Choose Thief
Choose Thief if you want the Steam Leaderboards, Subtitle Options, and Custom Volume Controls side of the pairing. On Steam, it's currently about 33% cheaper on the Steam Store. 7,433 Steam reviews back the pick.
Thief vs Winter Ember
Thief and Winter Ember both land in Action, 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 Action, Adventure on Steam. Thief (2014) is 8 years older than Winter Ember (2022). Thief scores higher on Steam reviews (67.8% positive) than Winter Ember (64.7% 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 Winter Ember
Choose Winter Ember if you want a Strategy experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Winter Ember launched in 2022.
Both Thief and Winter Ember sit in Action 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
 Thief |  Winter Ember | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure | Action, Strategy, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 29.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 67.8% positive (7,433 reviews) | 64.7% positive (34 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Eidos-Montréal, Feral Interactive (Mac) | Sky Machine Studios |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure on Steam.
- Thief (2014) is 8 years older than Winter Ember (2022).
- Thief scores higher on Steam reviews (67.8% positive) than Winter Ember (64.7% positive).
- Thief is currently ~33% cheaper on Steam than Winter Ember (19.99 USD vs. 29.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Playable.
Thief vs Winter Ember — FAQ
- Should I play Thief or Winter Ember first?
- If you want chronology, Thief (2014) came out before Winter Ember (2022). 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 Thief and Winter Ember similar?
- They overlap on Action, 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.