ARK: Survival Evolved vs Phasmophobia
ARK: Survival Evolved and Phasmophobia 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. ARK: Survival Evolved (2017) is 3 years older than Phasmophobia (2020). Phasmophobia scores higher on Steam reviews (96.1% positive) than ARK: Survival Evolved (80.8% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Side-by-side comparison
 ARK: Survival Evolved |  Phasmophobia | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, RPG | Action, Indie, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | 14.99 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 80.8% positive (253,840 reviews) | 96.1% positive (350,092 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Studio Wildcard, Instinct Games, Efecto Studios, Virtual Basement LLC | Kinetic Games |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- ARK: Survival Evolved (2017) is 3 years older than Phasmophobia (2020).
- Phasmophobia scores higher on Steam reviews (96.1% positive) than ARK: Survival Evolved (80.8% positive).
- ARK: Survival Evolved is currently ~25% cheaper on Steam than Phasmophobia (14.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Steam Deck: ARK: Survival Evolved is Deck Verified, Phasmophobia is Deck Unsupported.
ARK: Survival Evolved vs Phasmophobia — FAQ
- Which is better, ARK: Survival Evolved or Phasmophobia?
- On Steam reviews Phasmophobia scores higher (96.1% positive) than ARK: Survival Evolved (80.8% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Phasmophobia is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play ARK: Survival Evolved or Phasmophobia first?
- If you want chronology, ARK: Survival Evolved (2017) came out before Phasmophobia (2020). 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 ARK: Survival Evolved and Phasmophobia 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.
- Do both ARK: Survival Evolved and Phasmophobia have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: ARK: Survival Evolved ships Co-op; Phasmophobia ships Online Co-op, Co-op.