Choose Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition
Choose Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition if you want an Action and Adventure experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 93.4% positive across 1,480 reviews.
Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition vs iREC
Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition and iREC both land in 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 are Indie games on Steam. Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition (2009) is 8 years older than iREC (2017). Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition scores higher on Steam reviews (93.4% positive) than iREC (31.1% 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 iREC
Choose iREC if it's currently about 50% cheaper on the Steam Store. iREC launched in 2017.
Both Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition and iREC sit in 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
 Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition |  iREC | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2009 | 2017 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure | Indie |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 4.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 93.4% positive (1,480 reviews) | 31.1% positive (122 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Frictional Games | Labory |
Side by side
- Both are Indie games on Steam.
- Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition (2009) is 8 years older than iREC (2017).
- Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition scores higher on Steam reviews (93.4% positive) than iREC (31.1% positive).
- iREC is currently ~50% cheaper on Steam than Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition (4.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; iREC has no Deck rating yet.
Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition vs iREC — FAQ
- Which is better, Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition or iREC?
- On Steam reviews Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition scores higher (93.4% positive) than iREC (31.1% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition or iREC first?
- If you want chronology, Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition (2009) came out before iREC (2017). 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 Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition and iREC similar?
- They overlap on 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 Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Penumbra: Black Plague Gold Edition is rated Deck Playable by Valve. iREC doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.