Choose Rakuten
Choose Rakuten if you want an Indie and Adventure experience. Rakuten launched in 2021.
Rakuten vs Harpoon Arena
Rakuten and Harpoon Arena 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. Rakuten (2021) is 5 years older than Harpoon Arena (2026). Both support cooperative play. 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 Harpoon Arena
Choose Harpoon Arena if you want a Sports and Massively Multiplayer game with LAN PvP and LAN Co-op. On Steam, it's the newer release (2026) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Harpoon Arena launched in 2026.
Both Rakuten and Harpoon Arena sit in Action 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.
Side-by-side comparison
 Rakuten |  Harpoon Arena | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2021 | 2026 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure | Action, Sports, Massively Multiplayer |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 1 reviews | — |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op |
| Developers | TheRealDan | FairGoose |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Rakuten (2021) is 5 years older than Harpoon Arena (2026).
- Both support cooperative play.
Rakuten vs Harpoon Arena — FAQ
- Should I play Rakuten or Harpoon Arena first?
- If you want chronology, Rakuten (2021) came out before Harpoon Arena (2026). 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 Rakuten and Harpoon Arena 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.
- Do both Rakuten and Harpoon Arena have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Rakuten ships Online Co-op, Co-op; Harpoon Arena ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op.