Choose Quake III Arena
Choose Quake III Arena if you want the Multi-player, Online PvP, and LAN PvP side of the pairing. 2,021 Steam reviews back the pick.
Quake III Arena vs RETOOLED
Quake III Arena and RETOOLED 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. Quake III Arena (2007) is 16 years older than RETOOLED (2023). Quake III Arena scores higher on Steam reviews (95.7% positive) than RETOOLED (94.1% 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 RETOOLED
Choose RETOOLED if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. RETOOLED launched in 2023.
Both Quake III Arena and RETOOLED sit in Action on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.7% vs 94.1% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Quake III Arena |  RETOOLED | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2007 | 2023 |
| Genres | Action | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | 14.99 USD | 14.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.7% positive (2,021 reviews) | 94.1% positive (17 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Single-player only |
| Developers | id Software | Swarm Creations |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Quake III Arena (2007) is 16 years older than RETOOLED (2023).
- Quake III Arena scores higher on Steam reviews (95.7% positive) than RETOOLED (94.1% positive).
- RETOOLED is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Quake III Arena (14.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Quake III Arena is Deck Unsupported, RETOOLED is Deck Playable.
Quake III Arena vs RETOOLED — FAQ
- Should I play Quake III Arena or RETOOLED first?
- If you want chronology, Quake III Arena (2007) came out before RETOOLED (2023). 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 Quake III Arena and RETOOLED 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.
- Does RETOOLED have multiplayer like Quake III Arena?
- No. Quake III Arena supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player), while RETOOLED is listed as single-player only.