Choose The Forest
Choose The Forest if you want the Tracked Controller Support and VR Supported side of the pairing. 175,474 Steam reviews back the pick.
The Forest vs Don't Starve Together
The Forest and Don't Starve Together both land in Action, 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 Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam. Don't Starve Together (2016) is 2 years older than The Forest (2018). Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (The Forest: 175,474 reviews, Don't Starve Together: 80,691). 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 Don't Starve Together
Choose Don't Starve Together if you want a Strategy and RPG game with Online PvP, LAN PvP, and PvP. On Steam, it's currently about 25% cheaper on the Steam Store. 80,691 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both The Forest and Don't Starve Together sit in Action, Indie, and Adventure on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online Co-op, and LAN Co-op, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.3% vs 95.6% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Forest |  Don't Starve Together | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2016 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Simulation | Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure, Simulation, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Verified |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 14.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.3% positive (175,474 reviews) | 95.6% positive (80,691 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op |
| Developers | Endnight Games Ltd | Klei Entertainment |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Don't Starve Together (2016) is 2 years older than The Forest (2018).
- Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (The Forest: 175,474 reviews, Don't Starve Together: 80,691).
- Don't Starve Together is currently ~25% cheaper on Steam than The Forest (14.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Steam Deck: The Forest is Deck Playable, Don't Starve Together is Deck Verified.
The Forest vs Don't Starve Together — FAQ
- Which is better, The Forest or Don't Starve Together?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: The Forest sits at 95.3% positive (175,474 reviews), Don't Starve Together at 95.6% (80,691). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play The Forest or Don't Starve Together first?
- If you want chronology, Don't Starve Together (2016) came out before The Forest (2018). 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 The Forest and Don't Starve Together similar?
- They overlap on Action, 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.
- Do both The Forest and Don't Starve Together have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: The Forest ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op; Don't Starve Together ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op.