Choose Expeditions: Viking
Choose Expeditions: Viking if it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 82.1% positive across 1,916 reviews.
Expeditions: Viking vs Blackthorn Arena
Expeditions: Viking and Blackthorn Arena both land in Strategy, Indie, RPG 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, RPG on Steam. Expeditions: Viking (2017) is 3 years older than Blackthorn Arena (2020). Expeditions: Viking scores higher on Steam reviews (82.1% positive) than Blackthorn Arena (65% positive). 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 Blackthorn Arena
Choose Blackthorn Arena if you want a Simulation experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Blackthorn Arena launched in 2020.
Both Expeditions: Viking and Blackthorn Arena sit in Strategy, Indie, and RPG 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
 Expeditions: Viking |  Blackthorn Arena | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, RPG | Strategy, Indie, Simulation, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | 29.99 USD | 24.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 82.1% positive (1,916 reviews) | 65% positive (532 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Logic Artists | PersonaeGame Studio |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, RPG on Steam.
- Expeditions: Viking (2017) is 3 years older than Blackthorn Arena (2020).
- Expeditions: Viking scores higher on Steam reviews (82.1% positive) than Blackthorn Arena (65% positive).
- Blackthorn Arena is currently ~17% cheaper on Steam than Expeditions: Viking (24.99 USD vs. 29.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Playable.
Expeditions: Viking vs Blackthorn Arena — FAQ
- Which is better, Expeditions: Viking or Blackthorn Arena?
- On Steam reviews Expeditions: Viking scores higher (82.1% positive) than Blackthorn Arena (65% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Expeditions: Viking is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Expeditions: Viking or Blackthorn Arena first?
- If you want chronology, Expeditions: Viking (2017) came out before Blackthorn Arena (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 Expeditions: Viking and Blackthorn Arena similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie, RPG 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.