Choose Temple of Rust
Choose Temple of Rust if you want a RPG experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Temple of Rust launched in 2023.
Temple of Rust vs Pixel Ninja
Temple of Rust and Pixel Ninja both land in Action, Indie, Adventure 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 Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam. Pixel Ninja (2020) is 3 years older than Temple of Rust (2023). Pixel Ninja is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Temple of Rust (7.99 USD vs. 7.99 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 Pixel Ninja
Choose Pixel Ninja if you want the Online PvP, Shared/Split Screen PvP, and PvP side of the pairing. Pixel Ninja launched in 2020.
Both Temple of Rust and Pixel Ninja sit in Action, Indie, and Adventure on Steam and both list Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Shared/Split Screen 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
 Temple of Rust |  Pixel Ninja | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2023 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, RPG, Casual | Action, Indie, Adventure, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 7.99 USD | 7.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 3 reviews | — |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | James Mearman | Nacks Soft |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Pixel Ninja (2020) is 3 years older than Temple of Rust (2023).
- Pixel Ninja is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Temple of Rust (7.99 USD vs. 7.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
Temple of Rust vs Pixel Ninja — FAQ
- Should I play Temple of Rust or Pixel Ninja first?
- If you want chronology, Pixel Ninja (2020) came out before Temple of Rust (2023). 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 Temple of Rust and Pixel Ninja similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie, Adventure 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 Temple of Rust and Pixel Ninja have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Temple of Rust ships Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op; Pixel Ninja ships Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op.