Choose Ikaruga
Choose Ikaruga if you want an Indie game with Multi-player and Shared/Split Screen. On Steam, it's currently about 44% cheaper on the Steam Store. 1,193 Steam reviews back the pick.
Ikaruga vs Gunvein
Ikaruga and Gunvein 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. Ikaruga (2014) is 8 years older than Gunvein (2022). Gunvein scores higher on Steam reviews (96.5% positive) than Ikaruga (95.1% 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 Gunvein
Choose Gunvein if it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Gunvein launched in 2022.
Both Ikaruga and Gunvein sit in Action on Steam and both list Steam Leaderboards, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.1% vs 96.5% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Ikaruga |  Gunvein | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Playable |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 17.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.1% positive (1,193 reviews) | 96.5% positive (172 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Single-player only |
| Developers | TREASURE | NGDEV |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Ikaruga (2014) is 8 years older than Gunvein (2022).
- Gunvein scores higher on Steam reviews (96.5% positive) than Ikaruga (95.1% positive).
- Ikaruga is currently ~44% cheaper on Steam than Gunvein (9.99 USD vs. 17.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Ikaruga is Deck Verified, Gunvein is Deck Playable.
Ikaruga vs Gunvein — FAQ
- Which is better, Ikaruga or Gunvein?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Ikaruga sits at 95.1% positive (1,193 reviews), Gunvein at 96.5% (172). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Ikaruga or Gunvein first?
- If you want chronology, Ikaruga (2014) came out before Gunvein (2022). 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 Ikaruga and Gunvein 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 Gunvein have multiplayer like Ikaruga?
- No. Ikaruga supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player), while Gunvein is listed as single-player only.