Choose Alice: Madness Returns
Choose Alice: Madness Returns if it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 88.9% positive across 10,588 reviews.
Alice: Madness Returns vs Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition
Alice: Madness Returns and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition 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. Alice: Madness Returns (2011) is 2 years older than Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition (2013). Alice: Madness Returns scores higher on Steam reviews (88.9% positive) than Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition (72.7% 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 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition
Choose Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 3,181 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Alice: Madness Returns and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition sit in Action and Adventure 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
 Alice: Madness Returns |  Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2011 | 2013 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure | Action, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Verified |
| Price | 1.99 USD | 29.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 88.9% positive (10,588 reviews) | 72.7% positive (3,181 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Spicy Horse Games | MercurySteam, Climax Studios |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure on Steam.
- Alice: Madness Returns (2011) is 2 years older than Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition (2013).
- Alice: Madness Returns scores higher on Steam reviews (88.9% positive) than Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition (72.7% positive).
- Alice: Madness Returns is currently ~93% cheaper on Steam than Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition (1.99 USD vs. 29.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Alice: Madness Returns is Deck Playable, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition is Deck Verified.
Alice: Madness Returns vs Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition — FAQ
- Which is better, Alice: Madness Returns or Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition?
- On Steam reviews Alice: Madness Returns scores higher (88.9% positive) than Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition (72.7% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Alice: Madness Returns is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Alice: Madness Returns or Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition first?
- If you want chronology, Alice: Madness Returns (2011) came out before Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition (2013). 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 Alice: Madness Returns and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition 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.