Choose Colony Survival
Choose Colony Survival if you want an Action and Adventure experience. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 5,841 Steam reviews back the pick.
Colony Survival vs Art of the Rail
Colony Survival and Art of the Rail both land in Strategy, Indie, Early Access 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 Strategy, Indie, Early Access on Steam. Colony Survival (2017) is 4 years older than Art of the Rail (2021). Both support cooperative play. 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 Art of the Rail
Choose Art of the Rail if you want a Simulation experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Art of the Rail launched in 2021.
Both Colony Survival and Art of the Rail sit in Strategy, Indie, and Early Access on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and Online Co-op, 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
 Colony Survival |  Art of the Rail | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure, Early Access | Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 24.95 USD | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 91.9% positive (5,841 reviews) | — |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op |
| Developers | Pipliz | RocketWerkz |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, Early Access on Steam.
- Colony Survival (2017) is 4 years older than Art of the Rail (2021).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Colony Survival is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Art of the Rail has no Deck rating yet.
Colony Survival vs Art of the Rail — FAQ
- Should I play Colony Survival or Art of the Rail first?
- If you want chronology, Colony Survival (2017) came out before Art of the Rail (2021). 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 Colony Survival and Art of the Rail similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie, Early Access 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 Colony Survival and Art of the Rail have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Colony Survival ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op; Art of the Rail ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op.
- Does Colony Survival run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Colony Survival is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Art of the Rail doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.