Choose Down the shaft
Choose Down the shaft if you want an Action 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 The Strange Lights
Down the shaft and The Strange Lights both land in Indie, Adventure 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 Indie, Adventure on Steam. Down the shaft (2024) is 2 years older than The Strange Lights (2026). Down the shaft is free; The Strange Lights is paid (3.49 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 The Strange Lights
Choose The Strange Lights if you want a Simulation experience. The Strange Lights launched in 2026.
Both Down the shaft and The Strange Lights sit in Indie and Adventure 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 |  The Strange Lights | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024 | 2026 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Free To Play | Indie, Adventure, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | 3.49 USD |
| Steam reviews | 2 reviews | 85.2% positive (61 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | MissCasandra_DEV | JustTomcuk |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Down the shaft (2024) is 2 years older than The Strange Lights (2026).
- Down the shaft is free; The Strange Lights is paid (3.49 USD).
Down the shaft vs The Strange Lights — FAQ
- Should I play Down the shaft or The Strange Lights first?
- If you want chronology, Down the shaft (2024) came out before The Strange Lights (2026). 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 The Strange Lights similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Adventure 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. The Strange Lights is paid (3.49 USD).