Choose Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms
Choose Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms if you want an Indie experience. Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms launched in 2014.
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms vs Shadows: Awakening
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and Shadows: Awakening both land in RPG 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 RPG games on Steam. Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms (2014) is 4 years older than Shadows: Awakening (2018). Shadows: Awakening scores higher on Steam reviews (78.5% positive) than Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms (57% 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 Shadows: Awakening
Choose Shadows: Awakening if you want an Action experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 78.5% positive across 775 reviews.
Both Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and Shadows: Awakening sit in RPG on Steam, 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
 Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms |  Shadows: Awakening | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Genres | Indie, RPG | Action, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Playable |
| Price | 29.99 USD | 29.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 57% positive (142 reviews) | 78.5% positive (775 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Games Farm | Games Farm |
Side by side
- Both are RPG games on Steam.
- Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms (2014) is 4 years older than Shadows: Awakening (2018).
- Shadows: Awakening scores higher on Steam reviews (78.5% positive) than Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms (57% positive).
- Shadows: Awakening is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms (29.99 USD vs. 29.99 USD).
- Shadows: Awakening is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has no Deck rating yet.
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms vs Shadows: Awakening — FAQ
- Which is better, Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms or Shadows: Awakening?
- On Steam reviews Shadows: Awakening scores higher (78.5% positive) than Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms (57% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Shadows: Awakening is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms or Shadows: Awakening first?
- If you want chronology, Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms (2014) came out before Shadows: Awakening (2018). 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 Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and Shadows: Awakening similar?
- They overlap on RPG 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.