Choose Beat Hazard
Choose Beat Hazard if you want a Casual game with Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Color Alternatives. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 95.1% positive across 3,477 reviews.
Beat Hazard vs Retro/Grade
Beat Hazard and Retro/Grade both land in Action, Indie 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 on Steam. Beat Hazard (2010) is 3 years older than Retro/Grade (2013). Beat Hazard scores higher on Steam reviews (95.1% positive) than Retro/Grade (86.5% 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 Retro/Grade
Choose Retro/Grade if it's currently about 75% cheaper on the Steam Store. Retro/Grade launched in 2013.
Both Beat Hazard and Retro/Grade sit in Action and Indie on Steam and both list Steam Leaderboards, 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
 Beat Hazard |  Retro/Grade | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2010 | 2013 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Casual | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 2.49 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.1% positive (3,477 reviews) | 86.5% positive (178 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Co-op | Single-player only |
| Developers | Cold Beam Games | 24 Caret Games |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Beat Hazard (2010) is 3 years older than Retro/Grade (2013).
- Beat Hazard scores higher on Steam reviews (95.1% positive) than Retro/Grade (86.5% positive).
- Retro/Grade is currently ~75% cheaper on Steam than Beat Hazard (2.49 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Beat Hazard has co-op; Retro/Grade does not.
Beat Hazard vs Retro/Grade — FAQ
- Which is better, Beat Hazard or Retro/Grade?
- On Steam reviews Beat Hazard scores higher (95.1% positive) than Retro/Grade (86.5% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Beat Hazard is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Beat Hazard or Retro/Grade first?
- If you want chronology, Beat Hazard (2010) came out before Retro/Grade (2013). 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 Beat Hazard and Retro/Grade similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie 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.
- Does Retro/Grade have multiplayer like Beat Hazard?
- No. Beat Hazard supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Co-op), while Retro/Grade is listed as single-player only.