Choose FTL: Faster Than Light
Choose FTL: Faster Than Light if you want a Simulation experience. 46,262 Steam reviews back the pick.
FTL: Faster Than Light vs The Crooked Hand
FTL: Faster Than Light and The Crooked Hand both land in Strategy, Indie 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 Strategy, Indie on Steam. FTL: Faster Than Light (2012) is 14 years older than The Crooked Hand (2026). FTL: Faster Than Light is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; The Crooked Hand 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 The Crooked Hand
Choose The Crooked Hand if it's the newer release (2026) and ships with the modern feature baseline. The Crooked Hand launched in 2026.
Both FTL: Faster Than Light and The Crooked Hand sit in Strategy and Indie 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
 FTL: Faster Than Light |  The Crooked Hand | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2012 | 2026 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Simulation | Strategy, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 95.5% positive (46,262 reviews) | — |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Subset Games | chenjd |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- FTL: Faster Than Light (2012) is 14 years older than The Crooked Hand (2026).
- FTL: Faster Than Light is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; The Crooked Hand has no Deck rating yet.
FTL: Faster Than Light vs The Crooked Hand — FAQ
- Should I play FTL: Faster Than Light or The Crooked Hand first?
- If you want chronology, FTL: Faster Than Light (2012) came out before The Crooked Hand (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 FTL: Faster Than Light and The Crooked Hand similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie 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 FTL: Faster Than Light run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — FTL: Faster Than Light is rated Deck Playable by Valve. The Crooked Hand doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.