Choose Black Desert
Choose Black Desert if you want a Strategy game with Online Co-op and Co-op. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend. 35,523 Steam reviews back the pick.
Black Desert vs Icarus Online
Black Desert and Icarus Online both land in Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer 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, Massively Multiplayer on Steam. Black Desert (2017) is 3 years older than Icarus Online (2020). Black Desert scores higher on Steam reviews (72.5% positive) than Icarus Online (68.8% 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 Icarus Online
Choose Icarus Online if you want a Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Icarus Online launched in 2020.
Both Black Desert and Icarus Online sit in Action, Adventure, and Massively Multiplayer on Steam and both list Multi-player, MMO, and Online 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
 Black Desert |  Icarus Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, RPG | Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, RPG, Free To Play |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 72.5% positive (35,523 reviews) | 68.8% positive (16 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player |
| Developers | Pearl Abyss | WemadeIO, Valofe |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer on Steam.
- Black Desert (2017) is 3 years older than Icarus Online (2020).
- Black Desert scores higher on Steam reviews (72.5% positive) than Icarus Online (68.8% positive).
- Black Desert has co-op; Icarus Online does not.
- Black Desert is Deck Unsupported on Steam Deck; Icarus Online has no Deck rating yet.
Black Desert vs Icarus Online — FAQ
- Should I play Black Desert or Icarus Online first?
- If you want chronology, Black Desert (2017) came out before Icarus Online (2020). 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 Black Desert and Icarus Online similar?
- They overlap on Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer 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.