Choose Down the shaft
Choose Down the shaft if you want an Adventure and Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Down the shaft launched in 2024.
Down the shaft vs Pipeline Crawl
Down the shaft and Pipeline Crawl 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. Down the shaft (2024) is 1 year older than Pipeline Crawl (2025). Down the shaft is free; Pipeline Crawl is paid (0.99 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 Pipeline Crawl
Choose Pipeline Crawl if it matches what drew you to this matchup. Pipeline Crawl launched in 2025.
Both Down the shaft and Pipeline Crawl 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
 Down the shaft |  Pipeline Crawl | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024 | 2025 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Free To Play | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | 0.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 2 reviews | 5 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | MissCasandra_DEV | David Seco |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Down the shaft (2024) is 1 year older than Pipeline Crawl (2025).
- Down the shaft is free; Pipeline Crawl is paid (0.99 USD).
Down the shaft vs Pipeline Crawl — FAQ
- Should I play Down the shaft or Pipeline Crawl first?
- If you want chronology, Down the shaft (2024) came out before Pipeline Crawl (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 Down the shaft and Pipeline Crawl 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.
- Is Down the shaft free?
- Yes — Down the shaft is a free-to-play Steam title. Pipeline Crawl is paid (0.99 USD).