Choose Old School
Choose Old School if it matches what drew you to this matchup. Old School launched in 2023.
Old School vs Hard Time III
Old School and Hard Time III 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. Old School (2023) is 1 year older than Hard Time III (2024). Both sit near 84% positive on Steam (Old School: 390 reviews, Hard Time III: 748). 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 Hard Time III
Choose Hard Time III if it matches what drew you to this matchup. Hard Time III launched in 2024.
Both Old School and Hard Time III sit in Action, Indie, 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. Steam reviews are nearly tied (83.6% vs 84.1% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Old School |  Hard Time III | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Simulation, RPG | Action, Indie, Adventure, Simulation, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 14.99 USD | 14.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 83.6% positive (390 reviews) | 84.1% positive (748 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | MDickie | MDickie |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Old School (2023) is 1 year older than Hard Time III (2024).
- Both sit near 84% positive on Steam (Old School: 390 reviews, Hard Time III: 748).
- Hard Time III is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Old School (14.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Both are Deck Verified.
Old School vs Hard Time III — FAQ
- Which is better, Old School or Hard Time III?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Old School sits at 83.6% positive (390 reviews), Hard Time III at 84.1% (748). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Old School or Hard Time III first?
- If you want chronology, Old School (2023) came out before Hard Time III (2024). 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 Old School and Hard Time III 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 Old School and Hard Time III have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Old School ships Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op; Hard Time III ships Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op.
- Do Old School and Hard Time III 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.