Choose Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Choose Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 95.7% positive across 9,963 reviews.
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove vs Sonic Mania
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and Sonic Mania 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. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (2014) is 3 years older than Sonic Mania (2017). Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove scores higher on Steam reviews (95.7% positive) than Sonic Mania (93.4% 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 Sonic Mania
Choose Sonic Mania if you want a Casual game with Steam Leaderboards. On Steam, it's currently about 88% cheaper on the Steam Store. 13,860 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and Sonic Mania sit in Action and Adventure on Steam and both list Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Shared/Split Screen PvP, 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
 Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove |  Sonic Mania | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure | Action, Adventure, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 39.99 USD | 4.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.7% positive (9,963 reviews) | 93.4% positive (13,860 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Yacht Club Games | Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, PagodaWest Games |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure on Steam.
- Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (2014) is 3 years older than Sonic Mania (2017).
- Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove scores higher on Steam reviews (95.7% positive) than Sonic Mania (93.4% positive).
- Sonic Mania is currently ~88% cheaper on Steam than Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (4.99 USD vs. 39.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Both are Deck Verified.
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove vs Sonic Mania — FAQ
- Which is better, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove or Sonic Mania?
- On Steam reviews Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove scores higher (95.7% positive) than Sonic Mania (93.4% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove or Sonic Mania first?
- If you want chronology, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (2014) came out before Sonic Mania (2017). 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 Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and Sonic Mania 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.
- Do both Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and Sonic Mania have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove ships Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op; Sonic Mania ships Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op.
- Do Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and Sonic Mania both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.