Choose PWND
Choose PWND if you want a Free To Play and Casual experience. PWND launched in 2018.
PWND vs Shoot 'm Up
PWND and Shoot 'm Up 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. PWND (2018) is 3 years older than Shoot 'm Up (2021). Shoot 'm Up has co-op; PWND does not. 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 Shoot 'm Up
Choose Shoot 'm Up if you want the Online Co-op, LAN PvP, and LAN Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Shoot 'm Up launched in 2021.
Both PWND and Shoot 'm Up sit in Action and Indie on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP, 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
 PWND |  Shoot 'm Up | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Free To Play, Casual | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | Price unknown | 2.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 75.4% positive (61 reviews) | 1 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op |
| Developers | Skydance Interactive | DukeSoft |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- PWND (2018) is 3 years older than Shoot 'm Up (2021).
- Shoot 'm Up has co-op; PWND does not.
PWND vs Shoot 'm Up — FAQ
- Should I play PWND or Shoot 'm Up first?
- If you want chronology, PWND (2018) came out before Shoot 'm Up (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 PWND and Shoot 'm Up 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.