Choose The Last Federation
Choose The Last Federation if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. The Last Federation launched in 2014.
The Last Federation vs After the Empire
The Last Federation and After the Empire both land in Strategy, Indie, Simulation 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 Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam. The Last Federation (2014) is 3 years older than After the Empire (2017). Both sit near 74% positive on Steam (The Last Federation: 344 reviews, After the Empire: 41). 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 After the Empire
Choose After the Empire if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. On Steam, it's currently about 60% cheaper on the Steam Store. After the Empire launched in 2017.
Both The Last Federation and After the Empire sit in Strategy, Indie, and Simulation on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (74.1% vs 73.2% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Last Federation |  After the Empire | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Simulation | Strategy, Indie, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 7.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 74.1% positive (344 reviews) | 73.2% positive (41 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Arcen Games | Goatee Games |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam.
- The Last Federation (2014) is 3 years older than After the Empire (2017).
- Both sit near 74% positive on Steam (The Last Federation: 344 reviews, After the Empire: 41).
- After the Empire is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than The Last Federation (7.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- The Last Federation is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; After the Empire has no Deck rating yet.
The Last Federation vs After the Empire — FAQ
- Should I play The Last Federation or After the Empire first?
- If you want chronology, The Last Federation (2014) came out before After the Empire (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 The Last Federation and After the Empire similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie, Simulation 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 The Last Federation run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — The Last Federation is rated Deck Verified by Valve. After the Empire doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.