Choose How to Survive
Choose How to Survive if you want a RPG game with Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Steam Leaderboards. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 4,613 Steam reviews back the pick.
How to Survive vs Radiation Island
How to Survive and Radiation Island 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. How to Survive (2014) is 2 years older than Radiation Island (2016). Radiation Island scores higher on Steam reviews (77.6% positive) than How to Survive (76.5% 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 Radiation Island
Choose Radiation Island if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it's currently about 33% cheaper on the Steam Store. Radiation Island launched in 2016.
Both How to Survive and Radiation Island sit in Action and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (76.5% vs 77.6% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 How to Survive |  Radiation Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2016 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, RPG | Action, Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 14.99 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 76.5% positive (4,613 reviews) | 77.6% positive (228 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Co-op | Single-player only |
| Developers | Eko Software | Atypical Games |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure on Steam.
- How to Survive (2014) is 2 years older than Radiation Island (2016).
- Radiation Island scores higher on Steam reviews (77.6% positive) than How to Survive (76.5% positive).
- Radiation Island is currently ~33% cheaper on Steam than How to Survive (9.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- How to Survive has co-op; Radiation Island does not.
- How to Survive is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Radiation Island has no Deck rating yet.
How to Survive vs Radiation Island — FAQ
- Which is better, How to Survive or Radiation Island?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: How to Survive sits at 76.5% positive (4,613 reviews), Radiation Island at 77.6% (228). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play How to Survive or Radiation Island first?
- If you want chronology, How to Survive (2014) came out before Radiation Island (2016). 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 How to Survive and Radiation Island 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.
- Does Radiation Island have multiplayer like How to Survive?
- No. How to Survive supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Co-op), while Radiation Island is listed as single-player only.
- Does How to Survive run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — How to Survive is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Radiation Island doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.