Choose DARK SOULS™ III
Choose DARK SOULS™ III if it matches what drew you to this matchup. 105,862 Steam reviews back the pick.
DARK SOULS™ III vs ELDEN RING
DARK SOULS™ III and ELDEN RING both land in Action 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 Action games on Steam. DARK SOULS™ III (2016) is 6 years older than ELDEN RING (2022). Both sit near 94% positive on Steam (DARK SOULS™ III: 105,862 reviews, ELDEN RING: 426,636). 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 ELDEN RING
Choose ELDEN RING if you want a RPG game with Online PvP, Online Co-op, and PvP. On Steam, it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 426,636 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both DARK SOULS™ III and ELDEN RING sit in Action on Steam and both list Multi-player, Camera Comfort, and Custom Volume Controls, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (94.1% vs 94.3% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 DARK SOULS™ III |  ELDEN RING | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Genres | Action | Action, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 59.99 USD | 59.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 94.1% positive (105,862 reviews) | 94.3% positive (426,636 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | FromSoftware, Inc. | FromSoftware, Inc. |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- DARK SOULS™ III (2016) is 6 years older than ELDEN RING (2022).
- Both sit near 94% positive on Steam (DARK SOULS™ III: 105,862 reviews, ELDEN RING: 426,636).
- ELDEN RING is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than DARK SOULS™ III (59.99 USD vs. 59.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Both are Deck Verified.
DARK SOULS™ III vs ELDEN RING — FAQ
- Which is better, DARK SOULS™ III or ELDEN RING?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: DARK SOULS™ III sits at 94.1% positive (105,862 reviews), ELDEN RING at 94.3% (426,636). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play DARK SOULS™ III or ELDEN RING first?
- If you want chronology, DARK SOULS™ III (2016) came out before ELDEN RING (2022). 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 DARK SOULS™ III and ELDEN RING similar?
- They overlap on Action 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 DARK SOULS™ III and ELDEN RING have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: DARK SOULS™ III ships Co-op; ELDEN RING ships Online Co-op, Co-op.
- Do DARK SOULS™ III and ELDEN RING both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.