Choose Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
Choose Dear Esther: Landmark Edition if you want an Adventure, Free To Play, and Casual experience. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 1,402 Steam reviews back the pick.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition vs Dead Air
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition and Dead Air both land in 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 are Indie games on Steam. Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (2017) is 8 years older than Dead Air (2025). Dead Air is currently ~80% cheaper on Steam than Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (1.99 USD vs. 9.99 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 Dead Air
Choose Dead Air if you want an Action experience. On Steam, it's currently about 80% cheaper on the Steam Store. Dead Air launched in 2025.
Both Dear Esther: Landmark Edition and Dead Air sit in Indie 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
 Dear Esther: Landmark Edition |  Dead Air | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2025 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Free To Play, Casual | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 1.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 75.9% positive (1,402 reviews) | — |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | The Chinese Room, Robert Briscoe | Blue Feather |
Side by side
- Both are Indie games on Steam.
- Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (2017) is 8 years older than Dead Air (2025).
- Dead Air is currently ~80% cheaper on Steam than Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (1.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Dead Air has no Deck rating yet.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition vs Dead Air — FAQ
- Should I play Dear Esther: Landmark Edition or Dead Air first?
- If you want chronology, Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (2017) came out before Dead Air (2025). 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 Dear Esther: Landmark Edition and Dead Air similar?
- They overlap on 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 Dear Esther: Landmark Edition run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Dead Air doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.