Choose Bad Santa
Choose Bad Santa if you want a Strategy and Adventure experience. On Steam, it's currently about 67% cheaper on the Steam Store. Bad Santa launched in 2024.
Bad Santa vs Pollen
Bad Santa and Pollen 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. Bad Santa (2024) is 1 year older than Pollen (2025). Bad Santa is currently ~67% cheaper on Steam than Pollen (1.99 USD vs. 5.99 USD). 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 Pollen
Choose Pollen if you want an Early Access experience. Pollen launched in 2025.
Both Bad Santa and Pollen sit in Action and Indie 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
 Bad Santa |  Pollen | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024 | 2025 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure | Action, Indie, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 1.99 USD | 5.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 2 reviews | 85.7% positive (14 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | DropoutStudios | FSTR |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Bad Santa (2024) is 1 year older than Pollen (2025).
- Bad Santa is currently ~67% cheaper on Steam than Pollen (1.99 USD vs. 5.99 USD).
Bad Santa vs Pollen — FAQ
- Should I play Bad Santa or Pollen first?
- If you want chronology, Bad Santa (2024) came out before Pollen (2025). 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 Bad Santa and Pollen 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.