Choose Dear Esther
Choose Dear Esther if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 3,075 Steam reviews back the pick.
Dear Esther vs Beyond The Underworld
Dear Esther and Beyond The Underworld both land in Indie, 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 Indie, Adventure on Steam. Dear Esther (2012) is 8 years older than Beyond The Underworld (2020). Dear Esther is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Beyond The Underworld has no Deck rating yet. 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 Beyond The Underworld
Choose Beyond The Underworld if you want an Early Access experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Beyond The Underworld launched in 2020.
Both Dear Esther and Beyond The Underworld sit in Indie 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
 Dear Esther |  Beyond The Underworld | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2012 | 2020 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Casual | Indie, Adventure, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | Price unknown | 0.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 77.6% positive (3,075 reviews) | 3 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | The Chinese Room, Robert Briscoe | Peacock Games |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Dear Esther (2012) is 8 years older than Beyond The Underworld (2020).
- Dear Esther is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Beyond The Underworld has no Deck rating yet.
Dear Esther vs Beyond The Underworld — FAQ
- Should I play Dear Esther or Beyond The Underworld first?
- If you want chronology, Dear Esther (2012) came out before Beyond The Underworld (2020). 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 Dear Esther and Beyond The Underworld similar?
- They overlap on Indie, 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.
- Does Dear Esther run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Dear Esther is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Beyond The Underworld doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.