On Steam, it's currently about 58% cheaper on the Steam Store. 1,073 Steam reviews back the pick.
Thrive vs Planetary Life
Thrive and Planetary Life both land in Indie, Simulation, 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, Simulation, Early Access on Steam. Thrive (2021) is 4 years older than Planetary Life (2025). Planetary Life scores higher on Steam reviews (93.8% positive) than Thrive (90.8% 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 Planetary Life
Choose Planetary Life if you want a Strategy experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 93.8% positive across 435 reviews.
Both Thrive and Planetary Life sit in Indie, Simulation, and Early Access 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
 Thrive |  Planetary Life | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2021 | 2025 |
| Genres | Indie, Simulation, Casual, Early Access | Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Verified |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 11.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 90.8% positive (1,073 reviews) | 93.8% positive (435 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Revolutionary Games Studio | Sotenbox |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Simulation, Early Access on Steam.
- Thrive (2021) is 4 years older than Planetary Life (2025).
- Planetary Life scores higher on Steam reviews (93.8% positive) than Thrive (90.8% positive).
- Thrive is currently ~58% cheaper on Steam than Planetary Life (4.99 USD vs. 11.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Thrive is Deck Playable, Planetary Life is Deck Verified.
Thrive vs Planetary Life — FAQ
- Which is better, Thrive or Planetary Life?
- On Steam reviews Planetary Life scores higher (93.8% positive) than Thrive (90.8% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Planetary Life is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Thrive or Planetary Life first?
- If you want chronology, Thrive (2021) came out before Planetary Life (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 Thrive and Planetary Life similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Simulation, 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.