Choose Californium
Choose Californium if you want an Indie and Simulation experience. Californium launched in 2016.
Californium vs Departure.
Californium and Departure. both land in Adventure, Casual 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 Adventure, Casual on Steam. Californium (2016) is 6 years older than Departure. (2022). Departure. is currently ~86% cheaper on Steam than Californium (0.99 USD vs. 6.99 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 Departure.
Choose Departure. if it's currently about 86% cheaper on the Steam Store. Departure. launched in 2022.
Both Californium and Departure. sit in Adventure and Casual 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
 Californium |  Departure. | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Simulation, Casual | Adventure, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 6.99 USD | 0.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 69.1% positive (178 reviews) | 8 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Darjeeling, Nova Production, ARTE France | Icarus |
Side by side
- Both share Adventure, Casual on Steam.
- Californium (2016) is 6 years older than Departure. (2022).
- Departure. is currently ~86% cheaper on Steam than Californium (0.99 USD vs. 6.99 USD).
Californium vs Departure. — FAQ
- Should I play Californium or Departure. first?
- If you want chronology, Californium (2016) came out before Departure. (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 Californium and Departure. similar?
- They overlap on Adventure, Casual 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.