Choose The Lab
Choose The Lab if you want a Free To Play game with Steam Leaderboards and SteamVR Collectibles. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 95.1% positive across 4,429 reviews.
The Lab vs Aperture Hand Lab
The Lab and Aperture Hand Lab sit side-by-side in player discussions even though their catalogue tags only partly overlap. 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: The Lab (2016) is 3 years older than Aperture Hand Lab (2019). The Lab scores higher on Steam reviews (95.1% positive) than Aperture Hand Lab (87.8% positive). Both are free to 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 Aperture Hand Lab
Choose Aperture Hand Lab if you want an Adventure experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2019) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 1,247 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both The Lab and Aperture Hand Lab ship Tracked Controller Support and VR Only on Steam, so either pick lands close enough that the choice is taste, not category. 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
 The Lab |  Aperture Hand Lab | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2019 |
| Genres | Free To Play | Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | 95.1% positive (4,429 reviews) | 87.8% positive (1,247 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Valve | Cloudhead Games Ltd. |
Side by side
- The Lab (2016) is 3 years older than Aperture Hand Lab (2019).
- The Lab scores higher on Steam reviews (95.1% positive) than Aperture Hand Lab (87.8% positive).
- Both are free to play.
- The Lab is Deck Unsupported on Steam Deck; Aperture Hand Lab has no Deck rating yet.
The Lab vs Aperture Hand Lab — FAQ
- Which is better, The Lab or Aperture Hand Lab?
- On Steam reviews The Lab scores higher (95.1% positive) than Aperture Hand Lab (87.8% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, The Lab is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play The Lab or Aperture Hand Lab first?
- If you want chronology, The Lab (2016) came out before Aperture Hand Lab (2019). 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.