Choose Dead Days
Choose Dead Days if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's currently about 80% cheaper on the Steam Store. Dead Days launched in 2017.
Dead Days vs Diary of Defender
Dead Days and Diary of Defender both land in Action, Indie, Violent 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, Violent on Steam. Dead Days (2017) is 1 year older than Diary of Defender (2018). Dead Days is currently ~80% cheaper on Steam than Diary of Defender (2.99 USD vs. 14.99 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 Diary of Defender
Choose Diary of Defender if you want an Adventure, Simulation, and Early Access experience. Diary of Defender launched in 2018.
Both Dead Days and Diary of Defender sit in Action, Indie, and Violent on Steam and both list Tracked Controller Support and VR Only, 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
 Dead Days |  Diary of Defender | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2018 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Casual, Violent | Action, Indie, Adventure, Simulation, Early Access, Violent, Gore |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 2.99 USD | 14.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 90% positive (10 reviews) | — |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Duskroad Games | 5th VR |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie, Violent on Steam.
- Dead Days (2017) is 1 year older than Diary of Defender (2018).
- Dead Days is currently ~80% cheaper on Steam than Diary of Defender (2.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
Dead Days vs Diary of Defender — FAQ
- Should I play Dead Days or Diary of Defender first?
- If you want chronology, Dead Days (2017) came out before Diary of Defender (2018). 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 Dead Days and Diary of Defender similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie, Violent 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.