Choose Expect The Unexpected
Choose Expect The Unexpected if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's currently about 90% cheaper on the Steam Store. Expect The Unexpected launched in 2016.
Expect The Unexpected vs Z Dawn
Expect The Unexpected and Z Dawn 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. Expect The Unexpected (2016) is 3 years older than Z Dawn (2019). Z Dawn scores higher on Steam reviews (65.9% positive) than Expect The Unexpected (64.8% 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 Z Dawn
Choose Z Dawn if you want a Simulation experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2019) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Z Dawn launched in 2019.
Both Expect The Unexpected and Z Dawn sit in Strategy, Indie, and RPG on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (64.8% vs 65.9% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Expect The Unexpected |  Z Dawn | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2019 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, RPG, Casual | Strategy, Indie, Simulation, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 1.00 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 64.8% positive (54 reviews) | 65.9% positive (135 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | GoldenGod Games | GoldenGod Games |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, RPG on Steam.
- Expect The Unexpected (2016) is 3 years older than Z Dawn (2019).
- Z Dawn scores higher on Steam reviews (65.9% positive) than Expect The Unexpected (64.8% positive).
- Expect The Unexpected is currently ~90% cheaper on Steam than Z Dawn (1.00 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
Expect The Unexpected vs Z Dawn — FAQ
- Should I play Expect The Unexpected or Z Dawn first?
- If you want chronology, Expect The Unexpected (2016) came out before Z Dawn (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.
- Are Expect The Unexpected and Z Dawn 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.