Should I play Thing-in-Itself or Black Cycle first?

If you want chronology, Thing-in-Itself (2017) came out before Black Cycle (2022). 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 Thing-in-Itself and Black Cycle similar?

They overlap on Indie, Adventure, Casual 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.

Thing-in-Itself vs Black Cycle

Thing-in-Itself and Black Cycle both land in Indie, Adventure, Casual 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, Casual on Steam. Thing-in-Itself (2017) is 5 years older than Black Cycle (2022). Thing-in-Itself is currently ~38% cheaper on Steam than Black Cycle (2.49 USD vs. 3.99 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 Thing-in-Itself

Choose Thing-in-Itself if you want a Simulation experience. On Steam, it's currently about 38% cheaper on the Steam Store. Thing-in-Itself launched in 2017.

Choose Black Cycle

Choose Black Cycle if it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Black Cycle launched in 2022.

Both Thing-in-Itself and Black Cycle sit in Indie, Adventure, and Casual 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.

Thing-in-Itself vs Black Cycle — Steam metadata comparison
	Thing-in-Itself	Black Cycle
Released	2017	2022
Genres	Indie, Adventure, Simulation, Casual	Indie, Adventure, Casual
Platforms	Windows, macOS	Windows
Steam Deck	Unrated	Unrated
Price	2.49 USD	3.99 USD
Steam reviews	78.7% positive (94 reviews)	2 reviews
Multiplayer	Single-player only	Single-player only
Developers	Party for Introverts	Katsuya Abe

Side by side

Both share Indie, Adventure, Casual on Steam.
Thing-in-Itself (2017) is 5 years older than Black Cycle (2022).
Thing-in-Itself is currently ~38% cheaper on Steam than Black Cycle (2.49 USD vs. 3.99 USD).