Choose The Forest
Choose The Forest if you want an Action and Simulation game with Multi-player, Online Co-op, and LAN Co-op. On Steam, it's currently about 33% cheaper on the Steam Store. 175,474 Steam reviews back the pick.
The Forest vs Subnautica
The Forest and Subnautica 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. Both released in 2018. Subnautica scores higher on Steam reviews (96.9% positive) than The Forest (95.3% 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 Subnautica
Choose Subnautica if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 177,256 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both The Forest and Subnautica sit in Indie and Adventure on Steam and both list VR Supported, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.3% vs 96.9% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Forest |  Subnautica | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2018 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Simulation | Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Verified |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 29.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.3% positive (175,474 reviews) | 96.9% positive (177,256 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op | Single-player only |
| Developers | Endnight Games Ltd | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Both released in 2018.
- Subnautica scores higher on Steam reviews (96.9% positive) than The Forest (95.3% positive).
- The Forest is currently ~33% cheaper on Steam than Subnautica (19.99 USD vs. 29.99 USD).
- The Forest has co-op; Subnautica does not.
- Steam Deck: The Forest is Deck Playable, Subnautica is Deck Verified.
The Forest vs Subnautica — FAQ
- Which is better, The Forest or Subnautica?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: The Forest sits at 95.3% positive (175,474 reviews), Subnautica at 96.9% (177,256). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Are The Forest and Subnautica 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 Subnautica have multiplayer like The Forest?
- No. The Forest supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op), while Subnautica is listed as single-player only.