Choose Dear Esther
Choose Dear Esther if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 77.6% positive across 3,075 reviews.
Dear Esther vs The Old City: Leviathan
Dear Esther and The Old City: Leviathan 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 2 years older than The Old City: Leviathan (2014). Dear Esther scores higher on Steam reviews (77.6% positive) than The Old City: Leviathan (69.4% 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 The Old City: Leviathan
Choose The Old City: Leviathan if it matches what drew you to this matchup. The Old City: Leviathan launched in 2014.
Both Dear Esther and The Old City: Leviathan 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 |  The Old City: Leviathan | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2012 | 2014 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Casual | Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | Price unknown | 5.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 77.6% positive (3,075 reviews) | 69.4% positive (409 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | The Chinese Room, Robert Briscoe | PostMod Softworks |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Dear Esther (2012) is 2 years older than The Old City: Leviathan (2014).
- Dear Esther scores higher on Steam reviews (77.6% positive) than The Old City: Leviathan (69.4% positive).
- Dear Esther is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; The Old City: Leviathan has no Deck rating yet.
Dear Esther vs The Old City: Leviathan — FAQ
- Which is better, Dear Esther or The Old City: Leviathan?
- On Steam reviews Dear Esther scores higher (77.6% positive) than The Old City: Leviathan (69.4% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Dear Esther is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Dear Esther or The Old City: Leviathan first?
- If you want chronology, Dear Esther (2012) came out before The Old City: Leviathan (2014). 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 The Old City: Leviathan 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. The Old City: Leviathan doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.