Choose The Bellows
Choose The Bellows if it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. The Bellows launched in 2016.
The Bellows vs Song in the Smoke
The Bellows and Song in the Smoke both land in Action, Adventure, Simulation 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, Adventure, Simulation on Steam. The Bellows (2016) is 5 years older than Song in the Smoke (2021). Both sit near 86% positive on Steam (The Bellows: 169 reviews, Song in the Smoke: 36). 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 Song in the Smoke
Choose Song in the Smoke if it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Song in the Smoke launched in 2021.
Both The Bellows and Song in the Smoke sit in Action, Adventure, and Simulation on Steam and both list Tracked Controller Support and VR Only, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (86.4% vs 86.1% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Bellows |  Song in the Smoke | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2021 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Simulation | Action, Adventure, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | Free to play | 29.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 86.4% positive (169 reviews) | 86.1% positive (36 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | BOT Jungle Productions, Evan Davis, Bryce Davis, Gehrig Gosslin | 17-BIT |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure, Simulation on Steam.
- The Bellows (2016) is 5 years older than Song in the Smoke (2021).
- Both sit near 86% positive on Steam (The Bellows: 169 reviews, Song in the Smoke: 36).
- The Bellows is free; Song in the Smoke is paid (29.99 USD).
- Song in the Smoke is Deck Unsupported on Steam Deck; The Bellows has no Deck rating yet.
The Bellows vs Song in the Smoke — FAQ
- Should I play The Bellows or Song in the Smoke first?
- If you want chronology, The Bellows (2016) came out before Song in the Smoke (2021). 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 The Bellows and Song in the Smoke similar?
- They overlap on Action, Adventure, Simulation 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.
- Is The Bellows free?
- Yes — The Bellows is a free-to-play Steam title. Song in the Smoke is paid (29.99 USD).