Choose Shadowgrounds
Choose Shadowgrounds if you want the Multi-player and Shared/Split Screen side of the pairing. Shadowgrounds launched in 2006.
Shadowgrounds vs Alien Earth
Shadowgrounds and Alien Earth 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. Shadowgrounds (2006) is 15 years older than Alien Earth (2021). Alien Earth is currently ~14% cheaper on Steam than Shadowgrounds (5.99 USD vs. 6.99 USD). 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 Alien Earth
Choose Alien Earth if you want a Strategy and Adventure experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Alien Earth launched in 2021.
Both Shadowgrounds and Alien Earth sit in Action 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
 Shadowgrounds |  Alien Earth | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2006 | 2021 |
| Genres | Action | Action, Strategy, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Unrated |
| Price | 6.99 USD | 5.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 81.3% positive (557 reviews) | 7 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Single-player only |
| Developers | Frozenbyte | Beam Software |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Shadowgrounds (2006) is 15 years older than Alien Earth (2021).
- Alien Earth is currently ~14% cheaper on Steam than Shadowgrounds (5.99 USD vs. 6.99 USD).
- Shadowgrounds is Deck Unsupported on Steam Deck; Alien Earth has no Deck rating yet.
Shadowgrounds vs Alien Earth — FAQ
- Should I play Shadowgrounds or Alien Earth first?
- If you want chronology, Shadowgrounds (2006) came out before Alien Earth (2021). 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 Shadowgrounds and Alien Earth 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 Alien Earth have multiplayer like Shadowgrounds?
- No. Shadowgrounds supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player), while Alien Earth is listed as single-player only.