Choose The Room
Choose The Room if you want an Adventure experience. On Steam, it's currently about 38% cheaper on the Steam Store. 14,196 Steam reviews back the pick.
The Room vs The Artifact
The Room and The Artifact both land in 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 are Indie games on Steam. The Room (2014) is 3 years older than The Artifact (2017). The Room scores higher on Steam reviews (97.3% positive) than The Artifact (64.4% 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 The Artifact
Choose The Artifact if it's the newer release (2017) and ships with the modern feature baseline. The Artifact launched in 2017.
Both The Room and The Artifact sit in 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
 The Room |  The Artifact | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Indie |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 7.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 97.3% positive (14,196 reviews) | 64.4% positive (87 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Fireproof Games | Colin Wren, Sean Scaplehorn, Wayne Jackson, Jason Mallett |
Side by side
- Both are Indie games on Steam.
- The Room (2014) is 3 years older than The Artifact (2017).
- The Room scores higher on Steam reviews (97.3% positive) than The Artifact (64.4% positive).
- The Room is currently ~38% cheaper on Steam than The Artifact (4.99 USD vs. 7.99 USD).
- The Room is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; The Artifact has no Deck rating yet.
The Room vs The Artifact — FAQ
- Should I play The Room or The Artifact first?
- If you want chronology, The Room (2014) came out before The Artifact (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 Room and The Artifact similar?
- They overlap on 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 The Room run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — The Room is rated Deck Verified by Valve. The Artifact doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.