Choose Into the Breach
Choose Into the Breach if you want a Simulation and RPG experience. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 12,387 Steam reviews back the pick.
Into the Breach vs The Black Pepper Crew
Into the Breach and The Black Pepper Crew both land in Strategy, 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 Strategy, Indie on Steam. Into the Breach (2018) is 5 years older than The Black Pepper Crew (2023). Both sit near 94% positive on Steam (Into the Breach: 12,387 reviews, The Black Pepper Crew: 15). 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 The Black Pepper Crew
Choose The Black Pepper Crew if you want an Early Access experience. On Steam, it's currently about 53% cheaper on the Steam Store. The Black Pepper Crew launched in 2023.
Both Into the Breach and The Black Pepper Crew sit in Strategy and Indie on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (93.8% vs 93.3% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Into the Breach |  The Black Pepper Crew | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2023 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Simulation, RPG | Strategy, Indie, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 14.99 USD | 6.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 93.8% positive (12,387 reviews) | 93.3% positive (15 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Subset Games | Quijipixel Games |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- Into the Breach (2018) is 5 years older than The Black Pepper Crew (2023).
- Both sit near 94% positive on Steam (Into the Breach: 12,387 reviews, The Black Pepper Crew: 15).
- The Black Pepper Crew is currently ~53% cheaper on Steam than Into the Breach (6.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- Into the Breach is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; The Black Pepper Crew has no Deck rating yet.
Into the Breach vs The Black Pepper Crew — FAQ
- Should I play Into the Breach or The Black Pepper Crew first?
- If you want chronology, Into the Breach (2018) came out before The Black Pepper Crew (2023). 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 Into the Breach and The Black Pepper Crew similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, 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.
- Does Into the Breach run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Into the Breach is rated Deck Verified by Valve. The Black Pepper Crew doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.