Choose Rusty Lake: Roots
Choose Rusty Lake: Roots if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 1,696 Steam reviews back the pick.
Rusty Lake: Roots vs Welcome Back to Aeris
Rusty Lake: Roots and Welcome Back to Aeris both land in 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 Indie, Adventure on Steam. Rusty Lake: Roots (2016) is 10 years older than Welcome Back to Aeris (2026). Rusty Lake: Roots is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Welcome Back to Aeris has no Deck rating yet. 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 Welcome Back to Aeris
Choose Welcome Back to Aeris if you want a Simulation and Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2026) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Welcome Back to Aeris launched in 2026.
Both Rusty Lake: Roots and Welcome Back to Aeris sit in Indie and Adventure 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
 Rusty Lake: Roots |  Welcome Back to Aeris | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2026 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Indie, Adventure, Simulation, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 3.99 USD | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 96.2% positive (1,696 reviews) | — |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Rusty Lake | Sunmint Lab |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Rusty Lake: Roots (2016) is 10 years older than Welcome Back to Aeris (2026).
- Rusty Lake: Roots is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Welcome Back to Aeris has no Deck rating yet.
Rusty Lake: Roots vs Welcome Back to Aeris — FAQ
- Should I play Rusty Lake: Roots or Welcome Back to Aeris first?
- If you want chronology, Rusty Lake: Roots (2016) came out before Welcome Back to Aeris (2026). 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 Rusty Lake: Roots and Welcome Back to Aeris similar?
- They overlap on 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.
- Does Rusty Lake: Roots run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Rusty Lake: Roots is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Welcome Back to Aeris doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.