Choose Ikaruga
Choose Ikaruga if you want the Multi-player and Shared/Split Screen side of the pairing. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 1,193 Steam reviews back the pick.
Ikaruga vs Flowing Lights
Ikaruga and Flowing Lights both land in Action, Indie 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 on Steam. Ikaruga (2014) is 7 years older than Flowing Lights (2021). Ikaruga scores higher on Steam reviews (95.1% positive) than Flowing Lights (84.6% 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 Flowing Lights
Choose Flowing Lights if it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Flowing Lights launched in 2021.
Both Ikaruga and Flowing Lights sit in Action and Indie on Steam and both list Steam Leaderboards, 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
 Ikaruga |  Flowing Lights | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2021 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.1% positive (1,193 reviews) | 84.6% positive (13 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Single-player only |
| Developers | TREASURE | gFaUmNe |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Ikaruga (2014) is 7 years older than Flowing Lights (2021).
- Ikaruga scores higher on Steam reviews (95.1% positive) than Flowing Lights (84.6% positive).
- Flowing Lights is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Ikaruga (9.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Ikaruga is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Flowing Lights has no Deck rating yet.
Ikaruga vs Flowing Lights — FAQ
- Should I play Ikaruga or Flowing Lights first?
- If you want chronology, Ikaruga (2014) came out before Flowing Lights (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 Ikaruga and Flowing Lights similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie 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 Flowing Lights have multiplayer like Ikaruga?
- No. Ikaruga supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player), while Flowing Lights is listed as single-player only.
- Does Ikaruga run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Ikaruga is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Flowing Lights doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.